Whatcom County hearing examiner halts Ferndale Terminal expansion
The Whatcom County Hearing Examiner has sided with a coalition of environmental groups in ruling that the county must conduct analyses of the expansion of the ALA Energy Ferndale Terminal before any projects can continue.
Whatcom County previously issued a determination in September stating they did not need to conduct an environmental impact study for 33 projects at the terminal, which is operated by AltaGas and stores, processes and exports butane and propane. The director of Whatcom County Planning and Development Services said during a council meeting that consultations “equivalent” to an environmental impact study were done before that determination was made.
An appeal was submitted in October by Earthjustice on behalf of a coalition of nongovernmental organizations: Friends of the San Juans, Evergreen Islands, RE Sources, the Sierra Club, Washington Conservation Action and Whatcom Environmental Council.
The groups argued at a hearing in January that the expansion of the terminal posed threats to the environment without mitigation, and that the county miscalculated the degree of expansion.
The hearing examiner ruled Tuesday to block permits for expansion projects at the terminal until the county meets additional criteria, potentially including an environmental impact study. He said it was “substantively probable” that increased marine traffic would impact Southern Resident killer whales, and that there was an “impermissible absence of factual findings” in the county’s previous determination.
“The law says counties need to be honest with the community about the risks and impacts of projects like this one,” said Jan Hasselman, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “This terminal has a shameful history of skirting the law, and it’s about time they were held to account.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 12:41 PM.