Skagit County oil train project blocked for full environmental review
Feb 23, 2015, 3:29 PM | Updated: 5:35 pm
A plan that would move hundreds of crude oil tank cars through Skagit County was halted Monday.
The hearing examiner found that an oil-by-rail project at the Shell Puget Sound Refinery near Anacortes posed a risk to people and the environment. The project will not move forward until an environmental review is complete.
In Monday’s decision, hearing examiner Wick Dufford said “Shell’s proposal is a major action significantly affecting the quality of the environment” and a full review should be prepared.
Shell in 2013 sought a permit from the county to build a rail spur from existing tracks to handle oil brought in by trains. The project would handle 60,000 barrels of crude oil a day in one mile-long train.
On the surface, several projects across the state might not look like they could pose a risk, said Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman.
“In isolation, any one of [the projects] might not look significant,” he said. “As the hearing examiner found, collectively, they would involve more oil than the Keystone XL pipeline.”
Shell is the latest of several projects that would involve increasing transportation of Bakken crude oil through Washington.
“The refineries have taken a real narrow focus on the project,” Hasselman said. “They said, look, no real big environmental impact … The question is, what are the risks to the communities for another disaster?”
An oil train carrying 3 million gallons of crude oil derailed and exploded in West Virginia Feb. 16. About 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to the explosion.
In Skagit County, oil trains pass through the downtowns of Burlington and Mount Vernon. The trains also cross the old Burlington/Mount Vernon bridge spanning the Skagit River, immediately above the Anacortes Water Treatment Plant and the old swing bridge spanning the Swinomish Channel directly adjacent to the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
“People are afraid,” Hasselman said. “They’re wondering when the next [explosion will be].”
Hasselman said the county needs a comprehensive approach to crude oil transportation. He was told by an expert that Skagit County’s response plan to an oil explosion is about 10 years old and not complete.
“We are way behind in preparing for these risks,” he said.
Shell refinery general manager Tom Rizzo says he’s disappointed in the ruling. He said the county’s environmental analysis was thorough.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
