Comment EI-19875
Received or sent (printed as 1/11/2013)
Dear Mr. Blodgett; It is my understanding the Tougue Valley Rail project is being constructed on the speculation that an appropriate terminal will be developed on the West Coast to handle shipments of coal product to China. Given the dependency of the Tougue Valley project on export markets I believe the EIS analysis for this project must take into consideration the environmental impacts derived both locally, regionally, and nationally from the proposed Tougue River Valley project. Coal shipments will impact the environment throughout the shipment corridor by; Impacting Wildlife: The Tongue River Valley is rich in wildlife habitat and home to outstanding elk and mule deer populations as well as upland birds. Industrializing this valley with a railroad and the coal strip mine it serves will seriously degrade these keystone populations. Flooding: Railroad beds often function as earthen dams that impede hydraulic connections between floodplains, river bottoms and wetlands. These impediments to natural processes lead to shifts in native populations of flora and fauna and functioning ecosystems. Infrastructure and traffic: Taxes will go up for residents communities along the rail lines as the coal heads to coastal ports for shipment. This railroad will increase coal train traffic substantially causing traffic delays, noise, and diesel pollution throughout the shipment corridor. Thank you for considering my comments, Steve Hinton Bellingham, WA.
Submitted by: Steve Hinton · Bellingham, Washington
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-19875 · back to the docket sheet