SANDPOINT — City Council members adopted a resolution Wednesday requesting the United States Coast Guard to provide an Environmental Impact Statement in regards to BNSF's proposed Sandpoint Junction Connector.

If permits are approved, the BNSF project would include 2.2 miles of track with a second railway bridge to parallel the existing bridge across Lake Pend Oreille. As a portion of the track would be within city limits, the Idaho Conservation League asked the city to consider the resolution for the EIS.

Matt Nykiel, local representative for ICL, told council members on Wednesday the project would consist of five bridges, including the one across the lake, one across Bridge Street, and another across Sand Creek, as well as two temporary construction bridges. There are five different permitting agencies that have the authority to permit the project or not, he said, including the USCG, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

"There are many potential impacts that would come from the project, including impacts potentially to natural resources here in Sandpoint and Bonner County, impacts to public health, public safety, the economy here, and the overall quality of life in Sandpoint," Nykiel said.

If an EIS is conducted, Nykiel said it is not a document that will say whether the project should be approved or not, but provides a better understanding of what the impacts might be. Those impacts include immediate and long term, he said, from initial construction impacts to emergency response planning.

Nykiel said an Environmental Assessment is all that is needed and required for the permitting process, which is "not quite as thorough as an EIS."

"EIS is the gold standard for reviewing the impacts of a proposed project," Nykiel said. "At the moment, the federal agencies reviewing the proposal are only considering conducting an EA, so that's why I think it would be really helpful if the city weighed in and recommended the EIS."

Concerns about impacts to wildlife in the area were raised during public comment, which council members and Mayor Shelby Rognstad agreed should be addressed in the EIS. Nykiel said an EIS or an EA would the require agencies to consult the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding endangered species and other wildlife.

In addition to the EIS, the city's resolution also calls for the Surface Transportation Board to ensure cost mitigation, and for the Federal Railroad Administration to share it's expertise with the USCG.

As the executive director of Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, Councilwoman Shannon Williamson said she has worked on the issue outside of council and recused herself from Wednesday's vote. The resolution passed unanimously among the remaining four council members present.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.