A group of regional environmentalists are suing the BNSF railway for dumping coal in our waterways after finding coal in the water near the Ballard Locks and elsewhere in the state, according to a recent KUOW report. A few months ago, KUOW reported on the findings of a Puget Sound diver who found a multitude of black rocks believed to be coal in the water under the railroad next to the locks. Similar coal findings were discovered in the Columbia River.
The Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper and others are alleging the trains are dumping coal, violating the Clean Water Act, and that the coal should be regulated as a point source pollutant, according to KUOW. Charles Tebbutt, one of the lawyers representing the coalition, told KUOW that,“the main issue here is that every train that goes through today, yesterday tomorrow has discharged and will continue to discharge coal and each and every discharge is illegal.”
Earlier this year, a few hundred gathered at Golden Gardens to protest the many coal trains that pass through our neighborhood each day. Mayor Mike McGinn joined the anti-coal cause, forming the Leadership Alliance Against Coal with several other city leaders. “These coal trains threaten the health of our communities, the strength of our economies, and the environmental and cultural heritage we share,” McGinn said at the Earth Day rally at Golden Gardens. “We will stand together to stop the coal trains.”
