State senator proposes oil pipeline across Washington
Feb 25, 2015, 3:45 PM | Updated: 4:34 pm
Washington state Senator Michael Baumgartner proposed a bill Wednesday that would link oil refineries in Washington state with the oil fields of the Midwest through a pipeline. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
(AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
It you don’t like the idea of running oil through our state on trains, what would you think about building a pipeline instead?
Washington state Senator Michael Baumgartner proposed a bill Wednesday that would link oil refineries in Washington state with the oil fields in the Midwest through a pipeline.
“It’s important to our economy that, that oil moves through the state of Washington,” says Baumgartner. “I think the best way to deal with the safety concerns might be to build a pipeline, and so that is what my bill does. It sets out a study to potentially put that in process.”
Baumgartner says an entry point could be set up in Spokane and the oil could run through the pipeline from there to refineries in Western Washington.
The bill, SB 6075, would direct the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to study the best routes for an east-west oil pipeline and consider the advantages and disadvantages of a pipeline. The bill appropriates $250,000 to study the idea.
