Montana News

Montana coal protesters rally in Helena en route to Spokane

Posted: Dec 4, 2012 12:16 PM by Melissa Anderson - MTN News

HELENA - About 50 coal protesters from across Montana boarded a bus in Billings headed for Spokane early Tuesday morning, and when the bus stopped in Helena to pick up more riders, the protesters held a brief rally in front of the Capitol. They are part of a group called "Power Past Coal Montana."

The group is part of a larger "Power Past Coal" organization that operates in Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

They plan to attend a public hearing in Spokane on Tuesday evening regarding environmental impacts for proposed coal exports to China.

They say since the Army Corps of Engineers didn't include Montana in the coal export hearings, they will take their concerns directly to them.

Ed Gulick of Billings said, "Basic math suggests that an additional 50 to 60 trains per day would go through Billings with gates down 8 to 10 hours a day or maybe even more. How much exactly, I don't know, we need an EIS (environmental impact survey) in Montana."

Kate French of Helena said, "And we deserve to have our concerns heard and we deserve to be part of the decision making process."

The bus was chartered by the Northern Plains Resource Council, a Montana conservation and family agriculture group.

In a press release, Count On Coal Montana spokesman Chuck Denowh said: "Montana has such a tremendous potential to benefit from increasing coal development in our state...But if we can't ship coal, we're not going to develop those valuable resources."

Denowh added, "These out-of-state environmental groups place a higher priority on their environmental agenda than they do on Montana's struggling economy and the thousands in our state who are out of work. They don't care about creating jobs or providing new funding for education."

In a press release, Count On Coal Montana spokesman Chuck Denowh said: "Montana has such a tremendous potential to benefit from increasing coal development in our state...But if we can't ship coal, we're not going to develop those valuable resources."

Denowh added, "These out-of-state environmental groups place a higher priority on their environmental agenda than they do on Montana's struggling economy and the thousands in our state who are out of work. They don't care about creating jobs or providing new funding for education."