BNSF Reaches Agreement With Environmental Groups Over Coal Trains

The Spokesman-Review says BNSF Railway Co. has reached a settlement with Washington State environmental groups over coal dust
from uncovered train cars.

The railroad agreed to a two-year study of methods for covering rail cars carrying coal. BNSF will also spend $1 million on state environmental projects and clean up deposits of coal and petroleum byproducts near water.

The Spokane Riverkeeper was among seven groups that sued BNSF in 2013 under the federal Clean Water Act, saying coal particles and dust from trains is polluting the Spokane River, its Hangman Creek tributary and other Washington waterways such as the Columbia River and Puget Sound.

In late October, a federal judge ruled that BNSF could be held liable if environmental groups could show during trial that coal was being spilled directly from trains into waterways. In that case, passing trains could be considered pollution sources, he said.

Hundreds of BNSF trains ship coal to ports in Washington and British Columbia each year. Some of the coal is unloaded through the bottom of rail cars and other cars are flipped over to dump it out. The different unloading methods make it difficult to cover the loads.

Council Votes to Remove Oil/Coal Train Fines From Ballot

Spokane's City Council did an about-face last night and withdrew a measure from the November ballot that would have let voters decide whether to fine railroad operators up to $261 per train car carrying flammable crude or coal through downtown Spokane.

According to the Spokesman-Review, the City Council voted 5-2 to against the measure. Council President Ben Stuckart, who initially led the charge to fine the railroads, now says he believes the fine would expose citizens to too much legal liability.

“I don’t believe that it’s legally defensible, or defensible for us to bring forward,” Stuckart is quoted as saying in the Spokesman.

The two votes to keep the issue on the ballot came from Councilman Breean Beggs and Lori Kinnear.
Beggs said he believed the ordinance could have withstood a legal challenge. 

City Council Asks Voters to Determine if Coal and Oil Trains Should Be Banned

A coal train travels through downtown Spokane. Photo
courtesy Spokesman-Review archives.

Spokane's City Council last night voted 6-0 to ask voters if they want to fine railroads for running
coal and oil trains through the city.

According to the Spokesman-Review, the November ballot initiative would impose a $261 fine for each rail car of crude oil and uncovered coal that passes through downtown.

Opponents say passing the ordinance would snarl the city in unnecessary lawsuits but supporters believe it will protect the aquifer from coal dust or oil that could seep into the water supply in the event of a spill.

Is this move even legal? The Spokesman-Review reports that the Federal Railway Safety Act, first passed by Congress in 1970, permits local governments to adopt rules to “eliminate or reduce an essentially local safety or security hazard” if the Department of Transportation has not taken action.

City Councilmember Breean Beggs, also an attorney, said Spokane’s unique aquifer would likely withstand a legal challenge as an “essentially local” hazard, though the courts have struck down local regulations pertaining to rivers because they are more prevalent near railroad tracks than aquifers.

BNSF Replacing Tracks To Increase Rail Capacity

BNSF Railway is putting some major money into track improvements in our area to increase rail capacity and improve track condition. The railroad plans to spend $235 million to refurbish 1,200 miles of track and hire about forty people in the area.

The Spokesman-Review has the details in it's "Getting There" column.

New Oil, Coal Train Info Will Probably Raise Additional Concerns

As more information becomes available, more concerns are surfacing concerning oil and coal trains.
A report released last week estimates that shipping the fuels by rail could bring 82 trains a day through Spokane and Sandpoint in ten years.

At the same time, new data was released that says Federal Railroad Administration inspectors have found 13,141 rail track defects in North Dakota since 2006. BNSF Railway was issued 721 written violation notices based on those defects.

The Spokesman-Review has the details on both reports in the "Getting There" column.

Article Predicts Coal Trains Will Cause Major Blockages For Traffic

With debate heating up over coal exports and oil shipments, the Sightline Daily blog is analyzing public at-grade rail crossings from Sandpoint, Idaho to Cherry Point, Washington. An article posted late last week takes a look specifically at the impact an increase in coal trains would have in Spokane County and predicts the trains would close rail crossings an average of between one hour and 47 minutes a day to four hours a day!

Here's the article, which looks closely at many of the railroad crossings in Spokane County and comes with handy maps you can zoom in on.

Coal Trains, Biofuel and Ride Sharing

The coal terminal debate returns to Spokane on Sept. 25, when three government agencies will host a scoping meeting for an environmental impact statement on a proposed coal port at Longview on the Columbia River. Washington State University Tri-Cities has been selected to be the headquarters for a national biofuel research center. And need a different way to get to work other than driving alone? A new website can help with that.

The Spokesman-Review's "Getting There" column has everything happening in transportation locally this week.

New York Times Features Spokane In Article On Coal Train Debate

Spokane made the New York Times yesterday, for our coal train debate. Nothing new here but you may want to check out the article anyway.

Company Says Coal Trains Will Cross WA Even If Terminals Aren't Built

The company that wants to build three proposed coal terminals in Washington and Oregon says coal trains will pass through our state on their way to Canada even if the terminals are not built.

Opponents of the terminals say they would bring traffic congestion from the number of trains, and generate coal dust and greenhouse gases. Supporters say they will create jobs. The state Department of Ecology is doing an environmental review of the project. But will it matter in the end if the trains roll anyway?

The Argus Observer has the story.

SRTC Planner Quoted In Coal Train Report

One of our Senior Transportation Planners, Ryan Stewart, made the big time with very detailed report from EarthFix, a public media project of NPR, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Boise State Public Radio, Idaho Public Television, KCTS 9 Seattle, KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, Northwest Public Radio and Television, Southern Oregon Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The report is on the possibility of more coal trains coming through Washington and neighboring states and has good angles on vehicle and train congestion, impact to rail lines, bridges, passenger rail and more.
The audio report, below, is interesting, but also be sure to go to the link above to check out the graphics. Lots of information in those.

Governor-Elect Talks Transportation To Media

At a media briefing late last week, Governor-elect Jay Inslee touched on a couple of transportation issues, including coal trains and the need for a transportation package that would ask voters to approve new revenue for  major transportation needs. Here are the details from The Columbian newspaper.

Coal Train Meeting A Packed House

Eight hundred people attended yesterday's public meeting on a proposed coal port facility in northwest Washington. Many people are up in arms about the proposal because of increasing coal train shipments through Spokane and North Idaho. Others say the facility would promote new jobs in our state. The Spokesman-Review has more on the meeting.


SRTC had representatives there to learn more about the proposal as it could potentially impact transportation in our area, such as by causing additional waits at railroad crossings or through air pollution.
In the meantime, a lot of people are trying to pin down Washington Governor-Elect Jay Inslee on his position on the proposed coal facility, but so far he's not talking. Analysts are looking to things he said in interviews and debates during the election season to try to predict which way he is leaning. Transportation Issues Daily looks at some of those quotes.

Coal Train Meeting Tonight

Hundreds of people are expected to attend a public meeting tonight on a proposed coal terminal near Bellingham. Such a terminal could bring a dramatic increase in the size and frequency of coal trains through our area, which has many people worried about coal dust coming off the uncovered loads, derailments, traffic tie-ups and the risk of pollution to waterways. As a result, the Army Corps of Engineers has been requested to do a study on the impacts the terminal could have.

Tonight's meeting, at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center at 4 p.m., is to discuss what all the study should cover. Many protestors and others are expected to show up though and a rally is planned prior to the meeting. The Spokesman-Review has more on that.

Representatives from SRTC will attend that meeting to learn more about the study and the possible impacts of additional coal trains through the area on transportation, such as on the delay to vehicles waiting at rail road crossings and the effect on air pollution.

Lots Of Questions Expected At Coal Train Hearing

A local hearing by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is approaching to discuss a proposal to build a $665 million port terminal near Bellingham to ship coal to China and other Asian customers. While the movement of coal would create jobs, many are worried about the environmental effect.

The Dec. 4 meeting is expected to address a variety of impacts the construction of such a terminal could have, including locally. But not everyone is against building a terminal and shipping coal through our area via train. The Spokesman-Review has more on the many questions surrounding shipping coal through our area.

State Legislators Ask Governor For TasK Force To Look At Coal Train Impact

I sat in on a meeting with an Eastern Washington University Planning class a couple weeks ago and they had questions about the proposal to move more coal trains through our area. I said I'd try to post updates to the blog, so here's the latest: Four state legislators sat down with Gov. Chris Gregoire yesterday to ask her to establish and "empower" a task force that would examine all impacts of the trains cross the state from Spokane to Bellingham.

State Senate-elect Andy Billig from here in Spokane was in on that effort. Here's the story, from the Seattle P.I.