© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

Port expansions for coal exports draw criticism from Northwestern US communities

Robert Nickelsberg
/
Getty Images

Meetings about proposals to expand ports for coal exports going to Asia drew strong criticism from residents in the northwestern U.S., mostly environmental concerns. Wyoming wants to increase its exports of coal to markets like Europe and Asia and needs more port capacity in order to do that.

Director of the Wyoming Mining Association, Marion Loomis, says the hearings are part of the process and shouldn't delay the ports’ opening.

“The permitting process takes the time that it takes. There’s a lot of comments and we heard about the protests but those don’t necessarily slow the permitting process down. If they get to the point where they’re ready to issue the permits and then they get tied  up in litigation that could certainly slow the development of the ports down, but it just takes a certain amount of time to get those permits.”  

Coal producers in the state have given tours to leaders from the Northwest to show off Wyoming coal mines and have joined a group, called Northwest Alliance for Jobs, to educate people about the industry and to highlight what exports could contribute to local economies.   

Irina Zhorov is a reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. She earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Wyoming. In between, she worked as a photographer and writer for Philadelphia-area and national publications. Her professional interests revolve around environmental and energy reporting and she's reported on mining issues from Wyoming, Mexico, and Bolivia. She's been supported by the Dick and Lynn Cheney Grant for International Study, the Eleanor K. Kambouris Grant, and the Social Justice Research Center Research Grant for her work on Bolivian mining and Uzbek alpinism. Her work has appeared on Voice of America, National Native News, and in Indian Country Today, among other publications.