Lummi Nation Opposes Coal Terminal

Wash. Tribe Comes Out Against Coal Export Terminal
Sept. 20, 2012 | KUOW

(copy,fix.paste link)
http:// earthfix.opb.org/energy/article/ wash-tribe-comes-out-against-coal-export-terminal/ 

Thanks John, channeling Tip. Still no coverage yet in other news outlets.

It was a moving ceremony by the Lummi Nation Elders.  They spoke sincerely from their hearts about the value of the land at Cherry Point and the water of The Salish Sea.  They spoke about the value of Salmon and materials gathered at this former village site.  Their ancestors are connected to this land and they consider it to be sacred land to be preserved to the seventh generation. 

The Bellingham Herald was present and others, some with video.

I accepted the water and salmon meal offered as confirmation of witnessing their statement.  I am deeply impressed by the clarity of their statement, their conviction, and their request that we all work together for the benefit of the seventh generation.

The current members of the Lummi Nation are forgoing very significant potential financial gain for the benefit of future generations.

The NEPA EIS scoping notice was published in the Federal Register today.  The 120 Day scoping period begins on Monday, September 24th.  Detailed requests for a broad scoping of significant potential impacts will establish a defensible record for the best possible decision by County Council, Department of Ecology, US Corp of Engineers and Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Dave Gallagher did a great job of reporting for the Herald and even got the best picture of the check burning.  Nice job, Dave.

He also has a link to the coal terminal’s official response. It goes to a word.doc for some reason, so I haven’t read it, though Gallagher uses excerpts in his piece.

Here’s the coal port spin:

September 21, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SSA Marine issues statement on Lummi relationship

For more information:
Bob Watters
Senior Vice President
SSA Marine
(206) 654-3575

Seattle, WA –
SSA Marine Senior Vice President Bob Watters issued the following statement today:

“SSA Marine takes its relationship with Lummi very seriously.  Over the last year we have worked with Lummi representatives to understand their concerns and needs and make sure the project both respects and meets those concerns and needs. These are serious issues that should be approached in a serious way. 

“It is also important to keep in mind that the Gateway Pacific Terminal will meet all of Washington’s stringent environmental standards and will be an excellent source of family-wage jobs for all of Whatcom County, including Lummi members.

“We understand how important their cultural values are to Lummi.  The Lummi have communicated to us the particular importance of Xwe’ chi’ eXen and of having their ancestors rest in peace.  We respect those values and will work with Lummi to realize them.

“In order to accomplish this we will take special precautions to protect cultural resources on the GPT property, including restricting public access, while ensuring long-term access for Lummi members to cultural resources for ceremonial purposes.  We will work with the Lummi Sche’langen Department and Tribal Historical Preservation Office to implement appropriate design and construction protocols and agreements that would be guided by the Traditional Cultural Properties assessment, and to implement our Inadvertent Discovery Plan during Terminal construction and operations.  In addition, we are prepared to help the Lummi Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office continue its work to repatriate ancestral remains and catalogue and preserve artifacts that were removed from the site by archeologists in decades past. 

“The Lummi Team and Lummi fishers have also made it very clear to us how central fishing is to the Tribe, both economically and culturally.  We are committed to addressing Lummi concerns in detail.  Our approach will be first to avoid impacts, then to minimize unavoidable impacts, and finally, to mitigate and positively address what remaining impacts there may be in a mutually satisfactory way.  In fact, we are now conducting a study, designed with input from the Lummi Team, of the effects of added vessel traffic calling at GPT.  As recently as this week, the project’s technical team doing the study met with the Lummi Team and Lummi fishers to fully understand concerns over potential impacts.

“I want to underscore that as the Gateway project moves forward in the permitting process, SSA Marine and the Gateway project will work with Lummi to address all issues and concerns.”

The Lummis showed ommonsense in facing down the threat to ALL things “Bellingham” 
Please peruse the following web site for deeper details of the looming catastrophy to our environs and the world if this coal port calamity is allowed.
+ Link

It has irked me for many years now.  The difference between the “groovy” and the actual class struggle.  I see a huge wedge being driven between the working class as represented by organized labor and the environmental community, be they organized or not, that tries to define issues such as the proposed Gateway Pacific Export Terminal as an us versus them issue.  My issue with the Bellingham Food Coop, although I’ve had one for their not being unionized for many years, comes down to a question of solidarity.
As we both know, when mother earth dies, we all do.  And we also both know, solutions are present and available.
BUT!!!  We must play whatever longshot we have and strive for the keeping alive the potential solidarity we have left to us.
I am urging that we help get the Bellingham Food Cooperative organized into the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.  And then continue on with getting others organized as well.
For me, quite honestly, this is an ideological approach.  But there I am.  We, as the “groovy” community, and as DEAD SERIOUS environmentalists need to show our readiness to be in solidarity with organized labor.  For apart we will perish at the hands of the REAL ENEMIES, the corporate fascists who would rather us continue to be mindless sheep on the way to slaughter.