Agencies Invite Input on Longview Terminal Environmental Review (USA)

The public is invited to an Oct. 17 meeting in Tacoma to comment on the scope of environmental review for a proposed coal export terminal near Longview.

Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview LLC proposes to build and operate a terminal to export coal from the site of the former Reynolds Aluminum smelter in Cowlitz County.

Cowlitz County, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are using a synchronized process to create two environmental impact statements (EIS) – one that meets federal requirements and one that meets state requirements.

Cowlitz County and Ecology must follow the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and the Corps must follow the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The fifth and final scoping meeting is from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Broadway. People can continue to submit comments for up to a month following the meeting, through Nov. 18. The 95-day comment period began Aug. 16.

Previous meetings were held in Longview, Spokane, Pasco and Clark County.

Staff will be available to provide information and answer questions throughout the open house-style meeting. The public will have opportunities to provide oral or written comments. No formal presentation will occur, so people may arrive and leave anytime during the meeting hours.

The open house begins at 4 p.m. and continues throughout the meeting. People may submit written or oral comments to a court reporter in a semi-private setting. The opportunity to provide oral comments before an audience is from 5 to 8 p.m.

All three agencies will accept and review all received comments.

[mappress]

Press Release, October 11, 2013