Tesoro Savage has proposed to develop the largest oil terminal in North America on the banks of the Columbia River in Vancouver. If built, this facility would handle 360,000 barrels of crude oil per day, arriving via 4 trains (each train over 1 mile long) per day, and leaving via one large tanker vessel per day down the Columbia and onto the Pacific Ocean. Now just because it's happening across the river doesn't make it Washington's problem, so wake up Oregon to what's happening up here, it's our Columbia river and Pacific Ocean too!
This massive volume of oil is approximately half the volume of the Keystone XL pipeline that received huge opposition, the methods of transport for this proposal are far more dangerous, and put the ecologically important & recreationally significant corners of SW Washington and NW Oregon in jeopardy. The coastal areas are near major ecological hotspots and ocean & coastal recreation in these areas help contribute to $481 million & $2.4 billion annually in trip related expenditures to the state economies of Washington and Oregon respectively. While large Surfrider opposition has mounted against this proposal in Washington and continues to urge Governor Inslee to oppose what would be the largest oil-by-rail terminal in the country, many in Oregon see that this project is a bad idea, far too close to home and concerned that our fair state's stake in this game may solely lie within Governor Inslee's hands.
Stay tuned to this project as our Surfrider chapters in Oregon continue to follow this issue and look to our counterparts in Washington as well as the inland the riverkeepers and alliances to further engage from our fair soils to the south. Spilled oil ignores all political boundaries, it’s time for all concerned citizens of Cascadia to rise up against these dirty projects. In the meantime, check out our Washington Surfrider's regional overview of this issue and how they are engaging right now to stop this madness! Linked below are additional resources of interest related to the project:
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
Comment Website for DEIS (comments welcomed from ANY state!!)
Public Meetings
Vancouver, WA
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, 5:00-11PM or last speaker
WHERE: Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds Hall B located at 17402 NE Delfel Road Ridgefield, WA 98642.
HOW: RSVP for the hearing HERE.
Spokane Valley, WA
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, 5:00-11:00PM (Rally at 4:30pm)
WHERE: Centerplace Regional Event Center located at 2426 N. Discovery Place
Spokane Valley, WA 99216.
HOW: RSVP for the hearing HERE.
*Comments received on the DEIS during the comment period will be compiled, reviewed and considered while developing the Final EIS. All comments and responses to comments received on the DEIS will be included in the Final EIS when issued.
