LONGVIEW — Port of Longview commissioners unanimously rejected the proposed Haven Energy propane export terminal Tuesday morning, voicing concerns about the safety and the true economic impact of the $300 million project.
Commissioners Lou Johnson and Darold Dietz said they would support the project, but not at the proposed 24-acre site near Berth 4. Commissioner Bob Bagaason said it came down to a matter of trust.
It was not immediately clear whether the vote killed the project,.
The vote came after 90 minutes of testimony featuring a primarily negative response from the crowd of nearly 200 people. More than 20 people spoke against the project, and half as many spoke in favor.
“We haven’t heard there is a signed labor agreement guaranteeing these jobs to our locals,” Shawn Nyman, president of Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Central Labor Council, said. “And what I haven’t heard is a guarantee to our safety concerns.”
Those in favor included local building trades and some residents hoping to see a jump-start to Longview’s economy.
The port has been in talks with Houston-based Haven Energy for nearly a year over the lease agreement for the terminal. The company would purchase propane being burned off into the atmosphere at the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and transport it by pressurized rail cars to the Port of Longview.
The propane would then be transferred into two 10-story-tall refrigerated tanks capable of holding 900,000 barrels of fluid.
Haven would ship butane and propane to markets in Asia, Latin America and Hawaii. The propane is used as a raw material for plastic manufacturing or as fuel for cooking, heating, or powering cars and trucks.
The company estimates the facility would generate about $4 million in taxes and fees for the port annually — more than the port’s property tax levy, which is expected to raise $3.2 million in revenue this year. Once built, the terminal would generate about 110 to 125 direct, indirect and induced jobs, according to Haven’s consultant, ECONorthwest.
The project won the support of the building trades and construction industry, which stood to gain 2,000 jobs from terminal construction, according to ECONorthwest.
But opponents, concerned about safety and the environment, have wondered about the risks of transporting and storing a potentially explosive substance on the Columbia River, close to the Oregon Way Bridge and major local mills. They’ve also wondered how the terminal would affect recreation on the river, because ships carrying the propane likely would need to have a “security zone” of up to 500 yards. About three ships would have exited the terminal each month.
The local longshoremen’s union also took issue with how the terminal would alter port operations — potentially minimizing the port’s ability to market itself to break bulk clients. The terminal would take up almost a third of valuable laydown space used to store break bulk materials, such as steel and wind turbines.
Haven’s option on the land expires today.
