If approved, the Gateway Pacific Terminal near Bellingham will be the largest coal export terminal in the United States. Right now, the Army Corps of Engineers is trying to decide which environmental impacts to take into account as it considers the permit proposal.

This decision could be a major turning point in the fight against coal exports. If the full range of potential impacts is considered — from supercharged climate change to toxic coal dust pollution and carcinogenic diesel fumes —it will be undeniable that the Gateway Pacific Terminal is a bad deal for Washington.

The Army Corps of Engineers is accepting public comments for the next few days on the scope of its review. Since it is considering a project that has the potential to do so much damage, Washingtonians deserve a review that fully considers all of the disastrous impacts before it is too late.

Deadline Monday: Tell the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the full range of environmental threats posed by the Gateway Pacific Terminal and to reject the project. Submit a public comment now.

The factors the Corps decides to include in its environmental impact statement could end up determining whether or not the Gateway Pacific Terminal is allowed to move forward, so public comments today about the range of threats this project poses are crucial.

If approved, the Gateway Pacific Terminal would be disastrous for Washington. Many of the state’s major population centers, including Seattle, Spokane and Bellingham, would be subjected to clouds of toxic coal dust and dangerous diesel fumes generated by dozens of 1.5-mile-long trains each day.

Ramping up coal exports would also make Washington a major contributor to climate change by making Wyoming and Montana coal cheaply available to growing markets like China, India and South Korea.

Washington has a well-deserved reputation for sustainability and environmental stewardship, but if the Gateway Pacific Terminal moves forward that reputation and much more would be at risk.

The Army Corps of Engineers has a disappointing track record of rubber-stamping environmentally disastrous projects like the Gateway Pacific Terminal, so today we need to generate a flood of public comments the agency can’t ignore.

Deadline Monday: Tell the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the full range of environmental threats posed by the Gateway Pacific Terminal and to reject the project. Submit a public comment now.

Thanks for fighting coal exports in Washington.

Josh Nelson, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets