It has been said that Washington state has to prepare for an increase in oil trains, the result of the ending of the 40-year-ban on oil exports. Oil companies knew they could force through this legislation, not for the security of our country, but for profit. Shame on Congress.
It should not be the responsibility of Washington taxpayers to spend millions in preparation for the inevitable damage that will come when oil trains derail and explode. That responsibility should be in the hands of those who profit. There is only one way Washington can adequately prepare … deny any new terminals or refineries.
This will be Gov. Jay Inslee’s legacy. He will either stand with the people of Vancouver who live here because of the natural beauty, clean environment and the magnificent Columbia River, or he will come down on the side of those who will continue to trash the environment, endanger the people who live in it and place our planet in further jeopardy of irreparable climate change.
Inslee needs to hear from you online at https://ts.efsec.wa.gov or in person at public hearings at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Jan. 5 or from 5 to 11 p.m. on Jan. 12.
