Metro Council is set to weigh in on Portland's great coal debate Thursday, with a resolution calling for more study of coal transport on the council's Sept. 20 agenda.
Councilor Rex Burkholder said he is calling for the resolution to try and give the Portland region leverage as shipping companies consider whether to export coal from West Coast ports.
The resolution calls on the federal government to "conduct a thorough review of the cumulative potential impacts of large scale coal exports on the region’s economy, transportation system, air quality, (and) environment."
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Burkholder said he's particularly concerned about coal trains snarling traffic at rail crossings across the Portland region.
"As there are conflicts between trains and other traffic, the trains always win," Burkholder said. He estimates Metro has authorized distribution of $100 million in transportation funds for upgrades to railroad crossings in his 12 years on the Metro Council.
"At the minimum we should be looking at the cumulative impact of something like 50 at-grade crossings in this region these trains would cross," he said. "In the past, the railroads just say 'Tough nuts. If you want to go across it, the public has to build the crossings.'
"It's an opportunity now to hopefully say, 'Well, hold it, this is going to be an impact, you've got to charge enough of your customers to pay for the improvements,'" Burkholder said. "I don't think we have much leverage after the fact."
Burkholder also said he's concerned about air quality in the Portland region; opponents of coal transport have said the trains would release clouds of coal dust along their routes.
"There are concerns that have been raised by people that I don't know the answer to," he said.
The resolution was briefly discussed at Tuesday's Metro Council work session; councilors generally seemed in support of the resolution.
Burkholder, speaking in an interview before the work session, said the Portland region has no legal authority to require mitigation from the region's railroads before new trains potentially impact commutes. But, he said, this is an opportunity for Metro to start exerting some political pressure in hopes of getting a better deal for the region's commuters.
"I'm just really concerned that you could gum up all the works, and railroads don't have to care," he said. "What would downtown Milwaukie be like if you had 20 to 30 mile-long trains going through every day?"