Bellingham Comments from Digital Recorder - EISs for the Proposed ...

GATEWAY PACIFIC TERMINAL EIS SCOPING HEARING VOL. II
COURT REPORTER: BETH DRUMMOND PROCEEDING DATE: October 27, 2012
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1 For most of my 48 years, I've lived on the shores
2 of Chuckanut Bay. I've rowed and sailed this part of the
3 Salish Sea, and I have been a close observer of its aquatic
4 life.
5 Just as I was raised on Chuckanut Bay, I raised
6 my own children there and hope that Fraziers will always
7 live on these shores.
8 However, the middens left behind by the Native
9 Americans who used to find plentiful shellfish and salmon in
10 Chuckanut Bay are a stark reminder that we cannot take for
11 granted that our children and/or children's children will be
12 assured this heritage.
13 I'm concerned, and I feel strongly that this EIS
14 should address any and all risks that development and
15 operation of the coal port at Cherry Point could have during
16 its construction in the entirety of its operation on the
17 aquatic life at the Salish Sea.
18 The herring, the salmon, the orca -- all parts of
19 the chain of life dependent upon one another -- all are at
20 record low numbers. The orca are already the most toxic sea
21 mammal on the planet. The salmon are already threatened.
22 The vital Pacific herring stock at Cherry Point has declined
23 over 94 percent since 1972, the same year the Roberts Bank
24 Coal Terminal began operation. Perhaps this is because this
25 terminal emits about 715 tons of coal dust each year, and