PGE announced back in January that it was considering a shutdown of its Boardman plant by 2020. This week's news is that the shutdown has been formally submitted for regulatory approval. The demise of Boardman was already in the works last year when the Sierra Club and other groups ramped up the attack which had been underway against Oregon's single-biggest air polluter for the past couple of years. The Centralia coal plant serving Puget Sound is currently being targeted too. Both facilities, and the unit trains which deliver to them almost daily, were pretty much ignored by the recent Trains magazine coverage on coal. Boardman and Centralia deserved mention if for no other reason than being the poster children for the uncertain future facing the coal industry. At the same time that BNSF is bringing new PRB coal shipments on line for export to China, the closing of the Boardman plant for environmental reasons is a major development which could mark the beginning of a significant decline for domestic coal. Too expensive to upgrade to meet stricter emission standards. And another presidential campaign promise fulfilled.