La Conner town officials are calling for a second environmental impact statement, or EIS, for the Tesoro Anacortes Refinery’s proposed clean products upgrade project.
Officials said a second, separate EIS is needed to focus on the refinery’s proposed production of xylene.
The refinery proposes upgrading existing equipment and adding new equipment to its facility at March Point to reduce emissions from vessels at its dock, reduce sulfur emissions from fuels it produces and extract xylene during the refining process for sale overseas.
Xylene is a chemical compound created during the oil refining process. It can be used in the manufacturing of plastics and polyester materials.
“The xylene is a whole new thing,” Mayor Ramon Hayes told the Skagit Valley Herald. “A very close look independent of current operations would probably be appropriate to look at the impact that particular component could have.”
The current draft EIS evaluates potential environmental impacts of the project and concludes that while the project could have impacts — particularly in the event of a xylene spill — the project would not require mitigation beyond existing permits and procedures.
The La Conner Town Council passed a resolution April 25 outlining its response to the draft EIS, and submitted the resolution as an official public comment.
“What they (the council members) are saying is this is new, there are definitely concerns about xylene and those concerns need to be addressed, whether about worker safety or events that could affect the town,” Hayes said. “There is more work to do and Tesoro needs to reach out and partner more with the communities so we can get a better understanding.”
The resolution states that a separate EIS for the extraction, storage and shipment of xylene should emphasize steps to protect workers, including plans for the detection and assessment of exposure to xylene.
“Quite a few of our local residents work at facilities like this, so that is obviously a concern for us,” Hayes said.
Officials are also concerned about the safety of those who live in town, which is southeast and often downwind of the Tesoro and neighboring Shell Puget Sound Refinery at March Point.
Skagit County Planning and Development Services is accepting public comment on the draft EIS through Monday.
