We received great news just shortly after thousands of comments were submitted on the state’s second supplemental environmental review (SEIS) on the proposed fracked gas-to-methanol plant in Kalama, WA. A federal district court rejected the project’s federal permits, sending it back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a full and transparent environmental review!
Click here to read more from the Seattle Times. Below is the press release from our partners who led the legal appeal.
For those who recently sent in comments on the state SEIS – thank you! This project has to undergo review and pass through permitting at both the state and federal level. We are waiting to hear about the state review and will let you know the outcome.
For Immediate Release, November 23, 2020
| Contact: | Paulo Palugod, Earthjustice, (703) 772-8594, ppalugod@earthjustice.org Max Savishinsky, WA Physicians for Social Responsibility, (206) 547-2630, max@wpsr.org Jared Margolis, Center for Biological Diversity, (802) 310-4054, jmargolis@biologicaldiversity.org Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper, (503) 348-2436, bv@columbiariverkeeper.org Jonathon Berman, Sierra Club, (202) 297-7533, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org |
Federal Court Rejects Permits for Kalama Methanol Refinery
Army Corps Must Redo Environmental Analysis
TACOMA, Wash.— A federal district court today vacated the federal permits required for the Kalama Methanol Refinery, sending the proposed fracked gas-to-methanol project back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a full and transparent environmental review.
The court found the Army Corps had failed to consider the cumulative impact of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the proposal and ignored the new regional pipeline the project would require. The court also found that the Army Corps illegally failed to consider the costs to the public interest of the methanol refinery — even while the Corps relied on its purported benefits.
Because of these failures, the court invalidated federal Clean Water Act permits for the methanol refinery.
“The Corps’ permit approval violated the law,” said Paulo Palugod, an Earthjustice attorney representing the parties in court. “Kalama Methanol would release at least 2.6 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases into our air each and every year for 40 years, yet the Corps thought it could skate by on a limited analysis of only a piece of the project. The court said no.”
The Washington Environmental Council, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and Columbia Riverkeeper brought this legal challenge in the federal district court for the Western District of Washington. The groups are represented by nonprofit law firm Earthjustice.
“This project would do tremendous harm to our community, our river and to our climate,” said Sally Keely, a resident of Kalama and a math professor. “We applaud this court decision, and we urge our state and federal leaders to reject this huge polluter in our town.”
“Washington simply cannot build a clean energy future by investing in dirty energy. The urgency of our climate crisis demands the highest level of scrutiny based on science and impact — this project would have harmed the health of our planet for today and generations to come,” said Alyssa Macy, CEO of Washington Environmental Council and Washington Conservation Voters.
“It’s absurd to think that a massive fracked-gas refinery wouldn’t pose a catastrophic risk to the fragile Columbia River ecosystem,” said Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These dirty fossil fuel monstrosities only accelerate climate change, and we can’t continue to allow companies to pretend otherwise. We’re relieved the court rejected the permits for the project, but rather than send it back to the drawing board, state and federal leaders should pull the plug now.”
“This fracked gas-to-methanol facility would be a disaster for water, wildlife and the climate, and it should never have received federal approval,” said Sierra Club campaign representative Stephanie Hillman. “We will continue to fight to ensure that this dirty, dangerous facility is never built.”