Proposed Northwest coal export terminals inch forward
Washington (Platts)--1Apr2013/526 pm EDT/2126 GMT
-Andrew Moore, andrew_moore@platts.com

The two largest export coal terminals proposed in the Pacific Northwest cleared regulatory benchmarks Monday, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

The state agency has hired ICF International, an environmental consulting company, to help manage the scoping process for the proposed Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview, Washington, it said Monday.



Scoping helps regulators determine what issues to address in an environmental impact statement, which both the state and the US Army Corps of Engineers require before construction, but dates for the scoping period have not been set yet, the agency said.

Both Ambre Energy and Arch Coal back the proposed terminal, which is sited along the Columbia River. When fully built, it would have annual capacity of 44 million short tons and would be served by both Union Pacific and BNSF Railway.

Additionally, the state agency released Monday a summary of the roughly 125,000 scoping comments it collected recently for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal.

Gateway Pacific, which SSA Marine and Peabody Coal both back, would be located at Cherry Point, near Bellingham, Washington, and would have an annual capacity of 54 million st. It would be served solely by BNSF.

The summary will be used to help the agency identify what issues to study when it jointly begins work with Whatcom County and the Army Corps later this year on a draft EIS for the terminal.

The draft EIS may take at least a year to prepare, according to the agency. The draft EIS would then be opened to public comment before a final EIS is produced.

According to the comment summary released Monday, many people urged generic support or opposition to the terminal.

More detailed comments sought the agencies' review of a wide range of issues, including the potential impact of air pollution from China and increased train traffic along routes in states far from the port, including Powder River Basin states of Montana and Wyoming.

The two terminals are among five in the Pacific Northwest that are in various stages of planning, all aimed at capturing Asian demand for coal that is projected to grow in the coming years.

According to some estimates, annual coal exports from the region could total more than 140 million st if all five terminals were built.

But experts caution that it likely will be several years before any of the terminals might be built because of the lengthy permitting process.

--Andrew Moore, andrew_moore@platts.com --Edited by Valarie Jackson, valarie_jackson@platts.com