Many of us have read portions, if not all, of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. We know now that our fears are real, and those of us who value our beautiful state, our rivers and our lives need to be very afraid.
Not only are the dangers from derailments, ruptured tank cars, explosions and fires real, but those results from earthquakes and landslides are likely to occur. As in 2014, when 30 people died in a landslide in Oso, and recently when the northbound lanes of I-5 had to be closed due to a landslide, the EFSEC report states that a landslide near Bingen or Cascade Locks is highly likely to occur. Those locations are in the oil train corridor.
Imagine the horrors of a landslide at Cascade Locks as a mile-long oil train is hit. The train would derail toward the river, the cars rupture and explode in a series of high-intensity fires, and the crude would spill into the river. The promise of 150 jobs cannot atone for the loss of our river and our lives.
If you don’t want this to occur, please write to Gov. Inslee. Send a copy of your letter or email to the Counsel for the Environment in the Attorney General’s Office in Olympia at mattk1@atg.wa.gov.