Note from Commissioner of Public Lands on coal trains
Thank you for writing to me with your recent message “Stand with the Lummi Nation against Coal Exports.”
Coal terminal proposals must clear several regulatory processes before they would come to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a decision regarding whether we provide the proponents with a lease over state-owned aquatic lands. I am legally prohibited from making a decision regarding whether we grant or deny these leases until the proposals reach my desk along with all of the pertinent information provided by the regulatory processes.
If and when that occurs, I will solicit public input and carefully consider my decision in light of DNR’s responsibility to provide scientifically sound stewardship of our state’s aquatic lands.
To speak generally of my principles as a public servant, I am committed to directly and seriously confronting the threat presented by climate change. We cannot ignore the scientific community’s dire forecasts of continued global warming, catastrophic wildfires, ocean acidification, rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions, and irreplaceable loss of biodiversity. In light of this threat, I take into account the reality of climate change before making any major public policy decision.
I am also seriously concerned about the threat to public safety and the environment presented by the exponential increase in the traffic of oil by rail in Washington state. If you are interested in learning more about that subject, please read the editorial I recently co-authored with ten tribal chairs from around Washington: http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2025059962_goldmarkopedrail20xml.html
I will have my staff follow-up with pertinent updates on fossil fuel transportation issues as they develop; if you would not like to receive those updates, please respond to this message and let us know.
Thank you for sharing your concerns about this important issue with my office.
Sincerely,
Peter Goldmark
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