ROCK AND
A HARD PLACE
Celilo Indian Village, Ore.,
separated from the Columbia
River by only a highway and some
railroad tracks, is one of many
tribal communities that sit in the
path of what could soon become
America’s coal-export superhighway. If government agencies grant
approval to three export terminals proposed for Oregon and
Washington, up to 100 million
metric tons of coal per year could
soon be shuttled in open rail cars
from mines in the Powder River
Basin of Wyoming and Montana,
along the shores of the Columbia
River and the Puget Sound, and
through ranches and reservations
like this one. The coal would then
be loaded onto ships destined for
Asia’s proliferating fleet of coalfired power plants.
Many activists currently fighting
the plan see the impacts of burning
coal on the global climate as their
primary motivation. But for the
Yakama, Lummi and other tribes,
as well as communities in the path
of these shipments, it’s the local effects that worry them most.
There are the potential traffic delays and disturbances to cultural
sites. Then there’s the very real
prospect of toxic coal dust wafting off the passing trains, fouling
HUFFINGTON
02.09.14
the air, poisoning local waterways
and even contaminating key food
resources — such as the salmon on
which many local tribes, including
those living in the tiny Celilo Indian Village, depend.
While the U.S. has seen a stea B