It was great to join the 150 other Northwesterners who gathered on Aug. 28 in front of the Northwest Headquarters of the Army Corps of Engineers in Portland to express our collective demand for a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement regarding the proposed coal export projects that threaten our region.
The speakers succinctly elucidated the devastation that would ensue if the coal export terminals were to become a reality.
It’s not just the environment that would suffer. Moli Thomas and Kate McBride, members of the Stevenson and Hood River city councils, respectively, discussed the great toll on their communities, and especially emphasized the economic detriment, and Dr. Martin Donohoe explained the surprisingly broad range of health risks that the coal trains would introduce to our communities.
The conclusion is clear: the Army Corps of Engineers needs to protect the public by bringing to light the full extent of the consequences of the proposed coal exports.
