Washington rejects oil-byrail terminal

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday rejected a permit for what would have been the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal, saying the record shows the risks and impacts outweighed the need for and potential benefits of the project. Inslee agreed with the recommendation of a state energy panel, which unanimously voted in November to recommend that the Vancouver Energy project in southwest Washington be denied.

The joint venture of Savage Companies and Andeavor, formerly known as Tesoro Corp., proposed to receive about 360,000 barrels of North American crude oil a day by trains at the port of Vancouver along the Columbia River. Oil would be loaded onto tankers and ships bound for West Coast refineries.

The decision represents a victory for environmental and local groups, tribes and cities that opposed the project, saying it posed too great a risk to communities and the environment.

Inslee told the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council in a letter Monday that he found “ample support in the record” for the panel’s decision.

The governor, who is a Democrat, highlighted several issues that led him to his decision, including seismic risks at the site, the potential for an oil spill and the risk that a fire or explosion at the facility would harm workers and the community.

“The Council has thoroughly examined these and other issues and determined that it is not possible to adequately mitigate the risks, or eliminate or minimize the adverse impacts of the facility, to an acceptable level,” Inslee wrote.

The state energy panel concluded in its report that developers didn’t meet the burden to show that the project proposed at the port of Vancouver site would produce a net benefit in balancing the need for energy and the impact to the public.