Oregon Gov.

wants an extensive federal government review of exporting coal to Asia through Northwest ports, saying coal export could clog barge and train routes, increase diesel and coal dust pollution and boost amounts of toxic mercury drifting back to Oregon when Asian countries burn coal.

Kitzhaber, a Democrat with strong ties to environmental groups that oppose coal export, requested the comprehensive review in a letter Wednesday to the

and the

today. He also called for the review in a broader speech on "clean energy" today before the

in Portland.

Kitzhaber didn't take a stand for or against exporting coal, which supporters say would increase rural jobs and tax revenues.

Instead,

asked the federal government to address how increasing exports to Asia will "fit with the larger strategy of moving to a lower carbon future."

“We’re rushing to this huge infrastructure investment without a full national discussion,” Kitzhaber said after the speech. “I think we deserve to have a full debate on this.”

Many industry analysts say Asian countries will simply buy coal from elsewhere if the United States stifles exports; others argue that a U.S. export binge will tamp down international prices, making it easier for Asia to rely on coal to generate electricity instead of cleaner sources.

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Kitzhaber said ramping up U.S. exports could mean "locking ourselves into a coal-dependent future for Asia."

Renewable energy and energy conservation projects can generate far more jobs for the Northwest, he said.

Six potential coal export projects in Oregon and Washington could ship roughly 157 million tons of coal from Montana and Wyoming's Powder River Basin a year, more than double current U.S. exports.

The projects could require as many as 63 coal trains a day, traveling through "choke points" along the way, the governor said, and boost Columbia River ship traffic by 70 percent. British Columbia has coal export terminals, but there are none on the U.S. West Coast now.

BLM reviews federal leases of coal mines in the Powder River Basin. The Corps is reviewing several requests for Oregon and Washington port permits.

The projects include an

project that would ship 8.8 million tons of coal a year to the

by train, then transfer it to barges for loading onto ocean-going ships at the

' Port Westward industrial site on the Columbia River.

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also wants a train-fed coal export terminal at Port Westward, and the

is negotiating with an unidentified company for coal export.

The export push comes as the lone coal-burning power plants in Oregon and Washington have agreed to shut down in coming years after pressure from environmentalists. The campaign to close the plants focused on coal burning's high pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

In technical terms, Kitzhaber wants the federal government to prepare a "programmatic environmental impact statement" that would review the impact of all the coal export projects taken together.

That EIS should include the potential for mercury contamination on the West Coast from coal burning in Asia, the governor said, noting that more than 80 percent of the Columbia River Basin's mercury contamination is blown in from global sources.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire did not sign on to the letter. A Gregoire spokeswoman said the governor has asked the Washington Department of Ecology to study the proper scope of environmental review, and hasn’t been briefed by the department yet.

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency also c

, but stopped short of recommending a programmatic EIS.

Environmental groups want Oregon agencies to do their own broad review or suspend state permit approvals until the federal government does.

But Richard Whitman, Kitzhaber’s natural resources policy director, said Oregon regulations require a more narrow, “standards-based” review of potential projects. “It’s not something that a local government or even a state government can really address very well,” he said.

Environmental and citizens groups also want Kitzhaber to demand more scrutiny of proposals to export liquefied natural gas from Oregon.

Kitzhaber said today the state doesn’t have the same leverage to request a broad review from the federal government when it comes to natural gas. Natural gas exports could raise prices for domestic consumers, he said, but added that it’s a cleaner fuel than coal for a transition toward renewable energy.

Oregon regulations require a more narrow review of potential projects, said Richard Whitman, Kitzhaber's natural resources policy director. "It's not something that a local government or even a state government can really address very well," he said.

The Corps has said it's still reviewing comments on the Port of Morrow project, at this point the farthest along in the permit pipeline, and has yet to decide on the scope of its environmental and health review.

BLM rejected an earlier request from Oregon for a review of the impacts of West Coast coal export, saying the proposals were "too indefinite."

"That lack of certainty has now changed," Kitzhaber wrote.

"Now is the time for a programmatic EIS," his letter says, "before substantial and irreversible commitments of resources are made to this path."

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