February 10 - 16, 2022
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
NWFR will explore finance options, page 2
42nd district House candidates, page 3
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Art exhibit on display at senior center, page 8
No CBP apology Blaine students place at music contest for January 2020 border detention, DelBene says By Grace McCarthy
(See CBP, page 3)
s Blaine High School choir students placed at the San Juan Music Educators Association’s Solo and Ensemble Contest at Bellingham High School on January 29. From l; choir director Andy Marshall, Coner Dudley, Joshua Bacon, Logan Thiessen, Alicia Dubay, Emily Roybal, Helena Macarthur, Isabella Taylor and Evellina Yuryev. Photo by Lisa Moeller
Cherry Point facility expanded without permits, NWCAA investigation finds By Ian Haupt A Northwest Clean Air Agency (NWCAA) investigation into Petrogas’ Cherry Point facility found the liquefied petroleum gas exporter expanded its facility without necessary permits. Beginning in 2015, Petrogas allegedly made a number of changes to its Ferndale facility that increased its railcar shipping capacity. Since those changes, the facility has increased the amount of propane unloaded per year from about 1,000 railcars to more than 16,000 in 2019, accord-
ing to NWCAA’s investigation findings, which were sent to Petrogas and Whatcom County government. Ship traffic also expanded from 2 to 5 moorings, parking a vessel for loading and unloading cargo, per year to 26 in 2019. The company could now face fines and/or further regulation from NWCAA and Whatcom County. Representatives from both the agency and county said all three parties are in communication with each other and negotiations could take months. In December 2020, AltaGas, an energy
Future of Birch Bay library in question By Grace McCarthy The future of the Birch Bay Vogt Community Library is in question after preliminary February 8 special election results showed the library wasn’t meeting the supermajority threshold needed to pass. As of 8 p.m. February 8, the library had 56.7 percent of voters in favor (1,730 votes) and 43.3 percent against (1,319 votes). Proposition 2, which would fund the library’s construction, needs a 60-percent supermajority to pass and 40 percent
of people who voted in the November 2021 election to vote in this election. The Whatcom County Auditor’s Office will continue counting ballots until it certifies election results Friday, February 18. Right now, the auditor’s office has an estimated 1,500 ballots left to count. By 26 votes, the ballot measure failed to meet the supermajority threshold in the November 2021 election. “Given our experience in the November election, we know that it’s not over until it’s over,” said Christine Perkins, Whatcom
County Library System (WCLS) executive director. “We remain hopeful that the remaining votes to be counted will bring the tally to the 60-percent supermajority, however it’s not looking great right now.” Perkins said it looked as though 40 percent of voters in the November election voted in the February special election. The election will determine whether a Birch Bay Library Capital Facility Area (LCFA) will be established and form a (See Library, page 5)
infrastructure company based in Calgary, Alberta, took over controlling interest of Petrogas. Through emissions self-disclosures submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and NWCAA in May 2021, AltaGas notified both agencies that it had found an unpermitted venting of volatile organic compounds at the facility. NWCAA then launched its investigation, reviewing past emissions reporting records, site inspections and information collected from Petrogas. It found that be(See Petrogas, page 3)
INSIDE
After demanding U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials issue a public apology on the January 2020 detention of Iranian-Americans at a Blaine border crossing, U.S. lawmakers say the request was ignored. U.S. congresswomen Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) called on CBP to issue a formal apology related to the January 4-5, 2020 event in which almost 100 individuals of Iranian descent were detained at the Peace Arch border crossing after an Iranian pop concert in Vancouver. The travelers were crossing the border as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated following a U.S. drone strike killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Some of those who were sent to secondary inspection were held for up to 12 hours and others turned away because of the overcrowded facility. In a November 2021 letter to CBP acting commissioner Troy Miller, DelBene and Jayapal demanded CBP release an internal report on the incident before the incident’s two-year anniversary January 5, 2022. The congresswomen also requested a formal apology for a CBP tweet that denied the interrogation but was later proven false by a CBP whistleblower who said CBP’s Seattle Office of Field Operations in Blaine issued the directive. CBP was also asked to have an Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties’ report published on the event and hold a press conference to issue a public apology and commit to change. In a statement issued to The Northern Light through her spokesperson, DelBene said her office followed up with CBP in January but did not receive an official response. “It is entirely unacceptable that over two years after this incident CBP has not issued a public apology for its disrespectful actions at the Peace Arch border crossing,” DelBene said. “More than just the lack of
TheNorthernLight
Coming Up . . . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
@TNLreporter
@TheNorthernLightNews
TheNorthernLight.com
ThisFLYER Week’s
Rite Aid
