Opponents were out in force over the past 120 days voicing
concerns about the Gateway Pacific coal export Terminal (GPT) proposed just
north of Bellingham. Agencies have received
over 20,000 comments and a final number is still pending. The Washington
Surfrider Chapters attended several of the 6 scoping comment hearings. Most notably, the Northwest Straits Chapter
made a strong presence at the first hearing in Bellingham and then the Seattle
Chapter turned out for the final hearing held at the Washington Convention
Center. Activists submitted comments
based on our love for marine recreation and passion for clean, healthy shorelines
and oceans here in Washington. All the issues raised during the last four
months must now be studied prior to the release of a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS).
For Surfrider Foundation, the issues we raised included impacts
to beach access cut off by intense train traffic, coal dust pollution on marine
waters and public health, and the threat of a major oil spill from increased
shipping of coal on coastal waters. Our comments were amplified the night of
the Seattle public hearing when Seattle Treasurer Nemesia Herzstein spoke in
front of over 1000 people at the Seattle hearing. Click here for the YouTube video.
The comment period officially ended on January 22nd
and the future timeline is not necessarily clear at this point. The DEIS was
expected to be completed by the end of 2013 but with such an outpouring of resistance
during the scoping period it may take longer to complete the required studies
identified through the scoping process. Once the DEIS is published then the
public will be invited again to comment.
After months of hard work on the ground and through various
media channels, opposition to the coal terminal was apparent. Please check back
here, through our newsletter, or attend a chapter meeting if you are interested
in continuing to follow the process. It
was a great effort by all those involved and now a little break is in order but
it’s important to remember all that was done so when it’s time to comment again
everyone with concerns is prepared.
