Oregon Beyond Coal Campaign

Background on Coal Exports in Oregon

Following a successful campaign against the TransAlta and Boardman coal-fired power plants, getting a set date for phase-out in 2020-5, and with more than 150 proposals for new coal-fired power plants defeated in recent years, demand in the US for coal is dwindling, causing coal companies to default to exporting this dirty fuel abroad through the northwest. Thus, the Sierra Club is continuing our very successful Beyond Coal campaign, turning our attention now to fighting destructive proposals to export millions of tons of coal by train from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming, through the Pacific Northwest, and to Asian markets, where companies hold high hopes for demand to increase. We are opposing this terrible idea because mining, transporting and burning coal fouls our air, pollutes our water, sickens our children and destroys the environment. We want to, alternatively, promote clean energy jobs and a clean energy economy.

photo by Paul K. Anderson

Before it is possible to export significant volumes of coal to Asia, however, new shipping terminals would need to be built, turning Northwest communities into suppliers of dirty fuels for decades to come. Along with the proposed Coal Export Terminals in Longview and Cherrypoint Washington, now the Port of Morrow near Boardman, OR, the Port of St. Helens at Clatskanie, and Coos Bay are getting involved. The Port of Morrow has already signed a one-year lease to move Coal from rail to barges and the Port of St. Helens could be next!

More info on Coal Export here or see this document for FAQ.

Our Concerns

Exporting coal threatens our quality of life and place

• Up to 80 million tons of coal were proposed to be shipped just from Longview. Every 50 million tons of coal means 20-40 coal trains, 120-30 cars long, causing up to an additional 3 hours of rail and road traffic delays.

• While transporting coal from the Montana and Wyoming, coal trains would bisect dozens of communities, passing by hundreds of homes, schools, hospitals, and parks.

Exporting coal threatens our health

• Mining, transporting and burning coal fouls our air, pollutes our water, sickens our children and destroys the environment.

• Coal dust that escapes from open-air coal cars and terminals contains toxic metals such as arsenic, mercury, and lead. Rail industry studies suggest that 109-750 pounds of coal dust will be lost for every mile that a coal train travels, dust that ends up in our neighborhoods and our lungs. 

• Diesel exhaust emisions from the many trains that would be requires to move the tens of millions of tons of coal proposed for export would significantly increase health problems in the surrounding areas.

• When coal is burned in Asian power plants, pollution drifts back across the Pacific and threatens the health of people throughout the Western United States. Up to 18% of the mercury pollution found in our rivers may come from overseas.

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• Transporting coal on rail lines risks incredibly dangerous derailment scenarios. 

• Using rail lines to export coal risks people’s lives by potentially delaying response times for emergency services like paramedics, fire trucks and police when mile-long trains roll through neighborhoods for up to 16 minutes during peak traffic times.

• Coal poses a fire hazard - it is known to spontaneously combust, setting trains and storage facilities ablaze.

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• Constant coal train traffic and pollution can impact property value and drive away developers. Freight and railroad traffic has been shown to devalue property near tracks by 5-7%, and the mass of coal trains required to export coal would exacerbate that effect. 

• Oregon and Washington have a proud history of economic growth through innovation and commitment to clean energy. We should focus on building those industries, not supporting old industries like dirty coal. 

• Coal export is a very mechanized process and will only create a few hundred ongoing full-time jobs, very few, given the size of the leased port property and the alternatives.

• Additional coal trains on already crowded rail lines would clog rail choke points, limiting the availability of rail lines for other purposes, including passenger travel and transportation of goods.

• In transit and export coal dust directly harms agribusiness near terminals and the rail lines and burning coal in Asia  releases significant amounts of carbon pollution that dangerously disrupts the climate, causing retreating snow levels, rising sea levels, and erratic weather, all of which pose serious threats to tourism-based economies in the Northwest.

• Coal companies determined to export coal through the Northwest have continually misrepresented the hardships this project can cause in our region; they have misled the public about the number of jobs that would be placed and the amount of coal intended for shipment. Our communities deserve trustworthy and responsible business partners,, not industries that mislead the public and make behind-the-scenes deals.

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 Exporting coal threatens our environment  

Climate Change is real and we must do something about it. Not only is burning coal the number one contributor to carbon emissions, but also mining and transporting coal damages ecosystems and communities along the way, ecosystems and economies that we depend on. Coal should not be the solution we seek to our energy and economic woes, rather we should look for long-term, healthy solutions for our communities.

Dan Pike, Mayor, City of Bellingham on Coal Export Proposal

What we can learn from previous communities:

The Lamberts Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk, Virginia

Westshore coal export terminal at Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver, BC

Seward Coal Loading Facility in Seward, AL

http://www.adn.com/2009/11/10/1007256/coal-dust-an-ugly-problem-in-scenic.html

Proposed Coal Export Terminal at Alcoa Site in Longview, WA

http://www.yadkinriverkeeper.org/news/201106/coal-terminal-opponents-tell-commissioners-fire-red-flag

Proposed Coal Export Terminal in Cherry Point, WA

http://climatesolutions.org/press-room/press-releases/cherry-point-coal-export-facility-would-impact-health-community-and-waterfront-business

Press Releases

• 6/23/2010
  Hundreds of Portland Ratepayers Gather to Tell the Public Utility Commission “Don’t Invest in More Dirty Coal”
• 6/22/10
  PUC Hearing Advisory
• 2010.10.06
  Portland General Electric Violating Federal Clean Air Standards
• 2010.06.28
  Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Calls for Early Closure, Strong Air Quality Standards for PGE’s Boardman Plant

See all press releases

Activist Resources

• The Future of Coal in Oregon
  
• A Lump of Coal in your Outlet
  
• DEQ Background
• DEQ Hearing Schedule
• DEQ Hearing Talking Points

See all resources