Here is a call to action, to keep coal companies from bargeing into Washington and Oregon via the Columbia River:
Coal companies want to export 8.8 million tons of coal each year out of Oregon, sending it down the Columbia River from the Port of Morrow to Port Westward near Portland, where it would be loaded onto enormous ships bound for China, India and all over the world.
Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon and his Department of State Lands are deciding now whether or not to issue permits to let coal companies build a huge coal export terminal on the Columbia River.
Call the Governor’s office and tell him to deny the Department of State Lands permit - (866) 492-6080. See sample script below.
Ambre owns the Decker coal mine in Southeast Montana, and if the Oregon permit is granted, Ambre would haul coal in long trains along hundreds of miles between Decker and the coast of Oregon.
You can help by telling Governor Kitzhaber that Ambre’s coal export scheme is not in the public interest. It would off-load many burdensome costs on communities dealing with overwhelming coal train traffic, and threaten the conservation and protection of air and water in and around the proposed port. Tell the Governor that he should deny Ambre Energy’s DSL permit.
A coal terminal at Port of Morrow would mean more than 5,000 barges full of coal moving through the Columbia River Gorge every year, risking clean water, salmon, recreation and local jobs that depend on a healthy river. Shipping coal would nearly double the number of barges currently on the river -- heightening the risk of accidents, collisions and spills.
Coal is toxic. It pollutes our air and water, harms our health, hurts our local economy and worsens the climate crisis. Governor Kitzhaber should take a firm stand and protect Oregon from coal export.
Call the Governor’s office and tell him to stand up to Big Coal - (866) 492-6080.
You may have to leave a message.
You may have to leave a message.
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR CALL
Hello! I am ________________________ from ________________ calling to ask Gov. Kitzhaber [Kitz AW’ brr] to say NO to Ambre Energy’s Port of Morrow coal export terminal state lands permit.
Ambre is an Australian company with no loyalty to the people who will bear the burdens and the costs of this port, including the strip mines, and the long, dirty coal trains that will come with it.
Coal trains will clog up tracks and communities, impacting taxpayers and blocking important agricultural shippers on the railroads.
Large unwieldy coal barges will cause congestion on the Columbia River and increase risks of toxic spills in this vital waterway.
We can do better than exporting dirty coal to all parts of the world. It’s time to say ‘yes’ to clean energy and ‘no’ to dirty, toxic fuels like coal.
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Thank you for all you do to protect our quality of life.
Best wishes,
P.S. Please send me an email to let me know that you’ve called Gov. Kitzhaber.
Background on Coal Export
Port of Morrow: Oregon is considering whether to permit a coal export terminal without the completion of a full Health Impacts Assessment; a full Economics Impacts Assessment; a full Rail Impacts Assessment or an Environmental impact Statement.
Coal barges and ships are only the tip of iceberg. If all three coal export terminals proposed in the Northwest are built, some communities along the Columbia River and elsewhere in the region could see more than 30 trains rolling through town every day, carrying up to 100 million tons of coal every year.
Air quality would suffer, as would traffic for commuters, emergency responders and truckers. Taxpayers could wind up paying millions of dollars for new infrastructure to accommodate increased train traffic.
Coal is the world’s dirtiest energy source and is America’s largest source of the pollution that contributes to dangerous climate change. Americans across the country are turning to cleaner energy. We can do better than exporting our dirty coal for consumption across the world.
Coal barges and ships are only the tip of iceberg. If all three coal export terminals proposed in the Northwest are built, some communities along the Columbia River and elsewhere in the region could see more than 30 trains rolling through town every day, carrying up to 100 million tons of coal every year.
Air quality would suffer, as would traffic for commuters, emergency responders and truckers. Taxpayers could wind up paying millions of dollars for new infrastructure to accommodate increased train traffic.
Coal is the world’s dirtiest energy source and is America’s largest source of the pollution that contributes to dangerous climate change. Americans across the country are turning to cleaner energy. We can do better than exporting our dirty coal for consumption across the world.
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