Says county needs terminal jobs
The question that comes to mind when I hear about the demands to stop the environmental review of the Gateway Terminal right now is: what is everyone so afraid of? Why stop a legal process that is almost complete?
Are opponents worried the final EIS will confirm Gateway’s assertion that this project can be completed and operated without harm to the environment? I suggest letting the Lummi objection be noted and taken into account during this process, but then, please make the decision based on fact, not on what is currently politically correct.
The “government” created the environmental impact review that everyone else has to follow. Why would, or should, it be allowed to exempt itself, from following its own policies, rules, and regulations, by stopping the process before a final report is completed?
As a lifelong recreational fisherman, crabber and shrimper, I fail to see how the construction of a facility at Cherry Point will affect my being able to continue doing what I love to do. It seems to me that the total surface area of Puget Sound water needed to operate the facility, compared to all the waters that would still be available for use, would be miniscule.
If ever Washington state and Whatcom County needed high-paying, long-term jobs, this is the time. This is the project. This is the place. Finish up the review so we can put people back to work again.
Dave Wing, Lummi Island
This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Says county needs terminal jobs."