When I moved to Vancouver from Mexico I fell in love with the Columbia River, the clean water and the scenery of this beautiful part of the world. I feel blessed to be able to live, work and raise a family in Clark County. That’s why I’m so concerned about proposals to build oil and coal export terminals in Southwest Washington.
Clark and Cowlitz counties are at risk of becoming home to the largest coal and oil-by-rail export facilities in North America. The Tesoro-Savage crude oil export terminal in Vancouver could bring up to 360,000 barrels of oil a day through our community. The proposed Millennium Bulk Terminals coal export project in Longview could mean eight fully loaded coal trains coming through Vancouver every day. The Vancouver City Council voted last week to formally oppose the Longview project.
I live in the Hough neighborhood, too close for comfort to the proposed Tesoro-Savage terminal. This would pose many of the same problems to its neighbors as an oil refinery, including air pollution, noise, odor and the risk of oil spills, fires and explosions. But even more of a concern for me, because I live less than a half-mile from the train tracks, are the health and safety risks of the huge increase in oil and coal trains that would come with the terminals.
Like people all along the rail line in Southwest Washington, the Columbia River Gorge, Spokane, Idaho and Montana, I’m concerned about pollution from coal dust and diesel fumes, noise and traffic problems from all those coal trains. And I don’t want my community to experience the terror of an oil train derailment and explosion, like happened this summer in Mosier, Ore.
I’ve seen first-hand the problems that come with living in a heavily used fossil fuel throughway. When I traveled through the city of Salamanca in Mexico, the roads were filled with semi-trucks carrying crude oil on their way to a refinery in the city. I don’t want this area to experience similar pollution, health and noise problems from coal and oil trains.
I’ve been fortunate to be able to speak up for the health and safety of my family. But many others who live near the train tracks may not have been able to attend a public hearing because of economic reasons — they are working two jobs, don’t have access to reliable transportation, or are fighting illness without health care. Some of my neighbors also face an additional barrier of language. There just hasn’t been enough information made available about these proposals in Spanish, or other languages.
Immigrants impacted
In addition to being located right next to the tracks and the site of the proposed oil terminal, the Fruit Valley neighborhood has a large immigrant population. About half of the students at the Fruit Valley Elementary School come from Latino and Eastern European families who speak English as a second language.
Unfortunately this connection between lower incomes, higher numbers of Latinos and more exposure to pollution is not unique. A 2015 study by Washington State University found that “economically disadvantaged immigrant neighborhoods of non-English speaking Latinos are more likely to be exposed to cancer-causing air toxics than comparable communities of any other racial group in the United States.”
In the coming months local, state and federal officials will decide whether to give permits to what would be the largest coal export terminal and largest oil-by-rail facility in North America. The Army Corps of Engineers is holding public hearings in Longview on Monday and in Ridgefield on Tuesday. Let them know that they should look at the whole picture and thoroughly consider the impacts to the most affected communities in Clark County and beyond.
Everyone has a right to a clean, safe and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren.
Rosalba Pitkin is a resident of the Hough neighborhood of Vancouver. She served on the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs from 2007-13.
