Close to a thousand activists opposing coal exports turned out at a public hearing in Spokane yesterday to voice concerns to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Another public hearing in Boardman Oregon last night brought in over two hundred coal opponents.

They challenged the safety of a plan to ship coal by train to eastern Oregon, then send it in barges down the Columbia River for export.

At the Spokane hearing, around thirty temporary workers were hired by the coal companies to hold places in line for testimony.

KBOO’s Zeke Harrington spoke with Kim Larson of Power Past Coal about the hearing.