The project,
proposed by longtime port tenant Tesoro in partnership with the logistics
company Savage, is expected to bring North American crude oil to the port by
rail, where it would then be transferred to marine vessels for transport to
refineries in California, Washington and Alaska.
With the lease
approval, the project now moves into the environmental permitting process.
Washington State’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council is to act as the
lead agency for local and state permits, and the companies will work through an
extensive process to address local, state and federal requirements.
The
Tesoro-Savage Joint Venture, or TSJV, would lease about 42 acres of port
property to accommodate a rail unloading facility, storage tanks and a vessel
loading area. The estimated capital investment by TSJV is $100 million, and
revenue to the port is expected to exceed $45 million over the 10-year lease
period.
When
operational, the terminal would be capable of shipping up to 360,000 barrels of
crude a day, with up to four trains arriving daily from North Dakota and
Canada. The port also says the facility is expected to create between 80 and
120 permanent jobs and 250 temporary construction jobs.
In the weeks
and months leading up to the vote, the proposed terminal had drawn the support
of business and labor leaders and the opposition of environmentalists and
others who expressed concerns about the project’s safety and potential impact
on climate change.
Although the
three-member commission acknowledged that the contentious issue would likely
not sit well with a substantial portion of the local community, all three said
they felt the project was in the port’s best interest.
