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A marked increase in coal train traffic through our area is a step closer after release of an environmental review of a proposed coal export terminal on the Columbia River.

The Longview, Wash., terminal’s approval would add up to 16 train trips a day -– eight mile-long coal trains arriving daily and eight empty trains returning to Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Colorado where the coal is mined. Many of these trains would pass through Sandpoint and along Lake Pend Oreille on the BNSF railroad.

These coal trains, which can lose up to 500 pounds of coal dust per car according to a railroad survey, can contaminate our water with heavy metals, including arsenic and mercury and already are closing railroad crossings to traffic and delaying emergency responders’ access to our communities.

The terminal, which would handle up to 44 million metric tons of coal a year for shipment to Asia for coal-powered plants there, would have a significant effect on greenhouse gas emissions, affecting us all, according to a study done by the Washington Department of Ecology.

What do we get out of this? Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad put it succinctly when he said, “The proposed coal terminal would mean our community gets dirty coal train traffic — threatening our health, safety, economy and Lake Pend Oreille — without any benefit.”

If you want to help to stop this — written comments will be accepted on- line or by letter — visit www.millenniumbulkeiswa.gov

JAMES W. RAMSEY

Kootenai