City eyes permit for oil terminal on coast

Tribes, activists raise environment, safety concerns

SEATTLE — As the small city of Hoquiam considers a key permit for a proposed terminal that would move millions of barrels of crude oil through Grays Harbor, opponents are raising concerns about the potential for oil spills and impacts on tribal fishing rights.

Westway Terminal, recently renamed Contanda, wants to expand its existing methanol facility in Washington state to receive up to 17.8 million barrels of oil a year and store up to 1 million barrels of crude oil.

The project would bring crude oil by train from the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana or diluted bitumen from Alberta. It would be stored in tanks and then loaded onto tankers or barges for shipping to refineries in the Puget Sound area or California.

The Quinault Indian Nation and environmental groups say the environmental and safety risks are too great. They’re urging the city to deny a shoreline development permit.

Houston-based Contanda has said the project would bring jobs and economic benefits to the region and the facility would be built to the strictest local, state and federal safety and environmental protocols.

“We’re confident that we can safely build and operate the facility in a way that protects our employees, our neighbors, and the environment, using the environmental impact statement as a guide,” Contanda spokesman Paul Queary said in a statement.

“We look forward to receiving permits from the city so we can start construction, put people to work, and provide the community with tax revenue and other economic benefits,” he added.

An environmental review completed by the state and Hoquiam in September proposed dozens of measures to offset or reduce impacts but said there would be significant impacts to tribal resources and to health and safety if a crude oil spill, fire or explosion occurs that could not be avoided even with such measures in place.

“The variety of impacts that are discussed and disclosed give the city of Hoquiam the evidence it needs to deny the permit,” said Kristen Boyles, an attorney with Earthjustice representing the Quinault, whose reservation sits about 30 miles up the coast from the proposed site.

The tribe said moving millions of gallons of crude oil by train and tankers through the region put the tribe’s safety, treaty-reserved fishing rights and way of life at risk.

An environmental review found that increased vessel docking and traffic in the navigation channel would restrict access to tribal fishing areas and that proposed measures such as giving notice of vessels would reduce but not eliminate that impact.

Hoquiam City Administrator Brian Shay said the city has hired an independent consultant to review the project and write a draft decision. He says he typically accepts such decisions. The public comment period ended a week ago, and a decision isn’t likely until January, he added.

“Whatever we do, we expect it to be appealed,” Shay said.

Hoquiam issued a permit for the oil terminal project in 2013. The Quinault and groups such as the Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation challenged it, and a state hearings board reversed the permit.