Shell announced that it will cease its efforts to secure an oil train facility in Anacortes, Washington on Oct. 6, following two major blows to oil industry’s plans for West Coast oil train expansion.
Shell proposed to build a rail loop that would bring six one-mile long crude oil trains each week to its refinery. Shell’s plans would have meant an increase in dirty, dangerous oil trains that threatened critical waterways, schools, businesses, property values, public health and the safety of every community in the blast-zone.
The proposal would have risked the safety of Skagit County residents in Mount Vernon and Burlington and the many uprail communities including Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Vancouver, Olympia, Spokane and the Columbia River Gorge, not to mention the impacts of an oilspill to the Salish Sea.
Earlier in October, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Shell’s Anacortes proposal was released by the Washington Department of Ecology and Skagit County. Fierce public opposition to the project was expected at a series of upcoming public hearings: already, 35,000 people have written in with their concerns.
Many people played a part in the effort to halt Shell Oil’s risky proposal, certain people deserve special recognition. Certainly, a pivotal person is Skagit County Hearing Examiner, Wick Dufford, who had required an Environmental Impact Statement. Earthjustice represented Friends of the San Juans, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, ForestEthics (now Stand), Washington Environmental Council, Friends of the Earth, and Evergreen Islands. But many non-profit organizations, homeowner associations, and private citizens are continuing their ardent efforts to protect the health and safety of – the humans in communities faced with similar perils – the threatened salmon and steelhead living in our rivers and bays – all the plants and animals living in the magnificent Columbia River, the mighty Skagit River; and the irreplaceable Salish Sea.
Shell Oil decision to withdraw its permit application may be a win-win outcome – Shell avoiding a premature financial decision and myriad communities avoiding an increased risk of disastrous crude oil train derailments. Friends of the San Juans supports working with a just transition towards a low carbon economy and safer shipping in the Salish Sea.
