Site for proposed Millenium Bulk Terminals coal project.
Cassandra Profita
As October rains upon us, thought I'd round up some of the big news and great reports from our team and from other outlets in September.
Northwest coal
We continue to bring you the latest on what’s happening with proposed coal export terminals in our region, including two big announcements from the Army Corps of Engineers:
- For the Morrow Pacific project on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, the Army Corps decided to shrink the area for endangered species consideration.
- On the Gateway Pacific Terminal, the corps has opted to go it alone in their more "narrow" review, leaving Washington's Department of Ecology and Cowlitz County to do their joint environmental assessment which will take a broader look at impacts to health, rail traffic, the environment and the global climate.
- Public meetings for the proposed Millenium Bulk Terminal at Washington's Port of Vancouver are ongoing. The last couple are coming up this month in Ridgefield (Clark County) and Tacoma.
- A Lummi master carver has created a totem pole representing the tribe's opposition to the Gateway Pacific Terminal proposed near their land. He's been on the road with the totem following the proposed coal train route.
In a deeper dive, Ashley Ahearn unpacked 2007 permitting documents for a rail expansion project proposed to increase capacity for transporting coal by train from the Powder River Basin to TransAlta Mining's plant in Centralia, Wash. The documents were obtained through the Freedom Of Information Act, and they showed that the Army Corps had concerns about the impact of coal trains on wetland areas.
The corps eventually did grant the permit, but with “special conditions to mitigate the environmental impacts posed by coal trains and the materials leached and flushed from coal cars - not just at the site of the rail sidings themselves, but for several miles of track beyond.” And how does that relate to the current proposed coal export projects?
Ahearn reports:
“The review's consideration of a four-mile stretch of rail line stands in contrast to the corps' approach to the three current coal-transporting proposals in the Northwest. With these projects, the corps has decided not to consider impacts outside of the "immediate vicinity" of those train-to-vessel coal-transferring facilities.”
In the broader picture of coal, the big news was around the dip in demand for coal internationally and the newly announced EPA rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions for new coal plants, but not for existing plants.
Acid wash
We've done our own great reports on ocean acidification, including an in depth look at impacts to the $270 million Puget Sound shellfish industry. But the Seattle Times recently released a slick multimedia look at the issue in Sea Change: The Pacific's Perilous Turn, a collaboration between Craig Welch and photographer Steve Ringman. They report that the changes being documented in the ocean are happening much faster than anyone thought:
“Globally, overfishing remains a scourge. But souring seas and ocean warming are expected to reduce even more of the plants and animals we depend on for food and income. The changes will increase ocean pests, such as jellyfish, and make the system more vulnerable to disasters and disease. The transformation will be well under way by the time today's preschoolers reach middle age. "I used to think it was kind of hard to make things in the ocean go extinct," said James Barry of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California. "But this change we're seeing is happening so fast it's almost instantaneous. I think it might be so important that we see large levels, high rates, of extinction.”
Their extensive report includes many elements like compelling photos of healthy and unhealthy reefs and this video:
Also, don't miss Diane Dietz's report at the Register Guard for a look at how ocean acidification could affect the Oregon shellfish industry.
What’s in the air
- Researchers are working on fuel cell technology to replace diesel-fuel in refrigeration trucks. Fuel cells, which generate less greenhouse gas and particulate emissions, are still pretty pricey, but the cost is dropping.
- Flying into wildfire may sound like some sort of extreme sport. But actually, scientists are learning a lot about how wildfire smoke could impact climate change.
- Whoopsie. Intel has never reported their fluoride air pollution until this year. And they've been doing it since 1978. Officials say it was "simply an oversight" and that the levels were (and are) within legal limits.
-- Toni Tabora-Roberts