Keystone Coal Terminal

The Keystone Coal Terminal at the Port of Jacksonville, Florida is currently planned for development by the Keystone Coal Company, a unit of Keystone Industries LLC. The terminal is slated to be built on the former site of the Jefferson Smurfit paperboard plant on Wigmore Street at the northern end of Talleyrand Avenue, Jacksonville. It has been reported that the terminal may handle up to 3 million tonnes per annum.

The terminal is slated to open in 2011, and could open markets in the southeastern and midwestern U.S. to Colombian coal. Use of Keystone Coal Co.’s $20 million terminal is expected to create access to imported coal that is 10 to 20 percent cheaper than domestic coal. Because rates for rail transport of U.S. coal continue to increase, the cost of getting the Colombian product to buyers would be significantly less, possibly as little as $4.50 per metric ton, versus $40 per metric ton for domestic coal. Keystone owner Tom Scholl suggested that despite calls for more environmentally forms of energy, the lower cost of Colombian coal would ensure its continued use for electrical generation.

The Jacksonville Business Journal reports that the owner of the Keystone Coal Company, Tom Scholl, "owns a mine in West Virginia and mining rights in Colombia".

The project is proposed to include a rail loop which connects to the existing Norfolk Southern Corporation line, which runs to a CSX line and Florida East Coast Railway, a short-line running from Jacksonville to Miami.

In June 2009 Jacksonville.com reported that the city council had granted a "conditional capacity availability statement" to Keystone Industries LLC for the construction of the terminal. "According to the concurrency application, the $100 million project is scheduled to be completed in three phases ending in 2014, 2019 and 2024, respectively. As well, the application states that the coal facility is expected to bring 620 jobs to the area," Jacksonville.com reported.

Sightline Institute reports "track record of pollution, lawbreaking, and cover-ups" at Kinder Morgan facilities
An April 2012 report by the environmental think tank Sightline Institute, "The Facts about Kinder Morgan,", lists a series of legal violations and pollution incidents at various Kinder Morgan terminals. The report includes the following:


 * "In Louisiana, Kinder Morgan’s coal export facilities are so dirty that satellite photos clearly show coal dust pollution spewing into the Mississippi River."
 * "In South Carolina, coal dust from Kinder Morgan’s terminal contaminates oysters, pilings, and boats. Locals have even caught the company on video washing coal directly into sensitive waterways."
 * "In Virginia, Kinder Morgan’s coal export terminal is an open sore on the neighborhood, coating nearby homes in dust so frequently that even the mayor is speaking out about the problem."
 * "In Portland, Kinder Morgan officials bribed a ship captain to illegally dump contaminated material at sea, and their operations have repeatedly polluted the Willamette River."
 * "Kinder Morgan has been fined by the US government for stealing coal from customer’s stockpiles, lying to air pollution regulators, illegally mixing hazardous waste into gasoline, and many other crimes."
 * "Kinder Morgan’s pipelines are plagued by leaks and explosions, including two large dangerous spills in residential neighborhoods in British Columbia."

Personnel

 * Bill Harris, project coordinator of the development of the terminal.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Colombia and coal
 * Florida and coal
 * Coal terminals