How to have your say on plan for terminal, coal trains

SEATTLE — Public comments are being collected regarding which issues should be included in a study of the environmental effects of a proposed export marine terminal near Bellingham.

The proposed Gateway Pacific terminal would serve as a place to send coal, grain, potash and scrap wood for biofuels to Asia. The terminal, proposed by SSA Marine, Inc. of Seattle, would bring up to 18 more trains per day through Snohomish County — nine full and nine empty.

The Gateway Pacific terminal would mean jobs, according to proponents. It also could mean long traffic delays at railroad crossings and pollution from coal dust, opponents say.

Three public meetings have been held regarding the controversial proposal and four more are planned. Comments also may be submitted by email by Jan. 21.

The closest meeting to Everett is scheduled for Dec. 13 in Seattle. Earlier meetings were held in Bellingham, Mount Vernon and Friday Harbor. Other meetings are planned for Nov. 29 in Ferndale, Dec. 4 in Spokane, and Dec. 12 in Vancouver, Wash.

“We had hoped there would be a hearing in Snohomish County,” Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said. “The city will be submitting written comments, largely based around the traffic concerns. We’ve encouraged our residents to the do the same if they would like to.”

There was no slight intended toward Snohomish County in scheduling the meetings, said Larry Altose, a spokesman for the state Department of Ecology.

“We couldn’t be in every location,” he said.

The trains would bring coal from Montana and Wyoming across Washington state to Vancouver, and then north, eventually running through Seattle, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Everett, Marysville and Stanwood. In Edmonds, Marysville and Stanwood, the trains run at the same grade as automobile traffic, potentially adding to backups.

The meetings and study process are being run jointly by the Ecology Department, the Army Corps of Engineers and Whatcom County.

The Seattle meeting was originally planned for North Seattle Community College but was moved to the Washington State Convention Center to accommodate more people, Altose said. The auditorium at North Seattle Community College holds about 1,000 people while the convention center holds 3,000, he said. Also, the convention center is located near I-5 and public transportation.

About 1,800 people attended the meeting in Bellingham, 1,000 people showed up in Mount Vernon and 450 in Friday Harbor, Altose said.

Still, he said, that pales in comparison to the emails received so far since the comment period began in late September — about 6,300 and counting.

SSA Marine, Inc. is paying $900,000 for the study process, including the meetings, Altose said. The amount was negotiated by the company and the three agencies, he said.

The terminal at Cherry Point would cost about $650 million, said Craig Cole, a consultant working for SSA Marine, Inc. The company is an international corporation owned by Carrix — 49 percent of which is made up of an infrastructure fund controlled by Goldman Sachs, the New York investment firm.

The plan likely will have to undergo two years of environmental studies and the terminal would take two more years to build, according to Whatcom County officials.

Estimates from the company figure the construction work would create up to 1,700 jobs and 4,400 temporary spin-off positions, and eventually the terminal would employ 450 people and generate 800 connected positions.

Opponents, which include environmental groups and Bellingham activists, say the plan would add to greenhouse gases, diesel exhaust from trains, coal dust pollution, traffic jams and noise.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.

To learn more

A hearing on potential environmental issues associated with the Gateway Pacific export terminal is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Washington State Convention Center, Ballroom 6F, 800 Convention Place, Seattle.

Written comments may be submitted through Jan. 21 at http://www.eisgatewaypacificwa.gov/get-involved/comment.

For more information visit http://www.eisgatewaypacificwa.gov/.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.