Vancouver commissioners deal blow to proposed oil terminal
The lease for a big proposed oil-by-rail marine terminal along the Columbia River runs out on March 31 and won't be renewed unless the project has all needed licenses and permits, commissioners of the Port of Vancouver decided on Tuesday.
The action, following a contentious election in November, is a possible death knell for the Vancouver Energy project after more than four years of controversy. The commissioners' vote was unanimous.
The Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council has already voted unanimously to reject the terminal. Gov. Jay Inslee has the final say on whether to approve or reject the project.
Vancouver Energy, a joint venture between Tesoro and Savage, has planned to build a $210 million terminal. It would be able to move 360,000 barrels of oil a day, arriving by mile-long trains, onto vessels that would carry it down the Columbia and on to West Coast refineries.
At a time when the Trump administration is promoting oil and gas, and seeking to revive the coal industry, the carbon economy has encountered trenchant opposition and a hostile political climate in the Northwest.
The oil and coal export projects have been unpopular with the public, and faced opposition from Native American groups.
Industrial projects that once would have sailed through the regulatory process have been met with hostile crowds at hearings, and the argument that the Northwest's environment and evolving economy are better off without mile-long coal trains and lines of tank cars.
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