Coal trains are coming this way

4 free views left!

By Tracy Warner
Editorial Page Editor

Friday, July 13, 2012

We find ourselves on route to one of the next great environmental battles. Or, more precisely, we are on the route. It’s a trade route, between the great coalfields of the Powder River Basin and China. Trains full of coal soon could travel the BNSF tracks, perhaps through Wenatchee, on their way to fuel the industries of Asia.

The economics are, mostly, clear. The United States has perhaps the world’s largest coal reserves, but domestic use declines. Cheap natural gas and constricting environmental regulation reduce the share of U.S. electricity generated by burning coal. To boost flagging sales, coal companies want to boost exports, primarily to voracious China. To do that, they need export terminals, where coal can be loaded on ships and sent across the Pacific. There now are three export terminals in British Columbia. Six new terminals are proposed in Washington and Oregon — Cherry Point near Bellingham, at Longview and Grays Harbor; Boardman, Coos Bay and St. Helens in Oregon. If the new terminals work as investors hope, coal exports from the Pacific Northwest could increase from the current 5 million tons or so per year, to 75 million tons by 2017, and to 170 million metric tons by 2022.

It will take a lot of trains to move that coal from Wyoming and Montana to the Pacific terminals. To move 75 million tons of coal a day takes about 28 trains — about 125 cars each, more than a mile long. There are growing, and certainly legitimate concerns about how this massive increase in traffic will affect the mobility of other commodities, or the environment through the inevitable shedding of coal dust from open cars. A freight study released in Montana Wednesday predicts chaos at “choke points.” Spokane, the study says, will see perhaps 60 coal trains a day by 2022. Others warn that long, slow coal trains passing through downtown Seattle will block truck access to the Port of Seattle far more effectively than a basketball arena. “This is a huge increase in volume like we’ve never seen before in this part of the world,” said Terry Whiteside, author of the Montana study.

Freight and dust are the fringe issues. The big picture involves how much pollution the United States will export. U.S. greenhouse emissions have been a bright spot — they are not growing, because we are switching from coal generation to cleaner natural gas. Export coal and it will undo that gain. Export coal to China, and you make it a more abundant and cheap, more desirable, and more likely to be burned.

Here, we see the residue. How this might affect Wenatchee and others on this BNSF line isn’t clear. The Montana study predicts 10 more coal trains per day, loaded and unloaded, through Stevens Pass by 2017.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokeswoman Suann Lundsberg told me the numbers in the study, and the projected coal train traffic, are “absolutely wrong” and based on false assumptions. BNSF won’t have a monopoly on coal transport from the Powder River Basin, she said. If all the terminals are built it will have exclusive access to one — the Cherry Point terminal, called Gateway Pacific, which she said seeks a permit for up to eight trains per day. How much traffic this will send through Wenatchee and over Stevens Pass isn’t known and can’t be predicted, she said. From the coalfields, BNSF has several westbound options. Which one is taken depends on circumstances and customer needs. Some observers say loaded coal trains won’t head west over Stevens because of the steep grade. Most trains will go through the Tri-Cities and Longview, and then north. Stevens Pass and Wenatchee could see only the eastbound unloaded returns.

Faced with this much uncertainty, the only option is closer study. Calls for environmental and economic review come sources ranging from Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to the Spokane City Council. There are many reasonable concerns that need to be answered, from freight mobility to air pollution. Then, there’s the big picture. Coal is dirty stuff.

Tracy Warner’s column appears Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at warner@wenatcheeworld.com or 665-1163.

» Recommend this story.

» 11 comments on this story

Want to comment on this story? All Wenatchee World members are invited to comment on stories, by using the form below. Please know that we at wenatcheeworld.com hope our site is useful, entertaining and civil. So we'll delete comments that are obscene, abusive or way off topic. We appreciate it when readers use the "suggest removal" button to flag inappropriate comments. For more about interacting with the site, see our Use Policy.

douglas 10 months, 2 weeks ago

The editorial is correct in that more study is needed. But keep in mind the practical limit to the number of total trains running through Wenatchee and over Stevens Pass (about 24 total a day) is limited by the Cascade Tunnel. My guess at current total volume is about 18 trains a day, and to incease rail volume over the pass by 10 trains a day would put it way over capacity.

sourtellinme 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Here they come! For all of you are impacted by the rail system, especially those who live between Rock Island and Levenworth, are you ready for almost constant train noise 24/7? There will be very little you can do to prevent this because the coal industry will spend billions to get their product to market, just so they can make trillions in profit, while spewing the poison of their product all over the table(our earth) we ALL use to eat, breathe and live on. So thank you to everyone who supports an elected official who is in the pockets of coal companies for the continued devestation of OUR planet. Even if the U.S. were to become toxic emissions free(wow, that would be a huge money maker for new inovating companies), we are downwind from where all this "black death" will be burnt. Coal companies are already making huge profits from the 5 million tons produced today, just think what they will do to get their hands on 170 tons a yr. They will stop at nothing and do everything possible to get their fix of greed and power. Orchardist and homeowners that have property along these line, get ready for mile long trains, and possibly even losing property so they can lay down another set of tracks

douglas 10 months, 2 weeks ago

You didn't read my post, did you? Practical capacity of the Stevens Pass line is only about 24 trains a day TOTAL, up from the approximately 18 a day you see now. It would take a complete new second Cascade Tunnel to do anything to increase that frequency.
It takes about 20 minutes for a train to go through the tunnel. After the train has left, it takes between 20 and 30 minutes to blow the tunnel clear of fumes after that before another train can enter. It's really an intersting sight to stand near west portal (Scenic) and watch the diesel exaust pour out of the tunnel as the fans at East Portal pump sir through it.

Suz 10 months, 2 weeks ago

So few here actually read the entire post. You offer excellent information Douglas thank you.

Suz 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Do you also cry out FIRE in crowded theaters?

I fancy myself an amateur environmentalist. I have no love for BNRR, none. I'm one of the 99%. But sourtellnme you are way over the top here.

I am just as concerned that we are selling cheap coal to China so they can continue to make cheaper goods and steal our jobs. How wonderful it would be to produce abundant, cheap CLEAN energy in the US so we can bring manufacturing jobs back home. That is why the Obama administration is putting so much emphasis on green energy.

I am also concerned that Montana and Wyoming be able to profit from their natural resources.

This is such a multifaceted situation that we cannot afford to go postal and jump to conclusions. Tracy is right. More, much more study is needed.

Suz 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Tracy, thanks for the information and the analysis. You are so right. This is and will be increasingly controversial, but all the studies are not in yet and closer study is needed.

Faedrus 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Last week's price for Powder River Coal was $8.50/ton.

http://www.eia.gov/coal/news_markets/

So, assuming the same price in the year 2022 (a big assumption), the total value of 170 million tons would be $1,225 billion/yr.

Now, what is the cost of the environmental and health damage done by the burning of that much incremental coal per year (assuming that this won't replace coal now being provided from elsewhere)?

I have no idea, but I'll bet that some smart economists have already started figuring this out, if they haven't already.

avidreader6 10 months, 1 week ago

Recently we were on vacation in Oregon. The local newspapers there were also sounding the alarm about the trains hauling coal to ports in Oregon. The big concern was the pollution from long trains of uncovered coal cars. Just wondering. Just becasue railroads want to do something do they automtaically get what they want? Don't the communitlies the trains travel therough have a say?

Norm 10 months, 1 week ago

One method that has been proposed for clearing the atmosphere of harmful greenhouse gases is carbon sequestration, in which carbon is captured from the atmosphere, concentrated, and sequestered underground. Unfortunately, the process is expensive and inefficient.

Burning coal is the reverse of the process of carbon sequestration.

douglas 10 months, 1 week ago

Avidreader6.......In general, as long as they follow the law, yes they pretty much can, in the same way that turcks can haul pretty much what they want as long as the load is legal. A local jurisdiction doesn't have the power to regulate interstate commerce as far as I know.
As to the coal dust issue, I believe that issue has been taken care of. I know BNSF had some concerns about coal dust degrading the railroad roadbed but (and I may be wrong) I thought that was taken care of a number of years ago after Powder River Basin coal started shipping east in large quantities.

Dudleydoright 10 months ago

Green energy is no where near "cheap" The cost of wind, solar, etc.. is fourty times the cost of Hydro, natural gas and nukes, can you say economy destroyer?