Who is NWIW, or Northwest Innovation Works? A Chinese government backed company planning to build a methanol plant on the bank of the Columbia in Kalama after an unsuccessful attempt to do the same in Tacoma. If successful, this enterprise will significantly increase congestion along the river while putting our people, water, air and wildlife at significant risk.
The soft soil the Kalama Port Authority is planning to lease to NWIW, to build what is purported to be the largest methanol refinery and storage facility in the world, will likely liquefy when a major earthquake hits. If Kalama wouldn’t consider building their police department building on this land, why would they agree to allow a methanol refinery to do so? And if an earthquake causes the refinery and storage tanks to blow, who will pay? We will.
And who is the primary beneficiary of this risky business? The Chinese government. Yes, there is money to be made in the short term by a few investors, construction crews, Cowlitz County, and Kalama Port Authority. But is this short-term financial gain worth the long-term risk to our communities? I think not.
