Wyoming lawmakers look to sue Wash. over coal project

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) – Wyoming lawmakers are looking to sue Washington state over coal.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports lawmakers will try to set aside $250,000 to sue Washington, bypassing Wyoming’s attorney general and hiring a private lawyer via a bill introduced by Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, on Thursday.

Washington has effectively blocked a coal export terminal development by denying a state water permit. Wyoming – which wants an export terminal on the West Coast to get its coal to Asian buyers – has long maintained that Washington’s block is political: that the powers that be in Washington don’t like coal.

Gray and other state officials claim Washington’s block of the port constitutes a violation of Wyoming’s rights to sell its coal to Asia.

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com