The environmental debate over exporting massive amounts of coal through Washington ports to China is coming to Olympia Monday.
Climate activists plan a two-hour evening forum about how the environment in Thurston County and the Northwest would be affected if as many as 10 full trains of coal a day – equal to 1,250 loaded railcars – get shipped through South Sound to an export facility proposed near Bellingham.
Thurston County Commissioner Sandra Romero, businesswoman Cheryl Heinrichs and the Rev. Kathleen Patton of Longview will be panelists for the 7 p.m. event. It is sponsored by Climate Solutions, a clean-energy advocacy group that worked to pass legislation last year that phases out the use of coal in Washington-based power plants by 2025.
The coal-export issue has divided Whatcom County, and proponents of the Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point say it could create more than 1,250 long-term jobs, $129 million a year in payroll, and 4,400 jobs during construction.
But critics of the project, which is proposed by SSA Marine, say it also means noise from rail traffic and messy coal shipments that leave behind tons of coal dust. The coal would come by rail along the Columbia Gorge from deposits in Montana, said Beth Doglio, the Olympia-based campaign director for Climate Solutions.
Doglio says coal-export interests have contacted ports up and down the West Coast, and that the only exports done so far are out of Canada. Doglio said the industry has eyes on three Oregon ports, including Coos Bay, plus Washington sites at Longview, Cherry Point and Grays Harbor.
“In our state, it comes down to the political will of the county commissioners or the county council members,” Doglio said, describing officials in Grays Harbor as courting coal exporters for a terminal there.
According to Climate Solutions’ calculations, as many as 10 full trains of 125 cars each could rumble through Thurston County once a facility is completed and fully operating at Cherry Point. Doglio said rail lines run past McAllister Creek and that there is a threat of significant coal dust coming off trains.
Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688
bshannon@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/politicsblog
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