Bellingham, WA Residents Don't Take Proposed Coal Train Shipments Lying Down

Recently, Washington's Gov. Gregoire formalized plans to phase out the state's only remaining coal-fired power plant by 2025.  Joining Oregon in its vision of a future without coal, the agreement sets the Pacific Northwest on the path to become the first coal-free region in the country.

This is great news for those concerned about clean air, healthy lungs, and the stability of the global climate system. But what if Washington is just exporting the world's coal problem to China?

This could be what happens if Peabody Coal gets it way. The largest coal company in the world is proposing to send coal through Washington and across the Pacific to booming markets in China and India. Its proposed giant export facility, the Gateway Pacific Terminal, would be built along Washington's scenic coastline and transport by rail 24 million tons/year of coal mined from Wyoming's Powder River Basin to the port.

Environmental groups large and small have lined up against the terminal for obvious reasons, but what's even more interesting is the huge local outcry from a coastal town along the proposed railroad route.

The citizens of Bellingham, Washington have organized themselves as the group "Communitywise Bellingham" to fight to protect the health of their community.

For them, Peabody's port is personal. The port would draw up to 20 uncovered coal trains, each 1.5-miles long, through Bellingham every single day, bringing with them noise, diesel pollution, coal dust pollution and industrial traffic through parts of the city's most valuable property. All of this could put a serious kink in the town's economic waterfront revitalization plans currently underway. "There is a general feeling that we are truly poised for progress when we work our way out of the economic downturn. For many, however, the prospects of high frequency coal train traffic casts a dark shadow on these hopes and plans," the group writes.

They are leaving the larger issues of whether we should be exporting coal to China in the first place to larger organizations. Rather, they are doing their research locally and sharing their information with any other communities that might be along the route at any point. They've also started 3 petitions here on Change.org, giving a chance for Bellingham locals, Whatcom county residents, and Washington State residents to weigh in. If you live in Washington state or know people who live in Washington State, you can sign or share their petition at this link.

What's outrageous is that Bellingham residents have to fight to even have a voice in the first place. Currently, the negative impacts to towns along the coal rail route will not even be a part of the forthcoming environmental impact study to be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There are only a few weeks to change this. If Washington residents don't speak up now, their voice and their concerns will be excluded going forward.

Communitywise Bellingham, which only found out about the proposal in February, has mobilized from zero to get citizens involved and inform local officials, which still don't even have an official position. Last week, a meeting on the project attracted more than 300 residents and a vigorous debate.

Help them get their concerns heard by spreading awareness, and if you live in Washington, you can get involved by signing their petition.

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Photo credit: Wsilver via Flickr