Dear Safe Shippers,
Let’s end out this year with a gift to our Residents of the Salish Sea! We are needed to take quick action for orcas because a proposed fossil fuel project in Tacoma barely considers them.
THE PROJECT
• SeaPort Sound Terminal in Tacoma would like to expand, increasing its fossil fuel storage capacity by 11% (= 9%+ increase in greenhouse gases).
• The City of Tacoma determined that this proposed expansion would have significant environmental impacts, so SeaPort had to complete a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
THE ISSUE
• SeaPort’s DEIS fails to meet the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requirements because it does not consider the full range of scenarios and risks from this project, such as air quality, increased shipping, and impacts to orcas.
• Tacoma and all of Puget Sound is NOAA-determined critical habitat for the Southern Resident killer whales.
THE ACTION
• DEADLINE is Tuesday, December 27, 2022 to tell Tacoma that SeaPort needs to re-do the DEIS. They must include every possible impact its project fails to address.
• Sign on to this action letter from Communities for a Healthy Bay (orcas are in their logo!):
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-city-of-tacoma-seaport-sounds-deis-needs-to-be-re-done?source=direct_link&
• And/or, email your own personal letter to:
SeaportPlantModernizationDEIS@cityoftacoma.org
THE POINTS
• Tell the City of Tacoma that the environmental review needs to be done correctly because you care about what happens in all orca waters.
• Point out what’s missing from the DEIS (and that its inadequacy fails the SEPA requirements), specifically these impacts related to orca safety:
– Potential vessel traffic increases (we’re supposed to take their word that there won’t be any).
– Impacts from shipping vessels all along the traffic route, not just the project site.
– Cumulative impacts from present and future projects along the traffic route, including the Puget Sound Energy Liquified Natural Gas Facility under construction in Tacoma.
– Low probability/high consequence impacts from project-related oil spills and ship strikes.
More talking points from Communities for a Healthy Bay:
Thank you, Safe Shippers, for your bold actions in 2022. They make a difference!
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In memoriam Ken Balcomb, orca champion:
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San Juan Islanders for Safe Shipping 