A federal judge has ruled that BNSF Railway must pay almost $400 million to the Swinomish Tribe in Washington state for intentionally trespassing on their reservation. The ruling comes after the railway violated a 1991 easement agreement by running 100-car trains carrying crude oil across the tribe's land, exceeding the limit of 25 cars per day.
The Swinomish Tribe, with approximately 1,400 members, filed a lawsuit in 2015 against BNSF after the company unilaterally increased the number of train cars without their consent. The increased traffic was part of BNSF's efforts to transport Bakken crude oil from North Dakota to a nearby refinery, crossing sensitive marine ecosystems and water bodies that are vital to the tribe's fishing rights.
