Coal trains in Richmond Beach - informational meeting in September

Coal train at Richmond Beach
Photo by Bob Rinehart

By Jerry Patterson

If you are not up to date on proposals to bring to bring tons of coal and dust daily to your neighborhood, then dust off your calendars and set aside Tuesday evening, September 11, at 7:30pm. The Richmond Beach Community Association regular meeting will focus on the prospects and impact of proposals for at least four coal export ports in Washington. 

Speakers have been invited to address the coal, hard facts of these proposals, as well as issues related to traffic, environment and health. In addition to panel presentations, time will be allocated for your questions.

To assist you in remaining current on the topic, the following organizations have created links to more detailed information:

• Coal Train Facts.org, a nonprofit WA organization
• Power Past Coal, a West Coast Alliance working to stop coal exports
• BNSF Railways, perspective of CEO Matthew Rose from The Columbian newspaper
• Alliance for Northwest Jobs and Exports

City of Shoreline officials have been invited to serve on the panel at our September 11 meeting. Other communities have been actively following this issue for a long time. In fact, the following Washington communities have already passed resolutions against the coal export proposals: Seattle, Marysville, Stevenson, Vancouver, Edmonds, Camas, Longview, Bellingham, Bainbridge Island, Washougal and Spokane.

The cold, hard question Richmond Beach Community members face is, “Will you have a voice, and will you have a choice in determining how much coal comes through your neighborhood?”

So mark your calendars and invite your neighbors to attend our monthly meeting in the basement of the Richmond Beach Congregational Church at the corner of 15th Avenue NW and Richmond Beach Road. See you there!