Ecology's decision to deny the Port of Kalama's shoreline permits is deeply disappointing
After a long and arduous process, the Department of Ecology on Monday denied the Port of Kalama a shoreline permit necessary to build a $2 billion methanol plant. The denial marked a disregard for environmental analysis findings, blocking a project of regional significance. Methanol is an essential ingredient in products ranging from hygienic food packaging to GoreTex raincoats.
The direct benefits of the North West Innovation Works (NWIW) project in Cowlitz County would have been remarkable. Construction would have employed about 1,400 workers and pumped $725 million into the community. County tax revenues would have increased by $30 to $40 million. After startup, employee salaries were expected to average $70,000.
At the time it was proposed, the project was hailed as an example of economic development coexisting with environmental leadership. Governor Jay Inslee said at the time, “NWIW’s project will be a model for the entire world once it’s complete. This facility will not only help move China away from coal, it will also support hundreds of new Washington jobs in the construction of the facility and its permanent operation.”
But by May of 2019, the Governor’s views on the NWIS project had soured. Reversing direction, he announced his opposition to the plant. “I cannot in good conscience support continued construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma or a methanol production facility in Kalama,” Inslee said.
The Governor’s change of heart occurred despite a commitment that facility would use leading edge technology to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 6 million metric tons. At each stage of environmental review, the data showed the plant would emit fewer greenhouse gases than alternate sources of methanol, including coal-based production in China.
The decision to deny shoreline permits is deeply disappointing. Ecology’s arbitrary administration of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) undermines and politicizes evaluations of the significance and appropriate mitigation for greenhouse gas emissions. The agency damaged Washington’s economic competitiveness by undermining a predictable regulatory framework. Washington is a less attractive place to do business than it was before Monday’s decision.
In the end, Ecology’s second supplemental environmental impact statement showed the facility would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 6 million metric tons in comparison to production alternatives. It is hard to understand how a reduction of 6 million metric tons was not good enough.