Coal trains: Lawmakers want statewide study of impacts

Allison Roberts News

As many as 18 coal trains a day, each a mile long and bound for an export terminal north of Bellingham, could threaten access to the busy Edmonds-Kingston ferry, block the Seattle waterfront for up to seven minutes at a time and delay other waterfront cargoes, a dozen Western Washington legislators warned in a letter released Tuesday.

The lawmakers are urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Whatcom County to probe impacts that the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal would have on the “natural environment” as well as “Washington’s built environment,” including its busy waterfronts.

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