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Tuesday 16 OcTOber 2018

West Coast military installations eyed for U.S. fuel exports

By MATTHEW BROWN fuel awaiting shipment.
Associated Press Few such locations can be
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The found on the West Coast,
Trump administration is con- said Joe Aldina, a coal
sidering using West Coast industry analyst with S&P
military installations or other Global Platts Analytics.
federal properties to open U.S. coal exports lately
the way for more U.S. fossil have been growing but
fuel exports to Asia in the are expected to fall over
name of national secu- the long-term, particularly
rity and despite opposition in Europe. Aldina expressed
from coastal states. skepticism that govern-
The proposal was de- ment intervention could
scribed to The Associated make much difference.
Press by Interior Secretary “Like everything else the
Ryan Zinke and two Repub- Trump administration has
lican lawmakers. tried to do, it’s a long shot
“I respect the state of whether some of these
Washington and Oregon things will work, and it’s
and California,” Zinke said questionable whether they
in an interview with AP. will really help the market,”
“But also, it’s in our interest he said. A $680 million proj-
for national security and ect in Longview, Washing-
our allies to make sure that ton, was denied a key per-
they have access to afford- In this February 1997 file photo, hundreds of houses, which over 6,000 military personnel and de- mit last year by state regu-
able energy commodities.” pendents called home, along with schools, warehouses, hangars, and other structures sit empty lators who said it would
Accomplishing that, Zinke on the Adak Naval Air Facility in Alaska. increase greenhouse gas
said, may require the use Associated Press emissions and cause “sig-
of “some of our naval facili- ingness to intervene in mar- serve as potential coal tain states like Montana nificant and unavoidable
ties, some of our federal fa- kets to make that happen. ports or which states they and Wyoming get access harm to the environment.”
cilities on the West Coast.” The administration in recent are in. to Asian markets,” Daines That brought a backlash
He only identified one pros- months has cited national Inslee responded to the said. from elected officials in
pect, a mostly abandoned security as justification for proposal in a statement Jan Hasselman, an attor- coal-producing states.
Alaska military base. keeping domestic coal- that Washington state of- ney for opponents of coal They argue the rejection of
The idea generated a burning power plants on- ficials had been left in the ports in Washington state, the Longview port, spon-
quick backlash Monday line to prevent disruptions dark on any planning by said using federal prop- sored by Utah-based Light-
from some Democrats of electricity supplies. the Trump administration. erty for exports would get house Resources, violated
and environmentalists. It’s Zinke said the administra- Another Democrat, Ore- around some local land the commerce clause in
tantamount to an end-run tion was interested in part- gon Sen. Ron Wyden said use restrictions, but not the the Constitution that says
around West Coast officials nering with private entities the proposal shows the need for state and federal only Congress has the pow-
who have rejected private- in the use of federal fa- Trump administration was clean water permits. er to regulate international
sector efforts to build new cilities designated to help “disregarding the realities Asian exports have been and interstate trade.
coal ports in their states. handle exports and cau- around climate change.” held up as a lifeline for Montana, Wyoming and
Washington Gov. Jay In- tioned that the idea is still in Republican U.S. Sen. Steve struggling U.S. coal miners four other states joined
slee, a Democrat, called its early stages. Daines of Montana said as demand from the do- Lighthouse Resources in a
the proposal a “hare- He specified only one site, Zinke was looking at all mestic power sector has lawsuit challenging the re-
brained idea,” and said for natural gas: the former possibilities for export termi- plummeted and utilities jection of the company’s
President Donald Trump Adak Naval Air Facility in nals, including West Coast switch to cheaper, cleaner Millennium Bulk Terminals
should instead consider Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, military installations. Six pro- fuels. The West Coast of- port, which could handle
that climate change rep- which he suggested could posed coal ports in Wash- fers the most economical up to 48.5 million tons (44
resents a national security receive fuel by barge from ington and Oregon have route because of its rela- million metric tons) of coal
threat. the North Slope. The base been rejected or shelved tive proximity to the largest a year.
Boosting coal and gas ex- closed in 1997 and has due to worries about air coal-producing region in Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyo-
ports would advance the been largely abandoned. and water pollution and the U.S.: the Powder River ming Republican, said
administration’s agenda Roughly 300 people live in rail safety, combined with Basin, which straddles the she’s spoken with Zinke and
to establish U.S. “energy the town of Adak, the west- changing market condi- Montana-Wyoming border. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick
dominance” on the world ernmost community in the tions. Any export site needs ac- Perry about how to break
stage. The potential use of U.S. “As a Montanan, he’s cess to deep waters to ac- through the bottleneck of
government properties for Zinke did not name govern- looking for ways here to commodate large ships port capacity that now
exports underscores a will- ment properties that could help these Rocky Moun- and enough land to store exists.q