I believe the people of Whatcom County overwhelmingly do not want the SSA Marine coal shipping terminal with:

Rail cars spreading their dust and causing terrible traffic problems along with infrastructure costs;

Ships discharging their bug-polluted ballast water from China into our herring-spawning beds at Cherry Point and that water flowing into Birch Bay. That will be 500 ships per year at 17 million gallons per ship. I believe it will destroy the herring, our salmon industry and ruin Birch Bay;

Coal dust blowing all over Ferndale, Birch Bay and Blaine. I believe we will have coal filth all over our property and in our houses and lungs.

I believe Whatcom County must establish a coal tax on all coal stored and transferred in the county of $20 per ton. At 24 million tons shipped per year, will be $480 million a year. That will pay for fixing railroad infrastructure problems, fishermen who have lost the salmon catch, workers coming to our houses and cleaning up the coal dust once a week, the doctor and hospital bills after our lungs are destroyed.

If the County Council will not pass this tax, the people must, through the initative process.

Arne Cleveland

Birch Bay