Comment EI-19138
Received or sent (printed as 12/10/2012)
I have been hunting and recreating in eastern Montana for over 20 years and am concerned for the impacts that coal mining in the area can have upon our environment. I am formally submitting my input to your environmental analysis (EIS) for the Tongue River Railroad Company's proposed railroad construction and operation of a rail line to access coal deposits proposed for extraction in several counties in eastern Montana. My comments are summarized by noting that I am not in favor of this coal extraction (Otter Creek deposits) or the railroad construction to access these deposits. I believe that climate change issues should be focusing all of our nation's attention and effort at energy production toward relatively clean alternative forms of energy, particularly wind and solar. Wind & solar have the potential for replacing fossil fuels and strongly improving the quality of our nation and world's air and water, and hence, our health. Since much of the Otter Creek deposits could be exported to Asian countries with little or no mitigation to protect the world's air and water resources from pollution, all the more reason to not mine these polluting resources. This project is simply designed for short term financial gain, and a broader scope of analysis of economic/health/social costs would reveal the wider spectrum of costs to our society. I also have concerns for the design and safety of the rail system proposed for this analysis and request that the highest standards be designed into this project to prevent accidents, spills, etc. that could impact the environment. A strong monitoring program designed to track air and surface and ground water quality, including a statistical design with power to detect significant change over time. Standards and an action plan to respond to pollution impacts should be included as part of this monitoring program. Please do keep me informed as this analysis progresses.
Submitted by: Chris Riley · Manistee, Michigan
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-30186/comment/EI-19138 · back to the docket sheet