my input to the scoping process........
Rail
Infrastructure
I am very
concerned about the effect on Amtrak passenger service of the
increased number of trains using our rail infrastructure if GPT
starts shipping coal and using our rail infrastructure to get
increasing amounts of coal from Wyoming and Montana. I have had the
pleasure of using Amtrak to travel from my home in Ferndale, Wa. This
is especially true in the winter, when travel may not otherwise be
possible for me. It is my understanding that freight has precedence
over passenger rail traffic. We pulled over in “the middle of
nowhere” a few times to wait for rail freight to pass.
I can't imagine what the trip south from Bellingham will be like with
the increased freight.
I would
also imagine our infrastructure would have to be improved to
accommodate the increased load. It is my understanding that the
railroad is only responsible for 5% of this cost and we the people
are going to get the bill for the rest. I am very concerned
that the increased, extremely heavy coal traffic would put a lot of
stress on our rail infrastructure. Who will pay for upgrades
and repairs? I hope the scoping attention will be very seriously
focused on all aspects of rail use and especially the increased load
that the increased coal shipping would have on our rail
infrastructure. I am very concerned there will be no passenger rail
if our infrastructure is dominated by this increased freight.
I would
like to know that Amtrak service will continue and, as it becomes
more important to me in my senior years, it would be my hope that our
rail infrastructure would serve we the people in that way.
Diesel
As a
resident of Ferndale and Whatcom County, I am very concerned about
the increased diesel particulate in my atmosphere with the increased
rail traffic, very large loading and unloading machines and giant
ships in the harbor 24/7. It is my understanding that ships are
fueled by bunker oil, which is a very heavy substance left over after
other fuels have been distilled from crude oil. It has high
sulfur content and causes serious air quality concerns when burned as
fuel. It is also speeding the devastating acidification of our
oceans. The increase of dangerous particulate, very small in size,
from regular diesel and the even dirtier bunker oil will go deep into
the lungs of all, causing serious increased health issues. As a
mother and grandmother of humans living in the wake of this
pollution, I am very concerned about the health risks and degraded
environment. Please put a serious amount of scoping attention on the
extremely dirty bunker fuel used by the giant deepwater shipping
vessel and all the increased diesel used from the coal extraction to
it's destination in China.
Overall
Irresponsibility
I live in
Ferndale Washington. I am very close to the proposed coal shipping
terminal and rail path and I am concerned about being a conduit to
this irresponsible project. We are long past peak atmosphere and it's
time to take the effects of this fossil fuel orgy we have been on
seriously. From the barbaric extraction of coal from a river basin
and all the environmental damage there, to the impacts along the rail
transport, to the diesel and bunker diesel particulate burned into
our atmosphere, to the 80 acres coal pile waiting to be loaded on
giant deep water ships and ultimately burned in China this is a
shameful legacy to those who come after. Coal, as a form of energy
production, should go the way of whale oil, if we value the lives of
our descendents.
I have
also written specifically about the huge increase in diesel
particulates degrading our already endangered oceans and atmosphere
and the affects on our rail infrastructure, but I think the big
picture overall devastating consequences should stop us from
considering this insanity.
I
hope all the externalities, especially the degradation of our land,
air and water, will be given the highest level of attention and not
just swept under the rug and put on our descendants credit
cards.
At the
very least, we should be compensated. If the pipeline is to go
through our state, shouldn’t the citizens be paid annually, much
like the citizens of Alaska are paid to have the pipeline pass
through their state? Arguably, the impact of rail conveyance of
millions of tons of coal annually would be much more invasive than
the pipeline.
To
even be considering this use of the earth's finite resources is the
height of irresponsibility and greed. We can and should do so much
better if we care about out descendants future.
