Coal Export is Bad for Economy, Health and the Environment

An Open Letter to Federal, State, and Local Elected Officials Representing Wallowa, Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman, Wasco, Hood River, Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Linn, Lane, Douglas, and Coos, Counties.

We, the residents of the above listed Oregon counties, call upon our elected officials to speak up and voice our concerns about the proposal to transport Powder River Basin coal by rail to Coos Bay and potentially other ports in Oregon and then ship it by bulk carrier to points in Asia.

We, the undersigned residents, are concerned because these trains that could be passing through our neighborhoods:

• Deposit coal dust and emit health-compromising diesel particulates including dangerous nano-particles that are nearly impossible to prevent and are being increasingly linked to a number ailments in humans and wildlife;

• Are a mile-and-a-third long unit trains that are notorious for blocking traffic which hurts the small business we support and also jeopardizes our access to timely emergency service delivery;

• Weigh 17,500 tons (gross weight) and are so heavy that they often distort rails causing loud noise and vibrations and they are notorious for derailing and causing property damage and losses of lives; and

• Can negatively impact property values because of the associated noise, vibrations, traffic interruptions, and health impacts.

We are also concerned about the local and global environment consequences associated with:

• Facilitating the production of a minimum of 20 million metric tons of new greenhouse gasses and other substances that would contribute to our worsening climate, ocean acidification, and mercury contamination;

• Dumping toxic and oxygen-robbing coal dust and soot in our precious waterways from streams in the Rockies and the Columbia River to Oregon rivers with struggling salmon populations and the crab-bearing waters of Coos Bay;

• Massive dredging needed in Coos Bay—roughly the equivalent of 14 Rose Bowls full of material—to facilitate cape-sized vessels in areas and waters used by crabs and salmon; and

• Invasive species brought to US waters in the foreign bilge water of the bulk carriers.

We are further concerned about the economic state of this region and our nation and are therefore worried that:

• Shipping an underpriced raw material to a competing economy will only act to create jobs there and accelerate the displacement of US jobs—particularly in the manufacturing sector;

• Selling coal to multi-national companies for export from a de-certified coal region like the Powder River Basin where modified federal bidding protocols allow coal to be sold for less than 1% of its value robs the federal coffers of needed revenues and at the same time compromises our energy security;

• Investing hundreds of millions in federal monies for the rail and public safety infrastructure needed for this project represents a federal investment pattern that tends to enable corporations to capture massive short-term gains and leaves tax payers with the long-term debt; and

• The job losses in the manufacturing sector and to existing trackside businesses isolated and impacted by the train will greatly overshadow those created at the ports or on the railroad.

For these reasons and many, many more, we urge our elected officials to stand up for human well-being, our quality of life, and nature by asking that any analysis include: 1) special and detailed health impact analyses across the face of the transportation corridor; 2) a full examination of how all aspects of this endeavor (mining, handling, transport, and use) impact our wildlife species and valued ecosystems; 3) a comprehensive study of the full range of economic impacts of this undertaking on Americans not just the few jobs created in a single county.