Coal Age

JUL 2013

Coal Age Magazine - For nearly 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.

Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/144796

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 24 of 67

transport tips continued Further south in western Washington, the Carbon River flows about 30 miles from its source, the Carbon Glacier on Mount Rainier, to join the Puyallup River at Orting. After the discovery of coal along its banks in 1876 the river was renamed "Carbon." The energy resource in Carbonado, a town in the Carbon River Valley, was also the raw material that the citizens of the company town were harvesting, coal. During the time of the initial boom in the valley, Carbonado grew to rival the size of Tacoma at the time. We could go on with examples of Washington water bodies naturally flowing through veins of coal, but the point should be well made by now. If massive amounts of naturally occurring coal have not polluted the waters of the state before now, why do the plaintiffs now assert that relatively small amounts of spilled coal will cause pollution? Test the Claims, Whether They Be True Citizen, before you panic in the imagined horror of coal dust everywhere, look on an EPA enforcement website and see how many air pollution violations you can find for large coal terminals over the last 10 years. Visit a large coal terminal and ask yourself, "If coal dust is so uncontrollable, why do coal terminals paint their buildings white or cream colors? Do they actually have dust control measures in place?" You may be surprised to learn Dominion Terminal completely surrounded its stockpiles with 80-ft-high Rainbirds that are computer-controlled to respond to atmospheric conditions. You may be surprised to learn LAXT never received an environmental citation. These are or were open stockpiles fed by conventional coal trains, not enclosed stockpiles fed by surfactant-treated coal trains as yours will be. If environmental activism results in driving coal terminal investors from the Pacific Northwest, will the Sierra Club stay on to repair the economic damage they have done? They may lead the good citizens to rejoice in their brief victory over coal interests, but leave them to moan in the realization of what they have done to themselves. They will have made their state unattractive to development; they will have poisoned their own well. Coal-related investors will not return. Gambrel is a coal consultant and writer, a former director of transportation. Once a Washington citizen, he cares about the issues that threaten the state's wellness and economic health. Contact: bunkgambrel@earthlink.net. July 2013 www.coalage.com 23

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Coal Age - JUL 2013