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Wednesday, February 19, 2014
PERMITS: Majority of comments oppose coal terminal project From PAGE A1
onto covered barges using an enclosed conveyor. The coal would then travel down the Columbia River to Port Westward in Clatskanie before being transferred to Panamax ocean-going vessels headed to Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and other Asian markets. The entire process – from end to end – is to be fully covered, enclosed and contained to minimize exposure to coal dust. However, this and other projects looking to bring coal through the Pacific Northwest continue to draw criticism from citizens statewide and from environmental groups like Columbia Riverkeeper, Clean Colum-
bia County, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and the National Wildlife Federation. Ambre officials might be viewing the newly obtained permits as a step forward, but opponents have a very different perspective. “There’s bigger news today about their coal export proposal. And it’s not good for them… Ambre applied for these permits over 18 months ago, and they were drafted by the agency as approved over eight months ago, but it’s no game changer,” said Michael O’Leary, outreach consultant from the National Wildlife Federation. “In fact these aren’t the most important permits. The biggest hurdles for coal exports in Oregon have long been
with Oregon’s Department of State Lands, who are allowed much broader scope to their concerns with coal than the DEQ is allowed, and who for the last year have frozen Ambre dead in its tracks with follow up questions that the coal company either can’t or won’t answer.” Opposition to at least the Coyote Island Terminal portion of the project seems to be growing, if not well established. Of the more the 16,500 comments received during the public comment period, more than 80 percent were opposed to issuing the permits. According to DEQ, most of the comments focused on three areas of concern: “global impacts related to
the combustion of coal, such as greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, regional haze, mercury emissions, and other hazardous air pollutant emissions; transportation issues, such as increased train traffic, locomotive and tugboat emissions, noise, spills, and fugitive dust while the coal is in transit; and economic benefits associated with the project, such as jobs area citizens and revenue for local communities.” The issuance of the three permits does not mean that the project has been approved to proceed just that the standards for these particular DEQ permits have been met. Along with these, the project also needs permits from the Oregon Department
of State Lands and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which Ambre is currently seeking. The company is anticipating being operational by the beginning of 2015. The Corps of Engineers is expected to issue its permitting decision this spring. “We are committed to doing business the Oregon way, and working with local companies to strengthen our economy. We’re ready to start work just as soon as we receive permits from the Corps and Oregon DSL,” said Moseley. The issuance of the three permits did come with somewhat of a surprise announcement, though. “After considering the comments received, DEQ has
also concluded that a further water quality certification – called a 401 certification – is appropriate for the project. DEQ is consulting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Ambre Energy on the next steps for this certification,” said the state agency. “This is a huge reversal. From day one the DEQ has maintained that they were not requiring the 401 from Ambre, but now today the DEQ has raised their highest bar to coal exports yet,” said O’Leary. “Plain and simple the road to coal just got a lot rougher out in Oregon.” View the DEQ website related to the Morrow Pacific project at oregon.gov/DEQ/Pages/CoalExport.aspx.
CURRY: Opening ceremony pageantry required long hours of work From PAGE A1 stadium. “I still haven’t seen it on TV,” Kearsley said. From what he saw live on the stadium screens, he was satisfied with the time and effort put in. “The gratification was there for sure. It was really cool to see the camera angles… that aspect of the show – you don’t see that when you’re doing rehearsals. You get to capture the details that you don’t see. They’ll still pan out and see the full whale, but they’ll zoom in and see the (guys) doing back flips,” Kearsley said. Rehearsals started about a week after the trio arrived in Russia in early December.
That gave the group upclose looks at the performers practicing for several weeks. As the Olympics drew nearer, they had a couple of dress rehearsals. Kearsley said one of the things he feels that goes overlooked is many of the performers who took part in the larger, choreographed activities were simply volunteers – not experienced performers. One of the show’s headlining performers – ballerina Diana Vishneva – was sporting Curry Design’s light-up headdresses. The contraption is basically a hoop that goes on the performer’s head. Attached to it are 40 wires that are completely lit up. When the performers like Vishneva spun, the wires would create
a stunning visual. Vishneva was joined by 39 other performers wearing the illuminated hoops. The other task was creating the boyars – both male and female. In Russian history, a boyar is similar to a knight. For the ceremony – which told the tale of Russia – boyars and their female counterparts came onto the arena floor dressed in dazzling colors. These costumes were Curry creations. Kearsley said they were each made from about 30 pounds of foam, fabric and steel. “It’s a steel frame with a fabric body, hooped arms and a foam head. The foam head was essentially on a custom helmet that we made for each performer,” he said.
All of that was attached to a pack attached to the performer underneath the costume. The hooped arms are exaggeratedly long, allowing the performers to swing and dangle them all over, creating a party-like atmosphere. After the boyars entered the arena, they eventually circled together to form the fins of a whale. According to Russian folklore, an entire civilization floated in on a whale’s back, which is why during the ceremony the whale’s body was made of remarkable buildings. Part of the plan was to make these creations all very colorful to give an appearance of toys. It was immediately clear to Kearsley that
this goal was accomplished. “When I saw them on the screen, it really looked like toys. I was like ‘Holy crap – those look like toys,’” he said. In order to create such a grandiose pageant, the group had to put in long hours. There were some days that started at 8 a.m. and didn’t end until midnight. However, it wasn’t all business while they were over there. Kearsley said that for Christmas, he and Whitman went skiing on Krasnaya Polyana – the mountain where many of the Olympic events are being held. “It was beautiful up there,” he said. “That was one of the things I wanted to make sure I did. I wasn’t sure
I’d be able to, but we did.” One of the things they weren’t able to do was watch any of the events. They had to pack up all their props and head out of town just three days after the opening ceremony. Still, Kearsley said he would take the job again if asked. “It was a great experience. I would do it again for sure. Maybe not tomorrow, but I would definitely do it again. And I’m sure Harlan and Amy would say the same thing. There was a lot of stress involved, but once you see the final product it’s pretty rewarding. And once you hear the applause and the screaming people, it’s pretty cool,” he said.
BOISE: City looking for revenue tions have been on ongoing effort for city officials. “We’ve had numerous versions of offers and counter offers. We’re trying to resolve the environmental issues,” said Walsh in November 2013. Along with the veneer plant property, the city is also looking at purchasing property that would include Boise’s wastewater lagoon. “Boise has approached us and we’re looking at some exchange possibilities. They
have some pretty significant liabilities with sludge in the wastewater lagoon. We may exchange that or purchase the property,” Walsh added. What the city could do with that property once it’s purchased is still very much unknown. Environmental issues are a big part of that consideration. Still, Walsh says there is an opportunity for the city there. “It could possibly change the face of St. Helens,” said Walsh. “The thing about the sludge is that it is in the lagoon which probably isn’t
going to be used for anything other than a lagoon in the future. Back when they when really going guns, they had 48 million gallons a day pumping through that. Now they’re down to a million gallons a day. It’s oversized and it’s right on the water. There are better uses for that... If it’s filled with sewage already, would it be possible to fill it with something like that and make it a revenue stream – and reduce the footprint and maintenance.”
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