Passed Resolution in Opposition to the Tacoma Liquefied Natural Gas Facility

The following resolution was passed by the members of the 37th Legislative District during the February 2018 Monthly Membership Meeting on February 12th. It will be forwarded to Senate and House Representatives in the Washington State Legislature.

RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO THE TACOMA LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS FACILITY

Whereas, Puget Sound Energy (PSE), a for-profit company owned by foreign investor Macquarie Group (Australia), has proposed an 18-story liquified natural gas facility (LNG) at the Port of Tacoma for the purpose of producing, storing and distributing liquefied natural gas; and

Whereas, PSE has illegally begun construction despite lacking key permits, an inadequate EIS and in breach of the existing Treaty with the Puyallup Tribe, a Sovereign Nation; and

Whereas, the Puyallup Tribe was not meaningfully consulted in the permitting process, despite the LNG facility’s significant threat to Tribal fishing rights and overwhelming public opposition from Puyallup Tribal and local community members; and

Whereas, the Washington State Democratic Party Platform calls for “immediate aggressive action to minimize climate change, as global climate change is the foremost threat to survival of Earth as we know it,” and Governor Inslee has affirmed his commitment to supporting the Paris Climate Accords; and

Whereas, natural gas is now recognized as a powerful contributor to climate change and overwhelmingly, peer-reviewed studies have found that emissions from fracking and leaks along the supply chain virtually eliminate any emissions-reducing impacts of gas usage; and

Whereas, the LNG facility would require a steady supply of fracked gas from offsite wells, exposing communities living near those wells to deadly toxins and carcinogens used in the fracking process and permanently polluting local waters;

Whereas, this facility is located in the Cascadian fault zone, in an area at high risk for earthquakes and tsunamis, and in an area that will be regularly flooded by 2050, posing an extreme and unacceptable hazard to local residents; and

Whereas, this facility is sited on and near multiple Superfund sites, exposing the thousands of people within a 3-mile radius of the facility to toxins and carcinogens during construction and operation, leading to increased risk of cancer, neurological disorders, birth defects, respiratory issues and other chronic health issues; and

Whereas, the review process for the LNG facility has been marked by conflict of interests and huge failures to quantify and mitigate the project’s environmental and climate impacts;

Therefore be it resolved that the 37th Legislative District Democrats firmly oppose construction of PSE’s LNG facility, and urge the Port of Tacoma, the Governor, and the State of Washington to reject it forthwith; and

Be if further resolved that the Washington State Office of the Attorney General will conduct a legal review of the SEPA environmental review process for the project, the many requests for a supplemental EIS that have been made, and the lawsuits that have been filed and will be filed for the failings that have thus far occurred; and

Be it further resolved that all permitting agencies immediately issue a Stop Work order for all construction work on the PSE LNG facility and pipelines, in-water, in shoreline, and landward and revoke and then re-evaluate the Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, the WDOE Coastal Zone Management (CZM) concurrence, and the City of Tacoma Shoreline approval; and

Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be sent to the Governor, and our 37th District State Representatives and State Senator.

Resolution written by Jess Wallach, Morgan Michel-Schottman, and David Perk and sponsored by the 43rd Democrats Environmental Caucus.

Resolution presented to 37^th District Democrats by John Stafford

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS “DO-PASS” ON THIS RESOLUTION 1-29-18