Summary: As I posted earlier, coal producers are trying to secure approval to ship Powder River Basin (PRB) coal overseas to Asian markets, while environmental extremists are attempting to make this the Spotted Owl fight of modern times. The environmental movement has established this as their beachhead, and are pulling out all the stops. Their long track record of fear mongering and hysteria masquerading as science gives them the experience and good old fashioned know-how to be able to stop economic progress in its tracks. The coal train fight is turning into the battle royale for environmental zealots to stop the expansion of the energy industry. The environmental groups opposing this effort have formed a coalition called Power Past Coal, which has been promoting all sorts of supposed effects of coal trains rolling through the Pacific Northwest to our ports. The biggest effect, they claim, will come from coal dust that blows off of open train cars. A typical freight train will likely haul 100-150 coal cars. Environmentalists cite industry estimates that such a train may lose up to 1 ton of coal dust in any one trip. For example, in a white paper for the Sightline Institute, environmental activist Eric de Place says, Coal dust escapes from the open-top rail cars used for transporting coal and can create safety and congestion problems for rail traffic. In 2005, for example, coal dust that had accumulated in ballast, the layer of crushed rock that supports rail tracks, caused two derailments. Coal dust deposits sometimes even cause spontaneous fires. The Burlington Northern / Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) has studied the problem and found that as much as a ton of coal can escape from a single loaded coal car, while other reports show that as much as 3 percent of a coal car’s load, which is typically 100 tons or more, can blow away in transit. The US Department of Transportation classifies coal dust as a “pernicious ballast foulant” that can weaken and destabilize rail tracks. It is not clear how much coal dust might escape in the Pacific Northwest, but one watchdog group has verified that coal and coal dust does escape from open rail cars traveling along Puget Sound coastlines. That last sentence, "... one watchdog group has verified that coal and coal dust does escape from open rail cars traveling along Puget Sound coastlines", refers to a media report from KING 5 News in Seattle. Funny thing is that they don't state how much coal or coal dust has been found along the tracks - a line that has been used to ship coal to British Columbia for many years with no complaints or problems. That passage from the white paper is instructive for a couple of other reasons. The author cites derailments and the average amount of dust lost from coal cars, but he does not say WHERE these things occur. It turns out that the two derailments in 2005 happened on the short Powder River Basin line, not far from the train's point of origin. It was attributed to coal dust fouling the ballast used as a bed for the rails. Regarding the amount of coal dust lost, what the enviros never tell you is WHERE that dust is lost. It doesn't take much effort to realize that most of the dust will be lost at the point of origin - near the mine where the cars are loaded. The further the train travels away from the loading point, the more the load will settle, meaning that less dust is going to blow away. The environmental extremist way of explaining this is to say, "It is unclear how much coal dust might escape in the Pacific Northwest ..." Again, we return to the fact that coal trains have been running in the Pacific Northwest for decades with no reported adverse effects. This includes trains through Spokane, across Washington State, up the Puget Sound and on into British Columbia. Additionally, the Boardman Coal Plant that produces electricity for PacifiCorp has had direct deliveries of coal via rail with no complaints in recent memory. Responding to a recent notification of a la
