Whatcom County Council split on Cherry Point crude oil transshipments ban
Whatcom County Council members approved a six-month ban Tuesday, June 2, on filing, accepting or processing new applications for most new or expanded facilities for shipping unrefined fossil fuels that won’t be processed or used at the Cherry Point industrial zone.
It’s the ninth such interim measure since September 2016 as the county Planning Commission works to revamp a comprehensive plan that regulates the types of industry and manufacturing facilities in the region west of Ferndale.
That area is home to oil refineries and related petrochemical operations, and many county officials hope that the region will attract renewable-energy firms and similar sustainable businesses.
Vote on the measure was 4-3 with council members Tyler Byrd, Ben Elenbaas and Kathy Kershner dissenting.
“It sounds like you don’t want these businesses here,” said Elenbaas, who works at the BP Cherry Point refinery.
“There are positive aspects to the use of fossil fuels — and it’s not just the jobs,” he said.
Council member Rud Browne said the moratorium won’t prevent refineries from expanding their facilities or increasing production.
It simply stops any plan for any terminal that sends crude oil elsewhere for refining, Browne said.
“I really hope that we can put as much effort into creating jobs as we have discussing this issue,” said Council member Tyler Byrd. “I hope you all are up to that challenge.”
Tuesday’s vote came after a more than two-hour public hearing conducted through an internet-based conferencing application.
Some speakers discussed the region’s sensitive ecology, its cultural importance to the Lummi Nation and the possibility of environmental damage from a tanker spill or train wreck.
Others said they feared the loss of high-paying jobs in the region and asserted that the moratorium itself is illegal.
“Especially in these challenging times, we are looking for solutions that don’t leave families behind,” said Trevor Smith of Laborers International Union Local 292.
Dena Jensen of Birch Bay said she hoped that the council would extend the transshipment ban so that the “Lummi Nation doesn’t have to fight alone” to preserve Salish Sea habitat.
“We need a drastic reduction in noisy vessel traffic through these critical waters,” Jensen said.
Andrew Gamble, who said he worked for 14 years at Cherry Point, said the four-year ban has created uncertainty in the industry.
“We simply cannot afford to lose these industries because of your short-sighted changes,” Gamble said.
Gamble urged the council to focus its efforts instead on helping local businesses recover from losses caused by closures aimed at slowing the new coronavirus pandemic.
State Rep. Alex Ramel, D-Bellingham, spoke in his capacity as climate policy adviser for the environmental group Stand.Earth and urged the council to let the Planning Commission finish its work on a new comprehensive plan for Cherry Point.
“Please don’t remove these protections until that process is complete,” Ramel said.
Members of the Planning Commission have been discussing the issue since September 2019, but its recommendations have been delayed by limits on non-essential public meetings in response to the pandemic.
