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By Wendy Culverwell
May 18, 2016 - In the state of Washington, the Franklin County Commission could join a small but growing list of Tri-City agencies (consisting of the cities of Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco) that have endorsed plans for a major Columbia River coal export terminal at Longview.
Chairman Rick Miller confirmed Tuesday he intends to ask his fellow commissioners to take a position on the Millennium Bulk Terminals Longview plan when it meets at 9 a.m. May 18, at the Franklin County Courthouse, 1016 N. Fourth Ave.
Miller expects support for the project being billed as an investment in upgrading export infrastructure not just for coal but for agricultural products as well.
Miller said he’s not sure what form Franklin County’s support might take.
It could pass a resolution, as the Benton County Commission did without comment Tuesday morning. It could write a letter of support.
Or it could lend its name to a resolution already passed by the Pasco Chamber of Commerce. The chamber endorsed the project earlier this month in part because BNSF employs 250 in the Mid-Columbia.
The Washington Farm Bureau has voted to support the $600 million undertaking. Resolutions for and against the project are circulating among other agencies and business groups.
Millennium Bulk Terminals Longview
Carl Adrian, president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC), said his board discussed Columbia River coal exports about a year ago. It hasn’t been asked to take a position but it wrote Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to voice concerns about the extensive requirements of the environmental impact statement.
Millennium was required to evaluate the environmental impact from the point where coal is mined to the point where it is burned.
Adrian said its a bad precedent for future economic development projects.
“Once you’ve done it in one instance you could do it with something else you didn’t like,” he said.
Millennium Bulk Terminals submitted its application to install three terminals in the Columbia River at a 190-acre former aluminum smelter at Longview in 2012. Cowlitz County and the Washington Department of Ecology recently released a draft environmental impact statement. A series of open houses will measure public feedback and inform the final version.
An open house in Pasco will give local residents an opportunity to learn more and share their views. The session is 1 to 9 p.m., June 2, at the TRAC center in Pasco.
The Longview terminal would accept coal from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah via rail for shipment to Asia.
Japan is a major potential customer after it shut down its nuclear power plants following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. It is building more than 40 coal-fired plants to replace the lost power.
The project would export up to 44 million metric tons of coal annually and would handle other dry goods, namely agricultural products, as well. At full operation, the terminal would employ 300 with an annual payroll of $16 million.
Carl Adrian, president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC), said his board discussed Columbia River coal exports about a year ago. It hasn’t been asked to take a position but it wrote Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to voice concerns about the extensive requirements of the environmental impact statement.
Millennium was required to evaluate the environmental impact from the point where coal is mined to the point where it is burned.
Adrian said its a bad precedent for future economic development projects.
“Once you’ve done it in one instance you could do it with something else you didn’t like,” he said.
Millennium Bulk Terminals submitted its application to install three terminals in the Columbia River at a 190-acre former aluminum smelter at Longview in 2012. Cowlitz County and the Washington Department of Ecology recently released a draft environmental impact statement. A series of open houses will measure public feedback and inform the final version.
An open house in Pasco will give local residents an opportunity to learn more and share their views. The session is 1 to 9 p.m., June 2, at the TRAC center in Pasco.
The Longview terminal would accept coal from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah via rail for shipment to Asia.
Japan is a major potential customer after it shut down its nuclear power plants following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. It is building more than 40 coal-fired plants to replace the lost power.
The project would export up to 44 million metric tons of coal annually and would handle other dry goods, namely agricultural products, as well. At full operation, the terminal would employ 300 with an annual payroll of $16 million.
Read more about the draft environmental impact statement at bit.ly/MillenniumBulk.
Millennium Bulk Terminals wants to build a coal export terminal at a former aluminum smelter at Longview. Photo Courtesy of The Olympian
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