Over 2,000 coal train backers, critics face off in Seattle
Dec 14, 2012, 5:41 AM | Updated: 8:26 am
More than 2,000 people in Seattle joined the public debate Thursday over plans to ship tons of coal into the Puget Sound for shipment overseas.
Before a public hearing at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, both supporters and critics offered noisy demonstrations. Opponents, including a talking polar bear, cite environmental concerns.
More background on the coal train controversy
“If we burnt all the coal that we have in the ground, we’d heat this planet many times past the level we can afford to heat currently and our polar bears, my brothers and sisters, are already struggling,” the man in the bear costume told KING 5. Opponents are concerned about the potential for air and noise pollution.
Backers of the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point, in Whatcom County, say the coal dock would support jobs and boost trade in Washington.
Under the proposal, dozens of trains would carry as much as 40 tons of coal a year from mines in Montana and Wyoming to what would be the nation’s largest coal terminal.
At Thursday night’s hearing, sponsored by Whatcom County, the state Ecology Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, speakers were chosen by lottery. Supporters wore green shirts and coal terminal critics wore red shirts.
The terminal is a long way from happening. The hearings, which have drawn crowds across the state, simply set the stage for a years-long process of environmental review.
