Leave coal underground

I am a Spokane senior, and I remember growing up in Philadelphia and coughing as a child. We had to shake out our clothes taken from the clothesline in our yard. The soot was that bad.

I thought we in the United States had learned the damage that the mining and burning of coal brings to people and land. I think that the burning of coal anywhere pollutes everywhere. Leave this public resource underground to do no harm. Please!

I am totally against building a terminal to ship coal. Why ship it off to another country? The rotation of the Earth will bring the pollutants back to Spokane, where I live. I need clean air to breathe. We all do.

I think selling and shipping this coal to China or anywhere is only to make money for the Arch Coal Co. I think that Spokane will suffer if more coal is transported through our beautiful city, and I believe that our infrastructure will be stressed.

I encourage all residents who share my concerns to send the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a comment before the Jan. 21 deadline at PowerPastCoal.org.

Ann Donahue

Spokane