A new report from Greenpeace argues that recent Chinese demand for imported coal may be a short-term phenomenon, and coal and shipping companies may be making an expensive mistake if they invest in export facilities that may not be needed.
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Chinese demand for Powder River Basin coal has been the motivator for the Gateway Pacific Terminal proposal and other Northwest coal export plans, but recent reports indicate that Chinese demand may be waning.
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The Sierra Club and allied environmental organizations announced they may go to court to use the federal Clean Water Act to curb alleged spillage of dust and fragments from coal trains passing through the Columbia Gorge and other places in Washington, including Bellingham.
At a Tuesday, April 2, news conference, Cesia Kearns, a Sierra Club spokeswoman, said BNSF Railway Co. and the coal producers who use its rails have been given formal notice of intent to sue.
Under the terms of the Clean Water Act, the notice gives the companies 60 days to stop the Clean Water Act violations that environmentalists allege are ongoing. At that point, the groups could go to federal court to seek a binding order directing BNSF and the coal companies to curb violations, if the evidence justifies that.
BELLINGHAM - Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who recently stepped down after two terms as Montana governor, thinks the furious opposition to a Cherry Point coal export terminal means doom for the project.
"There's so much resistance to the project in the community," Schweitzer said. "Unless that local resistance changes, coal is not going to be shipped at Cherry Point."
Schweitzer was referring to SSA Marine's proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal, envisioned as a major new shipping point for export of coal and other bulk cargoes from a Whatcom County site between the BP Cherry Point refinery and the Alcoa Intalco Works aluminum smelter. While labor unions and business groups are supportive, the project has galvanized environmentalists, who predict health woes and traffic disruptions from coal trains, as well as global impacts from coal burning in Asia.
A Wyoming mining company has signed an option agreement allowing it to ship up to 16 million tons of coal a year through Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point — if that project can get the regulatory approvals it needs.
Cloud Peak Energy said Wednesday's deal involving Gateway Pacific Terminal, proposed by SSA Marine of Seattle, will allow it to expand overseas sales amid weak domestic demand.
The company has mines in Wyoming and Montana. It shipped 4.4 million tons of coal to Asian customers in 2012.
BLAINE - The public is invited to a discussion on the state's long-term rail plan on Thursday, May 30.
The three-hour meeting will focus on Amtrak service and international coordination of rail systems. Coal trains are a piece of the puzzle that must be accounted for in the plan, but Thursday's meeting is not a venue to debate the environmental impacts of coal, Blaine Public Works Director Ravyn Whitewolf said.
The meeting, which includes small-group work sessions for attendees, starts at 9 a.m. and takes place at Blaine City Hall, 435 Martin St.
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