Supreme Court derails rail-fed oil export terminal on Washington coast



less A coal train passes an oil train after tanker cars derailed in Magnolia in the spring of 2015. The fossil fuel industry has suffered a series of setbacks in its efforts to locate oil-by-rail terminals and coal export terminals in Northwest coastal communities. A coal train passes an oil train after tanker cars derailed in Magnolia in the spring of 2015. The fossil fuel industry has suffered a series of setbacks in its efforts to locate oil-by-rail terminals and coal ... more Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Supreme Court derails rail-fed oil export terminal on Washington coast 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The Washington State Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, has temporarily and possibly permanently derailed plans to locate a rail-fed crude oil export terminal at Hoquiam in Grays Harbor.

The decision means at least a full environmental review of the potential pains and gains from two projects designed to transfer tens of millions of gallons of oil across the threshold of the Washington Coast.

The high court ruled that the oil terminal applications fall under the state's Ocean Resources Management Act (ORMA), passed after Alaska's 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.

The law's purpose, as explained by the Supreme Court: "While recognizing the importance of commercial uses, the Legislature nonetheless signaled that commercial endeavors may be prohibited if they are potentially destructive to the environment."

The Legislature, in its own interpretation of the law, said: "Washington's coastal waters, seabed and shorelines are faced with conflicting use demands. Some uses pay pose unacceptable environmental or social risks at certain times."

Justice Susan Owens wrote for the Supreme Court:

"ORMA is a balancing took intended to be used by local governments to weigh the commercial benefits of coastal development against the State's interest in protecting coastal habitats and conserving fossil fuels."

The Westway Terminal Company's expanded oil terminal would receive -- and then ship out by water -- 403.2 millions of gallons of oil a year. It would receive the equivalent of two "unit trains," one full and the other empty with 120 cars each, every three days.

The crude oil would be shipped to refineries along the West Coast as well as five refineries in Washington's inland waters. (Westway was recently renamed Contanda.)

The project has been challenged principally by the Quinault Indian Nation along with the Sierra Club and Grays Harbor-based environmental groups.

A second company, Imperium Terminal Services, has estimated that its proposed oil port would mean up to two unit trains a day, each with 105 tank cars, and would result in up to 200 ships and barges on the harbor each year.

The state Department of Ecology and city of Hoquiam argued that the ORMA definition of "ocean uses" does not apply to the two oil port projects because they do not literally sit on Washington's coastal waters.

A state appellate court agreed. Its decision was unanimously overruled by the Supreme Court.

"Because these projects it on the shores of Grays Harbor and overhang the water, we found that respondents' projects qualify as 'ocean uses' . . ," the court ruled.

As to "ocean uses," the court added:"Once built, these projects will result in an estimated 310 percent increase in vessel traffic through Grays Harbor annually," the opinion added.

"Because the entire purpose of respondents' projects is to store and transfer fuel from Washington's coast to Washington's waters, the projects fit squarely within ORMA's broad reach ... These projects will increase transportation of petroleum products over land and sea. To say they do not constitute ocean uses or transportation would be to improperly narrow the intent of the law."

The city of Hoquiam has been deciding whether or not to issue a permit for the vastly expanded oil ports.

It has been a rough few months for the fossil fuel industry, and its efforts to locate coal and oil export terminals in Northwest waters.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, responding to opposition from the Lummi Nation, vetoed the giant proposed Gateway Pacific coal export terminal proposed for Cherry Point north of Bellingham.

Just before leaving office, State Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark denied a lease for use of state aquatic lands by the proposed Millennium Bulk terminal at Longview at the site of a long-shut aluminum smelter.

Shell Oil recently put on hold plans for an expanded oil-by-rail facility at its refinery near Anacortes, after a legal challenge from green groups.

As far as Thursday's decision by the Supremes, the group Stand Up for Oil delivered an optimistic prediction: "The ruling will effectively block a proposed crude-by-rail terminal in Hoquiam."

No statement was yet available from terminal developers.