Wall Street Giant Backs Away From Washington Coal Export Project
Oregon Public Broadcasting, Jan 7 2014
A multinational banking giant is backing away from a proposal to build the West Coast’s biggest coal export project near Bellingham, Washington.
Washington coal export project dumped by Goldman Sachs
John Upton, Grist, Jan 8 2013
Goldman Sachs is looking a tad less evil. It has dumped its holdings in a shaky project that would build the Gateway Pacific Terminal near Bellingham, Wash., intended to be the West Coast’s biggest coal export terminal.
Coal tenures on hold in the Klappan a positive first step
News Release, Ministry of Energy and Mines, December 16 2013
VICTORIA - In keeping with its commitment to work collaboratively with the Tahltan Nation towards a shared vision for land use in the Klappan area of Tahltan territory, government today announced a temporary deferral on any new coal tenures in the Klappan.
Massey tunnel replacement key to Canada's economy, VBOT president says
Jen St. Denis, Business in Vancouver, Oct 1, 2013
But critics say removing the tunnel is the first step in turning the Fraser River into a highly industrialized waterway
Mining company steps back from Sacred Headwaters standoff
Damien Gillis, CommonSenseCanadian.ca, Sep 23 2013
Fortune Minerals announced Monday it will voluntarily stand down from an escalating conflict with the local Tahltan First Nation. The Common Sense Canadian has been reporting on the standoff over a proposed mine in northwest BC’s Sacred Headwaters region since it began in August, when First Nations elders issued the company an eviction notice, demanding it cease exploratory drilling.
Coal mining protest in B.C. set to erupt
Margo Harper, Globe and Mail, Sep. 20 2013
An increasingly tense standoff between a B.C. First Nation and a London, Ont.-based coal company in a remote mountain valley known as Sacred Headwaters is set to erupt as protesters flaunt their month-long presence on a drilling site and taunt the RCMP to arrest them.
B.C. First Nation renews fight against mining
By Kim Nursall, The Canadian Press, August 16 2013
VANCOUVER – Dozens of First Nations protesters are blockading a proposed open-pit coal mine in a remote area of northwest B.C.
Elders threaten blockade against coal mine in Sacred Headwaters
Anita McPhee, NationTalk.ca, August 16 2013
DEASE LAKE, BC, Aug. 15, 2013 - The Tahltan Central Council acknowledges the frustrations felt by Tahltan people that lead to more than 30 Tahltan Elders and community members to serve a “24 hour eviction notice” to Fortune Minerals on Wednesday night in our territory in northwest B.C.
Washington approach to coal superior
Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun, Associated Press, August 2, 2013
State more likely to consult public and consider impacts
A two-year statewide environmental study on exporting millions of tons of coal through a terminal north of Seattle contrasts sharply with what's being done in B.C. as the province debates increased coal exports, according to provincial environment groups.
India eyes B.C.’s coal reserves as it ramps up steel production
Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, July 28, 2013
Delegation meets with B.C.’s premier, new international trade minister
India wants to buy a bigger chunk of B.C.’s vast metallurgical coal reserves to feed its growing steel industry, a potential boost to the province’s No. 1 export business, worth $5.7 billion a year.
Metro votes to oppose new coal terminal on Fraser River
Jeff Nagel, Surrey North Delta Leader, June 14, 2013
BNSF Railways, Coal Shippers Sued in Federal Court for Water Contamination Violations
Press Release, Sierra Club, June 5 2013
SEATTLE-- Today, the Sierra Club and its partners filed suit against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and several coal companies for violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge sent a 60 day notice in April after collecting evidence demonstrating the companies’ responsibility for emitting coal into waterways in several locations across Washington. Spokane Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently sent a notice letter for these violations as well.
B.C.'s coal industry expansion plans face opposition
CBC News, March 12, 2013
Port Metro Vancouver has approved the expansion of a coal facility in North Vancouver and is looking for a new facility to be built in Surrey, but the plans are generating opposition from regional mayors, environmentalists and residents.
Europe consuming more coal
Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post, February 7 2013
JAENSCHWALDE, Germany — Green-friendly Europe has a dirty secret: It is burning a lot more coal.
Exporting carbon: Canada's new asbestos?
Briony Penn, Focus, February 2013
Climate policy experts are speaking out against various schemes to export more carbon from BC’s coastal ports.
Truck driver John Snyder retired to bucolic Fanny Bay to live the life, only to wake up one morning three years ago to find a notice on his doorstep—an invitation to an information session on the Raven Coal Mine, proposed five kilometres upstream of his home.
Health advocates continue fight for more study of expanded coal port
Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, January 30, 2013
Critics want to know effects of increased diesel exhaust and coal dust from trains
Health leaders will continue to press Port Metro to conduct wider health-impact assessments of diesel exhaust and coal dust in the Lower Mainland after the go-ahead was given to an expanded coal terminal in North Vancouver.
China is burning coal at an insane rate
Fritz Els, MiningNewsDigest.com, January 29 2013
Chinese financial website Finet quotes Phil Ren, chief of the China Coal Importers Association, as saying at an industry conference in Singapore, China's coal imports may reach 400 million – 500 million tonnes within three years.
Governor Inslee Calls Coal Exports ‘The Largest Decision We Will Be Making As A State From A Carbon Pollution Standpoint’
Jessica Goad, ThinkProgress.com, Jan 22 2013
Newly-minted Washington Governor Jay Inslee has been lauded for his impassioned views on environmental issues from climate change to renewable energy. Indeed, his first official act as governor was to write a letter to a clean energy company inviting it to relocate to the state.
Is it time to put the brakes on runaway coal development?
Mark Hume, Globe and Mail, Dec 23 2012
The coal industry is booming in British Columbia, with a dozen new mines proposed around the province and the port of Metro Vancouver making expansive plans to become the biggest coal-exporting facility in North America.
Cline Mining misses $2.5M bond payment
Barry Critchley, National Poist, Dec 18, 2012
It’s never good news when a company announces it can’t make a scheduled semi-annual interest payment, and it’s particularly bad news given what such a decision implies for the affected bondholders as they try and reclaim some value.
The demise of coal-fired power plants
By Steven Mufson, Washington Post, November 23 2012
In SALEM, Mass. — Peter Furniss, the fair-haired chief executive of Footprint Power, gives a tour of the aging coal and oil plant that towers over sailboats in this historic harbor.
Coal Communities at the Pivot of Dirty Industries and Clean Energy
Michelle Chen, In These Times, November 19 2012
To environmentalists, King Coal is headed for ruin, and the country’s old, dirty coal-powered plants symbolize the industry’s last dying gasps. But in an uncertain economy, coal is the only thing many working-class communities can cling to for stability.
B.C. coal mine advertised jobs in China at 'considerably' lower pay: union
Dene Moore, Canadian Press, Vancouver Sun, November 16, 2012
VANCOUVER - A mining company that has hired hundreds of temporary workers from China for its northern B.C. coal mine advertised those jobs in Canada for $10 to $17 less than what is paid for similar work at a nearby mine, a lawyer representing two unions told a federal court judge on Friday.
Revised thermal-coal mine back on table in B.C.
Wendy Stueck, Globe and Mail, Nov. 06 2012
VANCOUVER — A coal project shelved after B.C. introduced legislation that effectively nixed coal-fired electricity plants is back on the front burner, this time as a mine-only operation that does not include an electricity component.
