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 131
1 scoping study could undermine our ability to compete in an
2 increasingly competitive world market.
3 We compete with Canada, Mexico, and the Panama
4 Canal for vital port commerce. We must avoid hamstringing
5 the U.S. industry with onerous regulations and unrealistic
6 requirements. The key is to keep things reasonable.
7 Demonizing coal and demonizing our trains will
8 not lower the greenhouse emission count by even one single
9 point.
10 Developing countries are still going to buy coal
11 products for their power plants. They will simply buy it
12 from other, less efficient sources.
13 We can help workers in America and assist
14 countries overseas by supporting responsible projects like
15 the Gateway Pacific Terminal Project. Our railroad
16 infrastructure isn't going to collapse.
17 We all need you to take notice to the reality of
18 our own economic plight; the reality that developing
19 countries are going to use coal products; and the reality we
20 can be part of a responsible state-of-the-art export
21 facility right here in Washington State.
22 I respectfully request the Environmental Impact
23 Study be focused on the export facility in question and the
24 rail study focus on Whatcom County.
25 Thank you very much.