Amid protests, Montana, Wyoming delegation visits Longview coal dock

Natalie Jamerson News

Two competing messages clashed in Longview on Monday: One said a proposed $643 million coal terminal is a way to inject 135 family-wage jobs into a struggling local economy and reduce Asian reliance on “dirty coal.” Another warned the coal terminal is a risky project that would clog rail traffic, introduce new health hazards and worsen climate change.

Amid protests, a bipartisan delegation of legislators from Montana, Wyoming and Washington toured the Longview coal plant Monday to make a plea for the project’s completion. Millennium’s coal terminal would export 44 million tons of coal annually from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming.

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