SP5103 Wrote:
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> I agree that it seems odd, inefficient and
> uneconomical to transload the coal from train to
> barge in Boardman, move it downriver to the
> Portland region and then transload it again to
> ocean going ships.
>
> But there are other considerations here that makes
> this probably the most viable project in the
> political sense. When the whole idea of export
> coal trains to the Northwest first came to light a
> few years ago and permit applications were filed,
> a coalition of opposition quickly formed in the
> Portland region from the fish hugging
> environmentalists who were fighting any industry
> or anything on the rivers, and the NIMBYs who
> could not fathom being delayed for even a few
> minutes at a railroad crossing in their gas
> guzzling SUV. The claims were and still are
> outrageous as they tried to make everyone imagine
> a constant parade of coal trains spewing cancer
> causing coal dust (and exploding according to a
> recent report), causing traffic delays, crashing
> through houses, destroying the scenery of the
> Columbia River gorge and killing fish with every
> spill into the river. Coal trains threaten the
> very green weird lifestyle that Portlandiers hold
> sacred. There is a larger environmentalist
> movement demanding that any coal exports must have
> an acceptable environmental impact report consider
> the emissions of the overseas coal burning plants,
> of which the only acceptable option to them is not
> to do it at all.
>
> For most of rural Oregon, especially east of the
> Cascades, there is a limited economic base of
> primarily ranching, farming, transportation,
> government employment, tourism and some light
> manufacturing. The rural areas for the most part
> have never recovered from the implosion of the
> timber industry, and is always on the lookout for
> reasonable economic development. The state of
> Wyoming is in a similar position. The demand for
> coal in the US has dropped due to the war on coal
> powered plants, but fortunately the development of
> natural gas reserves due to fracking is somewhat a
> reasonable alternative that is politically
> acceptable.
>
> The Port of Morrow is primarily a business park in
> the Boardman area, though I believe woodchips,
> ethanol and maybe some other products can be
> loaded directly onto barges. There is undeveloped
> industrial land on the river and the Port supports
> the project. It would create higher than average
> paying jobs in the region. UP's mainline passes
> right through the middle of the Port, so rail
> access is not an issue. The area already sees coal
> trains to the power plant just to the southwest
> (but is scheduled to close in a few years due to
> environmental pressure). The only substantial
> protest I have heard is from Spokane residents who
> don't want coal trains running like streetcars
> through their city. I don't know what the routing
> would be from the Powder River Basin - it could be
> BNSF Spokane UP or maybe all UP through Wyoming,
> OSL and Blues.
>
> There was also a recent proposal to build a coal
> export terminal at Coos Bay, but I think this idea
> has died out. This doesn't make as much sense
> because there isn't a direct rail route to the
> coast. Everything would have to go BNSF Portland
> P&W Eugene CBRL or UP Eugene CBRL. I know -
> recreate the Modoc so UP could bring it in through
> Ogden through the old SP :-)


Having lived in Portland for 19 years, I can state categorically that the Salmon is the secular God of the PNW. At Esther Short Park in Vancouver there is a ridiculous public art sculpture that every hour starts some Native American sop about the holy fish. Nothing less than secular idolatry.