What does it take?
We must not forget the facts surrounding the failure, still, of Brian Shay and the City of Hoquiam to deny permits for construction of Westway/Contanda, crude oil storage tanks. Still a potential threat to our estuary and shoreline, to the Port of Grays Harbor, to those, such as myself, in the blast zone.
A solid, credible group of coalitions and individuals, including the Quinault Nation are opposed to bringing crude oil by rail to the Port of Grays Harbor and opposed to the construction of oil terminal storage tanks on our shoreline in a highly sensitive estuary, in a tsunami and earthquake zone.
These opponents, numbering in the thousands, have spent the last four years making and presenting their case through written and oral public comment. These opponents, have included in their arguments, credible scientific data collected from a variety of studies against oil storage infrastructure here.
This collected data has consistently defined fundamental, impossibly unmitigated risks posed by these volumes of oil on our coastal waters documenting a multitude of highly dangerous risks to our health, marine resources, our environment, our waters, our real estate values, to our life and, yes, our deaths! We have undeniably concluded “all is at risk.” Over and over! Yet. Mr. Shay, along with with the state Department of Ecology, continues moving permits forward. Testifying in favor of Westway/Contanda! What does it take?
We have also declared the risks are too great. We refuse to be expendable or to allow this coastline and our marine resources to be permanently toxified for the financial gains of these, originally three, oil companies; noting 33 percent of Grays Harbor’s economy is directly related to our marine resources. When there is a spill, it cannot be fixed. We will never be the same.
What does it take to convince Mr. Shay, whose assignation is to first and foremost, protect the safety and well being of the people of Hoquiam, to deny these permits?
Now, our Supreme Court has unanimously validated our four-year argument against these volumes of oil storage and transfer.
ORMA (Ocean Resources Management Act) a more stringent protection of our Washington coastal waters will apply to the oil storage proposed by Westway/Contanda terminals — because our Supreme Court, the highest court in Washington State, has unanimously ruled — because these terminals pose insurmountable threats to our coastal environment, surely Brian Shay must deny these permits, now.
Even though Westway/Contanda CEO, G.R. “Jerry” Cardillo still plans to keep trying to mitigate these impossible risks — apparently until the cows come home — on and on — in the face of all the presented facts, evidence and court rulings against! Now, surely, the permits will certainly be denied, by Brian Shay!
Honestly-what does it take to deny billions of gallons of oil storage in the Port of Grays Harbor? Four years of public comment against, immense amounts of critical data collection and a unanimous Supreme Court ruling should do it.
Don’t you think?
Think about it. What does it take to say no to oil?
Carol Seaman
Aberdeen
