Colstrip Montana, Rocked by West Coast Corporations
Originally published as podcast on buzzsprout, you can listen here.
In Colstrip, Montana, a power plant contaminates the town, as the West Coast benefits. Even with locals in ruin, it didn't matter. The Corporations behind the destruction carried on. In one example, a holding pond leaked. It destroyed the water supply of some residents; their wells, unusable (Kasic, Kathy. 2008).
But the carnage didn't end with wells. Families homes suffered. Every day they dealt with a grease like residue, it covered their property. Dust overwhelmed their homes and automobiles. A simple swipe across glass outside yielded darkened finger tips. Their homes, once solid and built to last, compromised. The mines dynamite blasts rocked their city. Water from the power plant saturated their soil. Their home’s foundations, on the brink of collapse.
Due to all the chaos, current and past residents took a stand. They sued. The companies who owned the mine and power plant lost (TOM LUTEY. 2021). Twenty-five million awarded for the damage they caused. Not enough, but it’s politics.
The Irony
The businesses behind the fiasco didn’t have roots in Montana;
Avista, Spokane WA
Oregon Utilities PacificCorp
Portland General Electric
Puget Sound Energy, Western WA
Rosebud Mine owned by Westmoreland Mining LLC, Lone Tree, CO
These organization serve the West Coast, PNW and other locations. Their motto, they believe in fairness and honesty. But in 1997 the trouble with the plant began. Seven years after the lawsuit, they agreed to pay for the damage they created. In another contamination lawsuit, the plant denies all allegations (Kasic, Kathy. 2008).
But, again, they're all about the environment and fairness.
Oregon’s PacificCorp
Oregon's PacificCorp cares about the environment. They lead the way to a sustainable energy future. The defenders of the environment and its habitat. In WA state, the Lewis river’s fish population doesn’t need to worry with PacificCorp at the helm. In Idaho, water quality improved for 3,358 acres of land (Pacificorp. n.d.).
PSE
PSE does what's right. They hold themselves to a strict ethical standard. Each action taken encompasses fairness, decency and honesty (Pudget Sound Energy. n.d.). It’s their code of conduct. It’s what they believe.
Avista
In 2021, for the second time, Avista won the World's Most Ethical Companies award. They provide safe and reliable energy to their customers for healthy communities (Avista Corp. n.d.).
And yet, it’s these same companies who lost the lawsuit for contamination of the environment they declare to protect.
WA State’s Unconstitutional Rule
But it get's better. In 2017, Washington state's Department of Ecology denied an export dock permit for Montana and Wyoming. They blocked their ability to ship coal. Their reason, "the facility on the Columbia River would cause “irreparable and unavoidable” environmental harm."
Yet the facility in Montana where families suffer, not a word.
Conclusion
This isn't about harm to the environment. It's about Woke politics and total control.
The denial by WA state goes against trade protectionism between states, and they knows it. But at the end of the day it doesn't matter (Mead Gruver. 2021). The path forward for the tyrants in charge, destroy red states at all cost. The rule of law, vanished.
From where I sit, this looks more like hit job. Another way for the DNC to erode states which refuse their agendas.
If Montana and other constitutional states wish to keep alive, it's time to seek resources from like minds. The time has come to secede from the socialist loving left. As a house divided is a house that cannot stand (Mark 3:25).
References
Avista Corp. n.d. “Investor Overview | Avista Corporation.” Accessed February 21, 2022. http://investor.avistacorp.com/.
Kasic, Kathy. 2008. “$25 Million Settlement Reached in Colstrip Lawsuit,” May, 2. http://www.westernjusticelaw.com/articles/25_million_settlement.pdf.
Mead Gruver. 2021. “Justices Deny Wyoming, Montana Coal Suit Against Washington State.” The Seattle Times. June 28, 2021. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/supreme-court-denies-wyoming-montana-lawsuit-against-longview-coal-terminal/.
Pacificorp. n.d. “Environment - Innovating Clean Energy.” Pacific Corp. Accessed February 21, 2022. https://www.pacificorp.com/environment.html.
Pudget Sound Energy. n.d. “PSE | Our Ethics and Goals: Do the Right Thing.” pse.com. Accessed February 21, 2022. https://www.pse.com/about-us/our-ethics.
TOM LUTEY. 2021. “Colstrip Residents Sue Power Plant, Coal Mine.” Montana Standard. September 2, 2021. https://mtstandard.com/news/state-and-regional/colstrip-residents-sue-power-plant-coal-mine/article_aa38005b-45ec-509f-a429-19ec525f3d55.html.
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