The Port of Everett’s proposed new pier for the Boeing Co. would "undeniably and substantially harm" a traditional fishing area of the Tulalip Tribes, tribal officials say.
That’s why they’ve written a letter to the state opposing changes to Everett’s shoreline master plan that would allow the port to proceed with the pier, which backers say is essential to efforts to persuade Boeing to build its new airplane here.
"Structures in the area will shade sensitive aquatic life and interfere with free access to fishing areas and free vessel access," the tribes said in a letter filed with the state Department of Ecology last week. "Even the best mitigation and restoration efforts could not remove this harm."
The tribes’ opposition "doesn’t help the Everett pitch" to land the 7E7, said T.M. Sell, a political economist at Highline Community College and author of a book on Boeing. "Anything that raises the cost of doing this in Everett makes it more likely that Boeing goes somewhere else, especially when you have places such as Tulsa that are pretty much offering to make it free to do it there."
Port director John Mohr said he was not aware of the tribes’ letter. The port and the tribes had been meeting to discuss options with the pier, he said.
Tulalip Tribes chairman Herman Williams Jr., government relations director John McCoy and the tribes’ Seattle attorney could not be reached for comment Monday. Everett Mayor Frank Anderson and planning director Paul Roberts also were unavailable.
Boeing spokeswoman Mary Hanson said she couldn’t comment specifically on Everett’s efforts to land the 7E7 final assembly line.
However, she noted that "transportation is one of the criteria, and all of the criteria need to be met if a proposal is to remain in consideration."
The tribes’ letter was one of three filed during a recent public comment period on proposed changes in the shoreline plan, said state Ecology Department planner Bob Fritzen.
The city must change its shoreline plan, because when it was written, it didn’t address structures such as the new pier — "transportation facilities of statewide significance" in the legal jargon.
Everett city officials now must respond to those comments, Fritzen said. After they do, he’ll review all the documents and make a recommendation whether the department should allow the city to make the changes that would allow the port to proceed with the pier.
It’s largely a procedural issue, Fritzen said.
While this is going on, the port and the city are pursuing the actual permits for the project. That process will involve a deeper level of scrutiny and analysis than the shoreline plan amendment, Fritzen said.
It was not clear Monday whether the tribes planned to oppose the permits as well.
It’s not unprecedented for a tribe to oppose a shoreline project on these grounds, said Bob Anderson, the director of the University of Washington’s Native American Law Center.
Twice in the past 15 years, projects were blocked because they would have interfered with the tribal fishing rights of western Washington tribes, Anderson said.
In one case, the Port of Seattle and the Muckelshoot tribe were able to reach a negotiated settlement to allow a Seattle marina expansion, he said. In the other, a judge upheld a decision not to grant permits for a proposed private salmon farm.
Local officials say the pier is a key element in Everett’s push to persuade Boeing to build its next-generation 7E7 Dreamliner here.
Boeing now brings pieces of airplanes — such as skin panels — from overseas suppliers. They arrive by ship in either Seattle or Tacoma, then are barged to Everett, where they are loaded on trains for the 3 1/2-mile trip down the shoreline and up Japanese Gulch to the Boeing factory.
The containers are so big, that the Boeing trains block both lines of Burlington Northern-Santa Fe’s main north-south line for up to two hours.
With the new pier, ships with Boeing parts would be able to dock at Everett, and the parts would be barged from there to the new pier at the bottom of the gulch. That would eliminate the long train trip and allow Boeing to bring in even larger containers — nearly big enough for a complete wing.
Having that ability would make Everett the clear favorite in the 7E7 site selection contest, state and local officials believe. The Legislature has agreed to pay for the pier, provided Boeing builds the new airplane in Washington.
Even without the 7E7, Boeing considers the pier important to the future of the Everett plant, added Debbie Heathers, the spokeswoman for the site. Boeing still will build 747s, 767s and 777s here no matter where the 7E7 program ends up, and the company hopes to bring in larger pieces to speed up production of those planes.
Everett is on the short list of sites Boeing is considering for 7E7 final assembly, Washington Gov. Gary Locke said earlier this month. He and other local officials said they expect Boeing to announce its decision as soon as October.
However, the executive in charge of the 7E7 program said that while it’s conceivable a site could be picked that soon, it’s not likely. The plan is to make a decision by year’s end, Boeing senior vice president Mike Bair told reporters last week.
Bair added that access to a deep-water port is a necessity.
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
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