MONTANA, Sep 21 2012 (Neo Natura) - On an average day, 15 trains pass through Billings, about a third of them going to or from Powder River Basin coal mines.

According to Fran Marceau, Montana AFL-CIO District 1, Bigfork, "It’s about double that in Missoula, where the crossing on Madison Avenue is near the rail yard and trains come in very slowly, said Lynda Frost, spokeswoman and assistant to the president of Montana Rail Link."

The company says its goal is to block crossing for no more than 10 minutes at a time.

Nothing stirs debate about increased numbers of trains as much as the prospect of more traffic tie-ups at major crossings like 27th Street in Billings.

“I’ve been knocking on doors on the South Side and talking to people about this very issue,” said Rep. Robyn Driscoll, a Democrat who is campaigning to retain her seat in House District 51. “They don’t want any increase at all. The issue of access is huge, and it’s been going on forever.”

Complaints about rail traffic probably started piling up soon after tracks were laid in 1882. The railroad that built the city and keeps it humming even today also serves as a dividing line.

Proposals for six new export terminals in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia were advanced that would load ships headed for Asia. Montana, with some of the largest coal reserves in the world, wants to be a player in that market. 

One potential contender, Grays Harbor at Hoquiam, Wash., dropped its plans in August.

No U.S. Pacific Coast ports ship coal now. Coal is exported through three Canadian facilities.

If it can get all necessary approvals, Gateway Pacific Terminal could export between 25 million and 54 million metric tons of coal each year, making it the largest coal port on the Pacific coast. (A metric ton equals 1,000 kilograms, or about 2,204 pounds.) Millennium Bulk Terminal could handle 25 million metric tons in its first phase and a total of 44 million tons, if a second phase is completed.

Before anything can happen, there are major hurdles to overcome, including permits from local, state and federal agencies.

Most daunting is gaining authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The process includes an environmental impact statement.

That’s where the current coal train controversy arises. To get coal to the terminals from the Powder River Basin, coal trains will travel more than 1,000 miles through hundred of communities scattered in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.

Many of them — more the farther west you go — want the Corps of Engineers to extend the EIS to study effects not just at the ports, but the impacts of increasing train traffic all the way back to the mines.

 Congestion is not caused by coal. When the economy improves there will be an increased number of trains carrying lumber, grain and automobiles which could all add to congestion. Railroads should be approached about constructing overpasses and underpasses and other means to eliminate congestion that may be caused by projected traffic increases.

The railroad right-of-way stands between Montana and Minnesota avenues in downtown Billings. Each train clogs vehicle traffic on North 27th, 28th and 29th streets for an average of 4 minutes, 34 seconds.

“Those terminals are going to be key to the Montana coal industry,” said Todd O’Hair, senior manager for government affairs at Cloud Peak. “It’s a small window of opportunity. It’s been 30 years since we’ve had this kind of opportunity to increase coal production.”

Whether Montana can grab a larger piece of the action depends on construction of new terminals. No one expects all six to be built. Just two are in the initial stages of pursuing permits — Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point near Bellingham, Wash., and Millennium Bulk Terminal at Longview, Wash.

Office of Surface mining honors mine land reclamation

MONTANA, Sep 21 2012 (Neo Natura) - The Montana Land Board leased 12 million tons of state-owned coal to a mine near Roundup on Sept. 17th in lieu of concerns about its worker safety record and potential environmental impacts.

The five-member land board voted unanimously to accept a $3.6 million upfront bid for the coal from Signal Peak Energy. The owner of the Bull Mountain Mine offered the sole bid on the 640-acre tract.

State officials estimated the 10-year lease will bring Montana more than $15 million in royalties and other revenues.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement announced Sept. 20 that it will honor state reclamation programs in Montana this year for outstanding examples of protecting people and the environment while reclaiming abandoned mine lands.

Each year, OSM recognizes states that achieve the most effective results while reclaiming mine lands abandoned before federal oversight of coal mining began in 1977.  Montana received the 2012 Western Regional Award for the Spring Meadow Lake Abandoned Mine Reclamation Project in Helena, Lewis and Clark County counties.

Union representatives unsuccessfully sought provisions in the lease to protect worker safety, pointing to hundreds of citations and violations issued to the 300-employee mine by federal inspectors over the past several years.

The request from Robert Guilfoyle from the United Mine Workers would have allowed the state to cancel the coal lease with Signal Peak for any willful violation of worker safety laws.

Board member and state Securities and Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen said she was "very disturbed" by the mine's safety record. But she voted in favor of the lease sale after Signal Peak President John DeMichiei offered reassurances that the mine has been increasing worker safety training.

The Land board is chaired by Gov. Brian Schweitzer and includes Attorney General Steve Bullock and other statewide elected officials.

DeMichiei acknowledged past safety problems, which he attributed in part to worker inexperience, but said that conditions have improved and the rate of violations has fallen.

The Bull Mountain Mine was placed on notice by the U.S. Department of Labor two years ago that it faced potentially severe sanctions after racking up dozens of serious safety violations in its first two years of operation. Agency records show improvement at the mine and it has since been taken off the sanctions watch list, although it continues to be cited for violations.

"There's no mine, surface mine as well as underground, that has a zero violation history," DeMichiei told the land board Monday.

Local officials from Roundup and Musselshell County spoke in favor of the lease sale and said the mine has brought in millions of dollars in tax revenue.

Yet, conservation groups said Signal Peak's bid was too low for what the coal is really worth, and warned that burning the fuel could contribute to climate change.

The state did not appraise the coal before deciding if Signal Peak's bid met the legal requirement of fair market value.

Instead, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation relied on a comparison with another lease sale to Signal Peak by the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Musselshell County rancher and mine neighbor Steve Charter said the BLM has refused to disclose how it came up with its value for the coal. And Charter pointed out that Signal Peak faced no competition in the state or federal lease sales.

"A competitive bid in the middle of an existing mine is a joke," Charter said. "It's setting a very bad precedent for all future coal leases."

DeMichiei said the coal reserves included in the state lease sale will allow Bull Mountain to continue mining through 2023.

The DNRC said the $3.6 million upfront bid equals about 30 cents per ton of recoverable reserves. The lease also would require a royalty payment of 10 percent of the gross value of coal mined.

MONTANA, Jul 16 2012 (Neo Natura) - Biofuel sources currently under development include algae, jatropha and camelina. Of the three, camelina is increasingly emerging as the frontrunner in attracting initial investment worldwide, as global demand for aviation fuel for passenger flights is now more than 40 billion gallons annually.

Camelina has a number of advantages over its competitors, including using far less water, thus allowing it to be grown on marginal land, thereby not taking food acreage out of production. Furthermore camelina has a relatively short growing season of 80 to 100 days, requires no special equipment to harvest, and the silage remaining after processing can be fed to livestock and poultry, with the added side benefit of increasing their omega-3 production.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given camelina production a major shot in the arm by selecting 40 counties in Montana for a pilot program of federally backed camelina crop insurance in 2011. The counties covered are Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Fergus, Garfield, Glacier, Golden Valley, Hill, Judith Basin, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, McCone, Meagher, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Toole, Treasure, Valley, Wheatland, Wibaux and Yellowstone.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has long championed camelina as an ideal Montana green energy crop, commenting: "It's been my goal to help make Montana a leader in renewable energy. Through camelina our state has the potential to create jobs, reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and decrease carbon emissions."

Camelina is currently being grown in nine U.S. states plus four Canadian provinces. Montana's production now tops 80,000 acres, while trials are going on in 12 additional states and 37 more are considering production. The USDA program, to be overseen by the department’s Risk Management Agency, will undoubtedly lead to a surge in Montana-based camelina production, as its politicians have long been in the forefront of promoting the plant.

Montana Democrat Senator Jon Tester got camelina insurance included in the 2007 farm bill with his Biofuel Crop Insurance Pilot Program initiative, which he inserted into the most recent Farm Bill, because he knew the crop wouldn’t blossom in Montana unless it had the federal safety net of crop insurance. According the USDA’s announcement the insurance will be available for the 2012 crop year. Following the USDA statement Tester said, “There’s got to be a safety net. You don’t go into new crops unless you’re independently wealthy or you have a safety net. Most farmers aren’t independently wealthy.

The deadline for purchasing the insurance was 1 February 2012. Only spring-planted camelina grown under contract with a processor will be eligible for coverage against damage from adverse weather, fire, wildlife, earthquake, volcanic eruption and insect and plant disease. The insurance will not provide compensation for any losses attributed to insufficient or improper application of pest or disease control measures.

Great Plains Oil and Exploration-The Camelina Co. President Sam Huttenbauer said, “This is a critical step toward camelina becoming a major U.S. biofuel crop and a huge help for the farmers of Montana and North Dakota. We greatly appreciate the assistance of the senators in Montana, in particular Jon Tester who paved the way for this crop with his work to get this program into the farm bill.”

National Farmers Union President Tom Buis added, "Renewable energy production is one of the most exciting opportunities in our rural communities. I commend Senator Tester's foresight in introducing this legislation. Public policy can and should encourage innovation and diversification of both our food and fuel supplies."

Among the customers lining up for camelina JP-8 aviation fuel will be the U.S. armed forces, which have spent the last two years extensively testing camelina’s suitability, with the U.S. Air Force earlier this certifying camelina biofuel for use in its fleet of Globemaster transport aircraft.

Bullhook Innovation Group, a subsidiary of MCAI Group, says on its website that MCAI signed a long-term licensing agreement with Northern and the Bio-Energy Lab in November to implement the knowledge Northern has gained in biofuel production.

“(Bullhook Innovation Group) will conduct primary operations in Havre … where we will begin building a biofuel production facility in the second quarter of 2011 as part of our agreement with MSUN, ” the group’s webpage says.

Another subsidiary of the MCAI Group — which describes itself on its website as partnering with academic institutions to use knowledge to improve delivery of products and services in a variety of fields — also is involved with the Havre project. That is Synergist Capital Group, the funding arm of MCAI Group.