Coal shipping terminals in British Columbia could face competition down south

Coal from Montana and Wyoming is often shipped through ports in British Columbia, such as Westshore Terminal near Vancouver, B.C., or to the Canadian Crown Corp. Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert, B.C. Jo Dee Black, writing for the Great Falls Tribune, looks at two American coal ports that are trying to get off the ground in the western United States and compete with the coal terminals up north:

Two coal export facilities, which if built will be the first on the U.S. West Coast, have been announced for Washington state sites, one near Longview, and another near the Canadian border at Cherry Point.

The Longview developer, Millennium Bulk Logistics, faces permit challenges led by a coalition of environmental groups. Those groups, including Seattle-based Climate Solutions, say officials should consider the potential environmental harm when U.S. coal is burned in China.

Last week, Millennium offered to delay coal exports from the facility for at least a year and to conduct a full environmental review to try to settle an appeal of its permit. The move is intended to allow Millennium to begin cleanup of an old aluminum smelter on the 416-acre site and to start work on the dock on the Columbia River — work that has a construction window of October to December.

In January, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer went to Seattle to tour the Longview terminal and expressed support for the facility.

Michael Allan McCrae wrote this story. You can contact him at [email protected]or@michaelmccrae.