Shortly after an oil train derailed in a national scenic area this month, Gov. Jay Inslee — who has the final say over whether the nation’s largest proposed oil-by-rail terminal will be built at the Port of Vancouver — received a surge of emails urging him to halt crude-by-rail and deny the project.
The oil train was headed to Tacoma when it derailed in the Columbia River Gorge town of Mosier, Ore., on June 3, catching on fire.
Melissa Elliott described the crash and the “horror” she experienced as a “thick cloud of toxic oil-sands smoke descended” on her home in White Salmon, down river from Mosier.
“The acrid smell, the way it burned my nose and throat, how it changed my voice even,” Elliott wrote the governor.
Elliott said she’s seen firsthand the increase of oil trains barreling through the gorge.
“As a gorge resident, I can attest we are woefully unprepared to evacuate or protect ourselves and our homes from such an eventuality,” Elliott wrote. “We live in the cross hairs of the bomb trains in the Columbia Gorge. I implore you Gov. Inslee to reject the Vancouver oil terminal. I beg of you to place a moratorium on oil trains traveling through the gorge.”
The Washington State Council of Firefighters wrote a letter in opposition to the project, as did the Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility Climate and Health Task Force.
Jamie Smith, Inslee’s spokeswoman, said the governor’s office receives a steady trickle of letters from those opposed to the Vancouver Energy oil-terminal project.
“It’s definitely fair to say we’ve seen an uptick; the derailment certainly reminded a lot of folks of the project,” Smith said.
Tim Requa also evacuated from his White Salmon home after the crash. He told the governor he was “gravely concerned” for his safety.
“My girlfriend and I immediately experienced breathing issues an hour after the incident occurred,” Requa wrote in an email. “We saw there was only one car burning. … We were lucky.”
Proponents of the terminal have pointed to the economic growth the project would bring, including jobs, and tax revenue for schools, roads and other services.
Robert Rosenthal said he understands that the governor’s authority over federal rail regulations is limited, but that he hopes the governor blocks the oil terminal.
“There is no reason for such a structure to be built where it can do such severe damage to people, property, and one of the greatest environmental treasures in our country,” Rosenthal wrote.
For the next five weeks, the state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council will evaluate the arguments in favor of and against the oil-by-rail terminal project, proposed by Tesoro Corp. and Savage Co., operating as Vancouver Energy, at the Port of Vancouver.
If approved, the project will bring 360,000 barrels of oil to Vancouver per day on four trains. The oil would be shipped down the Columbia River to West Coast refineries.
After the hearings, the evaluation council will make a recommendation to the governor, who can approve or deny the project. Those decisions could be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Last week, Inslee called for a halt on Union Pacific Railroad oil trains traveling through Washington until stricter safety standards are enacted.
Inslee is restricted from commenting on the Port of Vancouver project while it is under review.
Inslee’s call for curtailing Bakken oil traveling through the state focuses solely on Union Pacific. BNSF Railway hauls the bulk of Bakken crude through Washington.
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