Millennium Bulk Terminals wants to build the largest coal-export terminal in the United States in Longview, Wash. 44 million tons of coal would be shipped through it annually -- polluting our rivers, making climate change worse and likely hurting sensitive species like salmon and mussels.
But before that approval can happen, local, state and federal agencies are collecting public comments to help draft an "environmental impact statement" for the proposal.
Please sign the petition today to let decision-makers know this project is unacceptable. Coal exports threaten endangered species and human communities in the Northwest and around the globe.
I strongly oppose the construction of a coal-export terminal in Longview, Wash. that would transport coal on trains and barges through the Northwest to be exported, sold and burned in Asia. Coal exports threaten endangered species and human communities locally and globally.
[Your comment will be added here]
This terminal would have drastic impacts on the health of our natural ecosystems and our communities. The Millennium Environmental Impact Study must evaluate the effects of dust from uncovered coal trains, pollution into the Columbia River, terminal construction and operation, diesel emissions from increased barging and railway traffic, transfer of the coal from barges to oceangoing vessels, potential for spills and threats to endangered species.
The transport and use of coal adds numerous toxins to our atmosphere -- including mercury that bioaccumulates in our seafood, carbon dioxide emissions that escalate global climate change and increase ocean acidification, heavy metals that leach into our waterways, and carcinogens that sicken both animals and people.
The study must also consider what approval of this terminal and coal exports will mean at every step in the process -- from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming to the power grids in Asia.
In addition, the coal-train traffic impacts in Longview are so great that Millennium cannot operate without massive, taxpayer-funded rail infrastructure changes currently planned as the S.R. 432 Project. Because of this, the S.R. 432 Project must also be analyzed in the Millennium Environmental Impact Study.
Thank you for your consideration of my comments.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
