Let’s not give them an inch!

What are they up to now?
Shell Puget Sound Refinery at Anacortes wants to construct a crude oil unloading system with the capacity to unload up to 102 railcars per day. This proposed project is called the Crude-by-Rail East Gate (CREG). The Northwest Clean Air Agency is now accepting public comments on a draft construction permit for the CREG. This permit focuses on emissions from operation of the would-be new rail terminal, and evaluates how the addition of this terminal and the different types of crude oil could affect emissions at the refinery.

Why we Safe Shippers care:
• North Dakota Bakken crude is gushing forth and the oil industry is looking for a market.
• There is currently a ban on export of crude oil from the US, however this ban is in threat of being lifted.
• Even though Shell’s permit application is for receiving crude for refining, the option of loading crude onto vessels as cargo must be addressed.
• If the export of crude is approved, then it could mean more tankers carrying more crude oil right past our front door.
• We would like to stop this from happening for many reasons: from the possibility of crude oil spills on our island shorelines, to ocean acidification resulting from yet more CO2 emissions into our planet’s atmosphere.

This is our opportunity to say NO to a crude oil rail facility that has the potential of becoming a crude oil tanker export facility.

Suggested comments:
Given that the permit application (OAC 1179) does not address the adverse impacts to air quality (and subsequent adverse impacts to water quality) from the loading of crude oil as cargo onto vessels, ask the Northwest Clean Air Agency to expressly prohibit the transfer of any crude received at the CREG to vessels and/or to storage tanks and then to vessels.

Please submit comments by October 16, 2014
Mail: Ms. Toby Mahar, P.E., Northwest Clean Air Agency, 1600 S. 2nd St., Mount Vernon WA 98273
E-mail: toby@nwcleanair.org
In person: Public hearing on October 16 at 6:00pm. Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th St., Anacortes.

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More information:

APPLICATION: Shell Puget Sound Refinery Crude-by-Rail East Gate Notice of Construction
http://www.nwcleanair.org/publicNotices/documents/OAC1179ShellCregApplication_000.pdf

DRAFT PERMIT: NWCAA Issues Order of Approval to Construct
http://www.nwcleanair.org/publicNotices/documents/OAC1179ShellCREG_000.pdf

PRESS RELEASE: NWCAA draft permit focuses on potential air releases from proposed Shell crude-oil rail terminal
http://www.nwcleanair.org/documents/9-16-14CrudeRailNRFinal.pdf

PUBLIC NOTICE: Northwest Clean Air Agency Seeks Comments
http://www.nwcleanair.org/publicNotices/documents/OAC1179ShellCREGPublicNotice_000.pdf

To read what our friends on the mainland are saying about this project:
http://www.evergreenislands.org

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Let’s protect our islands. Thank you for helping to draw the line.