Yesterday at 10:04am When reading a propaganda piece such as the November 17, 2015 “News Alert” shown in the photo from SSA Marine/Pacific International Terminals/Gateway Pacific Terminal, it’s important to remember that the Lummi Nation is continuing to proceed through the proper channels to address their Nation’s treaty rights; government to government with the U.S. federal government, in this case being the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Whatever anyone else has to say about that process is irrelevant to the Lummi Nation’s pursuit of its Nation’s treaty rights. SSA Marine has no business making any comments, let alone advertising, in an effort to sway public opinion which could, in turn, apply pressure to the Lummi Nation.
Also, there are statements made in this advertisement by SSA Marine/PIT that cause me to wonder in terms of Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and regulations. Now that SSA Marine/PIT has brought in Cloud Peak as a 49% joint venture stakeholder in the GPT project, I would think because Cloud Peak is a publicly traded company, that SSA Marine/PIT needs to exercise caution when making certain statements as it did in its advertisement without there being any “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” added as it is typical for there to be with information relating to publicly traded companies. Of course, I am not any kind of expert in these financial things, not even a little, but I’m thinking I might be correct in my thinking.
For example, the “News Alert” ad states:
“The Crow Tribe, a sovereign treaty Indian nation, has vast amounts of coal reserves on its reservation and wants to take advantage of the opportunity to create jobs, provide eldercare, policing, education for youth and social services for its people by exporting its energy product to Asian markets.”
The “News Alert” ad also states:
“The world demand for US coal is dynamic and subject to much speculation. After months of stories about China decreasing its need for coal to create electricity, the US Energy Information Administration released an analysis indicating that the country may be using as much as 17% more coal than previously thought.”
FYI– I used the link to the EIA analysis, but I did not see any reference to “as much as 17% more coal than previously thought.”
Let’s look at some of the reasons why a “Cautionary Note” might be needed with this “News Alert” ad piece:
-An August 13, 2015 SSA Marine/Cloud Peak Energy joint press release announced that Cloud Peak signed an agreement giving the company a 49% stake in GPT (PIT is the entity that Cloud Peak invested into), and that the Crow Tribe has an option to secure 5% from Cloud Peak’s share. Link to Aug. 13, 2015 press release:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150813005969/en/…
-Cloud Peak can exit its 49% investment anytime during the permitting phase, which is expected to last through the next couple years.
-In January 2013, Crow Nation Chairman Darrin Old Coyote and Cloud Peak CEO Colin Marshall, signed an Exploration Agreement and an Option to Lease Agreement for the potential development of an estimated 1.4 billion tons of in-place coal on Crow Indian Reservation. The exploratory phase was projected (back in Jan. 2013) to take about five years.
These agreements involve options. Options can be exercised—or not. The idea that Cloud Peak would mine Crow coal, or that Cloud Peak will continue its 49% ownership in PIT/GPT, or that the Crow Tribe would secure a 5% ownership share in PIT/GPT is speculative—just like the market for exporting coal.
And, on a side note, SSA Marine used Lummi Nation’s official insignia in this advertising piece and I assume that was done without obtaining that permission from Lummi Nation.
The subject line of the GPT advertising email piece looked like this copied below:
“From: Gateway Pacific Terminal <info@gatewaypacificterminal.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 11:04 AM
Subject: Crow Tribe to Lummi: R-E-S-P-E-C-T”
Speaking of “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” SSA Marine has not shown respect for the Lummi Nation’s treaty rights. And, I have absolutely no respect for SSA Marine, nor for Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), Representative Ryan Zinke (R-MT), and some of our local politicians who have tried to help sell SSA Marine/PIT’s 48 million ton Gateway Pacific coal terminal.
Link to the November, 17, 2015 GPT “News Alert” can be found here:
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render…
noisy waters northwest 