Contanda Terminals’ shorelines permit application with the City of Hoquiam has been put on hold until the company can provide the city with a plan that details how they plan to proceed with their Port of Grays Harbor oil terminal project.

The announcement from the Hoquiam City Council comes on the heels of a state Supreme Court decision earlier this month ruling the project fell under the tighter environmental regulations of the Oceans Resource Management Act.

Hoquiam City Attorney Steve Johnson at Monday’s council meeting said, “Today (City Administrator Brian Shay) sent a letter to Contanda that said the application for their shorelines permit has been put on hold until we get a message from Contanda on how they plan to proceed.”

He said the city is asking Contanda to provide information saying “they feel they can comply with (the Ocean Resources Management Act), or not” before any action would be taken by Shay on the permit.

“It’s on the company now to meet the standards of the Ocean Resources Management Act,” said Mayor Jasmine Dickhoff. “That is, if they can.”

Public comment later in the meeting was brief and focused on the need for Shay to deny the permit regardless of Contanda’s plans. Several said the permit should have been denied after the final Environmental Impact Statement was released in September of last year, which outlined more than 60 potential hazards of the proposed terminal.

The Contanda crude oil terminal would receive oil by rail and include five large storage tanks with about 1 million barrels’ capacity. The oil would then be loaded on to vessels for delivery to other ports. When operating at its capacity, the facility would receive just under 18 million barrels of crude a year.