What environmental impacts should a new coal terminal project address?

My column in last week’s Cheney Free Press (“Coal exports: Are they opportunity or curse?) addressed a number reasons for and against constructing the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point, Wash. This week I address issues concerning the scope of the project environmental impact analyses required by federal and state law.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), signed by President Nixon Jan. 1, 1970, requires federal agencies to undertake an environmental impact statement (EIS) prior to taking any action that could significantly impact the environment. The state of Washington...