BNSF Appeals Review of Washington Coal Terminal Project
LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — BNSF Railway has appealed an environmental review of a coal-export terminal in Washington state, arguing it miscalculated or overstated the risk of cancer for some residents.
Millennium Bulk Terminal-Longview has long wanted to build a facility along the Columbia River near the city of Longview to handle up to 44 million tons of coal a year. Trains would carry the coal from Montana, Wyoming and other states, which would be loaded onto ships headed to Asia.
The environmental study by the state Department of Ecology and Cowlitz County says diesel particulate emissions from trains serving the terminal would cause "an unavoidable increase" in the cancer risk rate for residents in one neighborhood.
BNSF spokeswoman Courtney Wallace says there are no credible scientific studies suggesting that locomotive diesel emissions increase cancer risks.
The appeal was filed with Cowlitz County.