Plans to build a shipping terminal near the mouth of the Columbia River to export Rocky Mountain coal to Asia have resurfaced — and this time the proposal is bigger than ever. Read more.
Railroad threatens a quiet Amish way of life
COLSTRIP, Mont. — David Borntreger and his family moved from Missouri to a remote corner of southeastern Montana in 1997 to escape the increasing pressures of the modern world. Borntreger, his brother Levi, and their families are members of a small Amish settlement about 120 miles east of Billings, Mont.…
Former Mont. Gov. Brian Schweitzer calls most Wash. coal export plans ‘dead’ (pt. 2)
Brian Schweitzer’s two terms as the 23rd governor of Montana drew to a close Jan. 7. In mid-December 2012, Schweitzer spoke with SNL Energy on topics including coal development, wind generation and his prospects as a potential secretary of energy. Second in a two-part series. SNL Energy: What are the…
Former Mont. Gov. Brian Schweitzer proposes a national energy policy (pt. 1)
In mid-December 2012, Schweitzer spoke with SNL Energy on topics ranging from coal development to wind generation to his prospects as a potential future secretary of energy. Always outspoken, Schweitzer began the interview by cutting off the first question and launching into his plan for a national energy policy focused…
Montanans bus 1,000 miles for voice in coal-export debate
By early afternoon on Dec. 4, the bus that left Billings at 4 a.m. had reached Idaho. The 60 people on board, some of whom climbed aboard in Billings, others in Bozeman, Helena and Missoula, are all eager to arrive in Spokane, Wash., where federal and state agencies are holding…
Epic Northwest battle: Defining how big a deal coal ports are
It is being called “unprecedented” but it seems to be rolling out as its authors had intended, perhaps the biggest experiment in environmental democracy the Northwest has ever seen. That would be the “scoping” process to determine what effects the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal north of Bellingham would have on…
Study: Coal Trains Would Hit Property Values Hard
A new study commissioned by Seattle-based Climate Solutions concluded that a proposal to run as many as 18 1.6-mile-long coal trains a day through Seattle to a new coal terminal in Bellingham could cost property owners along the route as much as $265 million in lost property values. The report…
Thousands Turn Out to Voice Opposition of Controversial Coal Export Proposal
Bellingham, WA - Close to 2,000 residents from Northern Washington packed Squalicum High School to kick off the first of seven public comment hearings to show opposition of the proposed coal export terminal at Cherry Point. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Ecology, and the Whatcom County…
Paddle Past Coal! Columbia River Anti-Coal paddle
On Sat. 10/21/12, 20 kayakers from the cities of Longview, Columbia City, Rainer, Portland and Milwaukie paddled on the Columbia River from Mayger Dock to Port Westward. They kayaked through Bradbury Slough, a calm and protected part of the Columbia, separated from the main channel of the River by Crim’sIsland. Crim’s…