The state Department of Ecology was scheduled to release a draft environmental study for the $643 million Longview coal terminal in November. On Thursday, Ecology bureaucrats announced the release would be postponed until 2016—surprise, surprise.
Supporters of the coal terminal blame the delay on politics. However, Ecology insists that it is due to an overly “ambitious schedule” and “late data submittals.”
The delay is a setback for Millennium Bulk Terminals—which had already been hijacked by politics last year when Jay Inslee ordered a strict review far beyond the scope of a standard environmental study. The company first filed for permits on the export terminal early in 2012. According to Millennium, the project would create 135 permanent jobs. Unfortunately, job creation does not appear to be important to the Inslee administration.
Leave a Reply