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
Page 98
1 My name is Jenny Maida-Young. I moved to
2 Bellingham three years ago with my husband. We were drawn
3 by the clean air, wild salmon and herring fisheries, a
4 culture of sustainability and a community-oriented
5 lifestyle.
6 Recently, we were shocked to hear that our
7 drinking water from Lake Whatcom harbors the horrifying
8 evidence of heavy metal contaminants directly attributed to
9 coal burned in China.
10 Last month while purchasing mulch on Slater Road
11 in Ferndale, we encountered a mile-long line of vehicles
12 waiting at a rail crossing for a coal train to pass through.
13 I pictured an ambulance caught in that blockage
14 waiting for 100 coal-loaded rail cars to pass, and then
15 again, and another one and another one and another one,
16 every day.
17 I have a friend in Birch Bay. Originally, I felt
18 envious of her living so close to the water and islands at
19 the Samish Sea, until she told me there was coal dust on the
20 side of her house, and she realized her local community was
21 breathing that dust.
22 More trains going through would, literally, be
23 adding injury to insult. These issues need to be addressed
24 in your scoping process. Thank for your time.
25 MS. STRAUSZ-CLARK: 61, 62, and 63. 61 you're at