Current:Home > ContactWestern Coal Takes Another Hit as Appeals Court Rules Against Export Terminal -WealthMap Solutions
Western Coal Takes Another Hit as Appeals Court Rules Against Export Terminal
View
Date:2025-04-14 18:37:52
A Washington state appeals court has ruled against a company that wants to build the largest coal export terminal in the country on the Columbia River. The decision could be a fatal blow for a controversial project that could have increased global greenhouse gas emissions.
Western states with coal mining operations have been pushing for an export terminal that would allow them to send their coal by rail to the coast and then ship it to China.
A coal terminal was proposed on the banks of the Columbia River in Longview, Washington, but the state opposed it on several grounds. State officials rejected a water quality permit under the Clean Water Act, pointing to a long list of environmental harms, including air pollution from the coal trains. They also rejected a plan to sublease state-owned land for the coal terminal, citing concerns about the company’s finances and reputation, including that it had misrepresented just how much coal it planned to ship.
The appeals court ruled on the state’s rejection of the sublease on Tuesday, saying the Department of Natural Resources had acted reasonably given the circumstances.
“It’s yet another nail in the coffin of a project that faces legal, market and financial challenges,” said Clark Williams-Derry, director of energy finance for the Sightline Institute, an environmental think tank based in Seattle. “If this were built, it would be a massive increase in the emissions attributable to economic activity in Washington state. We are closing our own coal fired power plant within six years, the notion that at the same time we would be enabling the construction of others around the globe doesn’t make climate sense.”
Kristin Gaines, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview, the company behind the proposed project, said the company would continue to fight for the project.
“The Court of Appeals got it wrong and we will explore all available remedies, legal and otherwise, to continue to move our project forward,” Gaines said.
Company ‘Intentionally Concealed’ Plan’s Extent
The state court of appeals reversed a ruling by a superior court, which had determined that the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it denied the sublease of state-owned land to Millennium.
“DNR’s careful consideration of Millennium’s financial condition and business reputation was especially reasonable given the circumstances surrounding the potential sublease,” the appellate court judges wrote in their decision. “At the time DNR made its decision, coal market conditions were not promising, with U.S. coal production dropping.” Millennium’s corporate parent, Ambre Energy, also sold its interest in Millennium, and Millennium’s other corporate parent, Arch Coal, filed for bankruptcy, the judges wrote.
The original permit request was also for an export facility capable of handling about 5 million metric tons of coal per year. However, internal company records showed it planned to build a much larger terminal with an annual capacity of 20 to 60 million metric tons, said Marisa Ordonia, an attorney for Earthjustice representing environmental groups who intervened in the case.
“Millennium intentionally concealed the extent of its plans for the coal export facility in order to avoid full environmental review,” the judges wrote in their decision. “DNR had significant, well founded reasons for carefully considering the financial condition and business reputation of Millennium before consenting to sublease.”
Since the project was first proposed in 2010, the price of coal has decreased significantly, dropping from approximately $85 per ton to roughly $50 per ton for similar quality coal.
Trump Takes Aim at Clean Water Act Rules
Another key challenge to the project is a Clean Water Act permit that the Washington Department of Ecology denied in 2017.
The coal terminal was one of several fossil fuel energy projects denied Clean Water Act permits by states in recent years. Those moves prompted the Trump administration to propose changes to the Clean Water Act earlier this month that would limit state authority.
Any potential changes to the act wouldn’t impact the 2017 ruling but could limit state authority in future decisions, Jan Hasselman, an attorney with Earthjustice said.
“I think there will be a big fight over this for future projects,” he said, “but I don’t think they have any impact on the projects that have already been denied.”
Published Aug. 22, 2019
veryGood! (97745)
Related
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Travis Kelce says he weighs retirement 'more than anyone could ever imagine'
- Iowa official’s wife convicted of 52 counts of voter fraud in ballot-stuffing scheme
- Rain helps ease wildfires in North Carolina, but reprieve may be short
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Texas mother accused of driving her 3 children into pond after stabbing husband: Police
- Democratic division blocks effort to end Michigan’s 24-hour wait for an abortion
- Suki Waterhouse reveals she's expecting first child with Robert Pattinson
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- 4 out of 5 Mexicans who got a flu shot this year turned down Cuban and Russian COVID-19 vaccines
Ranking
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- USPS announces new shipping rates for ground advantage and priority mail services in 2024
- How do you get rid of cold sores? Here's what doctors recommend.
- Police arrest 3 in connection with shooting of far-right Spanish politician
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- YouTuber Trisha Paytas Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 2 With Husband Moses Hacmon
- President Joe Biden orders US flags lowered in memory of former first lady Rosalynn Carter
- California can share gun owners’ personal information with researchers, appeals court rules
Recommendation
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
Alabama inmate asks judge to block first nitrogen gas execution
Federal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic
Turkey rules the table. But a poll finds disagreement over other Thanksgiving classics
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
Federal Reserve minutes: Officials saw inflation slowing but will monitor data to ensure progress
The Excerpt podcast: Hamas leader says truce agreement with Israel nearing
Las Vegas union hotel workers ratify Caesars contract