Washington state denies key permit for US-Asia coal export terminal - Entrepreneur Generations

"Washington state on Tuesday rejected a key permit needed for a proposed terminal to export coal to Asia, another blow to companies eager to sell Wyoming and Montana coal to Asian markets and to the Trump administration’s policy of global energy dominance," Valerie Volcovici reports for Reuters.

The state Department of Ecology denied Millennium Bulk Terminals the water quality permit because the project would cause environmental harm in nine important areas, ranging from air quality to vessel traffic. The terminal needs more than 20 permits before construction can begin.

"It is the last of six proposed coal terminals in the Pacific Northwest that have been denied approval by state regulators or the Army Corps of Engineers amid opposition from states and the Lummi Tribe, who argued that coal terminals interfered with their fishing rights," Volcovici reports.

The proposed export terminal would be the largest in the United States if approved, and would export up to 44 million tons of coal mined in the Powder River Basin each year. The terminal would give coal mining companies a domestic alternative to exporting coal from the Westshore Terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia. That could be important, since British Columbia has threatened to stop exporting US coal through Canada, following a trade disagreement over softwood exports.

"U.S. coal exports have jumped more than 60 percent this year because of soaring demand from Europe and Asia, according to a Reuters review of government data in the first half of the year," Volcovici reports. "Some analysts say the trend may be temporary, depending on coal price trends in Asia." Approving the terminal would bolster President Trump's goal of turning the US into an "energy dominant" nation by exporting domestically produced energy.




from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2x11KCu Washington state denies key permit for US-Asia coal export terminal - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

Tweet