How much should the Corps of Engineers EIS cover?

Montana Rail Link tracks bisect Stillwater County from Park City to Reed Point.

On an average day, about 15 trains pass through, most of them carrying something other than coal. They can tie up crossings up and down the line, and occasionally back up traffic on Highway 78 as it approaches Columbus from the south.

It's little more than a nuisance most of the time. No one can recall an ambulance or fire truck missing a critical call because a train was on the tracks.

"That doesn't mean it won't happen," said Charles Sangmeister, president of the Stillwater Protective Association – a grassroots citizens organization allied with the Northern Plains Resource Council.

The Stillwater Protective Association has expressed concern that increasing coal train traffic will not only result in more congestion on the tracks, but dangerous increases in diesel fumes and coal dust.

The association has urged its members to write the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting that it undertake a "cumulative impact" study when it does an environmental review of proposed Pacific Coast terminals that would export Montana and Wyoming coal to Asia. They ask that the study include not just the ports, but the entire transportation corridor from the mines to the ports.

In a sample letter offered to its members, the SPA suggests supporters request hearings in Billings, Bozeman, Helena, Great Falls and Missoula to discuss the full impact of the proposed terminals.

"I'm for more train traffic," Sangmeister said. "But I think we need to look at it more closely to see what we can do to mitigate and who's going to pay for that."

"Here in Columbus there is no one but the taxpayers to pick up the tab," he said.

The railroads see efforts to expand the EIS as both unnecessary and an attack on coal as an energy source.

At a hearing in Billings in July, Barbara Ranf, executive director of government affairs for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, said efforts to slow the process was part of a "well-orchestrated" campaign by the Sierra Club in its Beyond Coal campaign.

There is plenty of support for that point of view.

On June 19, Stillwater County commissioners signed a resolution in support of coal development and "the expansion of additional shipping capacity in existing ports in order to allow for the sale of Montana resources in emerging markets."

It's virtually the same resolution approved by Yellowstone County commissioners; the Montana Association of Oil, Gas and Coal Counties; and the Montana Rural Education Association, among others.

"I think coal development is critical for the economic development of Yellowstone County, the state and the nation," said Yellowstone County Commissioner John Ostlund. "We are a natural-resources state. Farming and energy are the biggest economic drivers in the state."

Like others who support construction of new terminals at the ports, he believes development could bring thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue.

Mike Johnson, business agent for the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 400, told The Gazette that his union is solidly behind coal and the jobs it brings. He said he represents about 400 miners at three coal mines. Because of reduced domestic demand, about 100 of them are currently out of work.

Power plants, including those that buy Powder River coal, have shut down or are planning to shut down because they can't meet environmental requirements, Johnson said. Some are switching to cheap natural gas. Expansion into Asia would counter the shrinking domestic market, he said.

"Regionally, it's a huge issue," he said. "These guys make $28 an hour plus benefits. There are thousands of people that rely on coal development. "

Montana Rail Link said it employs more than 980 people between Huntley and Sandpoint, Idaho, including 100 hired so far in 2012. Of that, 124 jobs and $9 million in payroll were directly attributed last year to moving coal trains, said Mark Smith, MRL superintendent at Laurel.

"With an increase in volume, employment levels could increase by 500 jobs and $40 million in payroll," he said.

Smith noted that MRL workers earn an average $67,000 a year.

Further from the coal fields, support for a cumulative EIS is mounting. Missoula's city council adopted a resolution last spring asking the Corps to study the impacts of additional coal trains on Montana communities. The council also asked for a hearing in Missoula.

In Helena, a majority of the city commission voted to send a letter to the Corps asking that the Capital City be included in the study. The letter was sent June 7, City Manager Ron Alles said. (Lewis and Clark County didn't make a request one way or another on the expanded EIS, but did pass a resolution recognizing the importance of Montana Rail Link to the state and local economy.

Seattle's city council passed a resolution in May opposing a proposed coal terminal at Gateway Pacific Terminal. In June, the city of Spokane asked to be included in an expanded EIS, as did several other communities and the Yakima Nation in southern Washington state.

COMING MONDAY: Communities along the 1,000 mile-plus route from coal fields in Montana and Wyoming to potential Pacific Coast terminals are divided by the debate over economic benefits vs. environmental damage of increased coal shipments.

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