In their Sept. 10 opinion column, “Local View — Oil terminal will be in new port commissioner’s hands,” Bart Hansen and Ted Gathe criticized the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council’s delay in finalizing its decision for Gov. Jay Inslee. I doubt that Hansen and Gathe took into consideration that Inslee could have asked the committee to hold the decision until after the election.
Hansen and Gather were correct in that the final decision could result in up to five 120-car oil trains daily through the Gorge. They did not state, however, that the number of trains will likely be the same, regardless of Inslee’s decision. If he doesn’t approve the oil terminal, the trains will travel through Vancouver up to Ferndale, or another refinery, thereby extending their mileage through Washington.
Hansen and Gathe suggested that the port commission terminate the proposed project without EFSEC’s decision. EFSEC’s work is important to our community in determining safety. Shame on them!
Let’s wait for EFSEC’s decision, and the governor’s final decision, before jumping to conclusions. EFSEC is comprised of highly qualified members from several departments in the state of Washington.
