LONGVIEW — A Cowlitz County judge will decide this month whether three environmental groups can intervene in a lawsuit brought against the state by developers of a coal-export terminal in southwest Washington.
Millennium Bulk Terminals and Northwest Alloys last month appealed the state’s denial of an aquatic lands lease for the project.
Before leaving office, Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark rejected a request from Northwest Alloys to sublease state aquatic lands to Millennium for the coal-export project. The companies have said the decision infringes on their property rights.
The Daily News reports that Columbia Riverkeeper, Sierra Club and Washington Environmental Council want to join the state’s side and defend the denial.
The proposed terminal in Longview would handle up to 44 million metric tons of coal a year. The coal would arrive by train from Montana, Wyoming and other states to be stored and loaded on ships for export to Asia.
