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Sheriff’s Log
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Shakespeare on stage
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VOLUME 35, NUMBER 45 • November 6, 2012
Coal controversy continues By Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
Coal isn’t the only fuel firing the first stage of the Gateway Pacific Coal Terminal protest. Bunker fuel spills, noise pollution, and bilge and ballast water are just a few detrimental impacts, that citizens on the San Juan Islands are concerned about when it comes to increased coal transport through the Salish Sea. The scoping workshop on Lopez, on Oct. 24, sponsored by Friends of the San Juans and Lopez NO COALition with help from Vortex and Lopez Village Market, drew about 60 people. “The coal terminal project may have devastating
The Medicare Enrollment Deadline is December 7.
be ReadY.
Register for a local Medicare seminar where you can learn more about your options from a Regence Medicare expert. Get infoRMation about: • SilverSneakers® Fitness Program included in your membership • No referrals needed when you see a specialist • Routine vision and preventive dental care The Microsoft Store, Meeting Room 116 Bellevue Square, Bellevue Thursday, November 8, 10:00 a.m.
Regence BlueShield, Glacier Peak Conference Room 1800 9th Ave., Seattle Thursday, November 8, 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 27, 10:00 a.m.
Federal Way Community Center 876 S. 333rd St., Federal Way Friday, November 9, 10:00 a.m.
Renton Community Center 1715 SE Maple Valley Highway, Renton Tuesday, November 13, 10:00 a.m.
The Polyclinic Broadway, General Meeting Room 1145 Broadway, Seattle Thursday, November 15, 10:00 a.m.
Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center 16600 NE 80th St., Redmond Friday, November 16, 10:00 a.m.
1-866-650-2389 (TTY users should call 711) Monday–friday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | www.regence.com/medicare
the benefit information provided herein is a brief summary, not a comprehensive description, of available benefits. for more information, contact the plan. Limitations, copayments and restrictions may apply. benefits may change on January 1 of each year. a sales person will be present with information and applications. for accommodation of persons with special needs at sales meetings, call 1-888-734-3623, 48 hours in advance. ttY users should call 711. Regence blueShield is a Health plan with a Medicare contract. Regence blueShield is an independent licensee of the blue Cross and blue Shield association. H5009_SWPa4Wa aCCePted
adverse impacts on our island ecology and economy as well as our children and grandchildren. So I think it’s very important that the companies and agencies involved conduct careful and comprehensive analysis of all the potential risks and impacts before deciding whether the project should go forward,” said Chom Greacen, a Lopez resident. “Our role in this is to tell them what to study and analyze.” The workshop held on Lopez, and similar events on Orcas and San Juan, were part of preparations for a Nov. 3 scoping meeting in Friday Harbor (occurring after this edition of the Weekly went to press) and the 120-day scoping comment period announced recently by the Army Corps of Engineers, Whatcom County and the Washington Department of Ecology. These are the three “co-lead agencies” responsible for producing an Environmental Impact Statement studying impacts
of the Cherry Point bulk loading terminal near Ferndale proposed by SSA Marine, the Seattle port facilities operator. Those three agencies previously determined that plans for the export facility must undergo a full environmental review by federal, state and local officials before development permits would be issued. That review, as set out by the National Environmental Policy Act and the state Environmental Policy Act, requires evaluation of the project’s potential impacts through development of an EIS, which incorporates comments submitted at the series of four regional meetings, online, or by letters to any of the three agencies. Greacen said the workshop on Lopez helped residents to learn how to frame questions at the scoping meeting. Instead of stating “I oppose the project,” people were guided to ask ‘What is the likelihood of a major hurricane causing a
Community Shakespeare 11th Annual Fall Festival AS YOU LIKE IT (appropriate for all ages)
Nov. 7, admission by donation, 12 noon & 7:30pm Nov. 8-9-10 at 7:30pm. Students $10, Adults $15 Tickets online at communityshakespeare.org, Also at Paper Scissors Rock
Remaining seats sold at 6:30pm at the door: Lopez Center for Community & the Arts
coal ship collision and major oil spill?’ or request a study of the impact on the San Juan economy if the orca population were to be wiped out by a major oil spill. If approved, the $650 million Gateway Terminal would be the largest bulk export facility on the West Coast. At full capacity, it would be capable of exporting up to 54 million metric tons of coal per year, shipped by rail from Montana and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin on coal-train caravans, each more than a mile long, that would circulate through the facility daily. The coal would then be carried through the Salish Sea and the waters of the San Juan Islands by as many as 480 jumbo-sized container ships, the smallest of which are more than three football fields in length, each year to Asian markets, where it would be used for fuel. Supporters cite the economic benefits the export facility will bring to the region, including the creation of as many as 2,000 new jobs and a boost to tax revenues for state and local governments. Critics claim that the facility, and the increase in rail and shipping traffic it would demand, will produce more air and noise pollution, greater traffic congestion, put the natural environment at risk and undermine the region’s quality of life. Scientist Val Veirs, a retired physics professor who has listened to and watched killer whales and ships in Haro Strait for 10 years, wants to make sure that science informs and influences the government deciders who will consider the noise impacts that increased ship traffic might have on the endangered population of killer whales. Veirs doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but he’s confident that he and his scientific colleagues, including state natural resources officials and federal fisheries experts, have good data and are developSee coal, page 8