Coal dust problem results in lawsuit

Published on January 7th, 2010

By SEWARD PHOENIX LOG STAFF

Trustees for Alaska and the Alaska Chapter of the Sierra Club are headed to court in hopes of remedying Seward's coal dust and water pollution problem.

The two environmental groups filed a lawsuit Dec. 28 to urge Alaska Railroad and Aurora Energy Services to clean up their export facility, situated close to Resurrection Bay.

According to Alaska Community Action on Toxics and the Sierra Club, improper containment of equipment at the facility has resulted in coal debris falling off the conveyor system and into Resurrection Bay. Coal dust also purportedly blows off coal stockpiles into the bay, covering charter boats and nearby neighborhoods in the process.

Residents, charter owners and harbor area businesses have complained about coal dust for the past two years, according to Seward environmentalist Russ Maddox. The dust, he said, coats boat and car windshields and clogs the air. Coal fragments also fall off the conveyor belt and are swept out to Resurrection Bay, he said.

"The coal dust is a public health concern," said Pam Miller, executive director of Alaska

Community Action on Toxics. "Children, people with chronic illnesses, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable."

The Alaska Railroad purchased the coal loading facility in 2003 from Hyundai Merchant Marine and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, with a goal to increase shipping efficiency and thereby giving Alaska a boost in the world coal market.

It took over the operating agreement from Hyundai in January 2007.

Coal is typically loaded onto ships at the Seward facility for export to Asia and Chile.

One of the main problems with the current loading facility, according to ARRC documents, is that coal ships can hold up to 90,000 tons while and the average coal train holds only about 7,500 tons. That comes out to nine to 12 trains, or about a month of trips to and from Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy, to fill a ship.

In the meantime, a coal pile reaching upward to 90,000 tons waits at the edge of town for shipment.

According to Maddox, the dust is dependent upon the weather, and while Seward doesn't have many dry and windy days, when it does, the dust blows off the coal and impedes air quality.

"In all fairness, the root of the problem is site selection. It's smack in the middle of the town," he said.

ARRC has spent approximately $1.25 million in improvements since acquiring the loading facility, including wheel-mounted spray bars and directional chutes to cut down on coat dust.

Sierra Club and Alaska Community Action on Toxics claim that Alaska Railroad and Aurora Energy Services have failed to take meaningful steps toward fixing the coal dust problem at the Seward facility.

The lawsuit seeks to bring the ARRC and Aurora Energy into compliance with appropriate Clean Water Act requirements, said Austin Williams, attorney at Trustees for Alaska.

"It is unfortunate that local concerns over coal pollution from the Seward facility have gone ignored for so long," he said.

A call for comment to Aurora Energy was referred to the ARRC. Alaska Railroad vice president of corporate affairs Wendy Lindskoog said that although the suit had been filed over a week ago, the railroad and Aurora had yet to have been served.

"The facility is better than it ever has been," she said. "In the three years that we have controlled the property, the Alaska Railroad and Aurora Energy Services have made extensive capital and operational improvements."

According to Lindskoog, ARRC delivered a letter to Trustees for Alaska on Dec. 28 outlining improvements that have been made and meeting dates in January.

"We are still willing to have that meeting but given the suit being filed, there are other timelines that now come into play," she said.