BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Developers planning a coal export terminal at Ferndale need a new shoreline permit and can’t just revise an existing permit for a cargo terminal at Cherry Point.
The Bellingham Herald reports the Whatcom County planners notified SSA Marine of Seattle on Thursday that a new shoreline permit is required because the new proposal is beyond the scope of a 1997 permit for a smaller facility.
Environmental groups and the Earthjustice law firm said allowing a revision of the earlier permit would have brought less scrutiny to the project.
The lawyer for SSA Marine, William Lynn, says there’s still a question over what the new permit review will cover. The company could appeal.
