T-5-aerial-2012Meeting agenda includes workshops on permitting process and crude oil facility project overview

 VANCOUVER, Wash. –The Port of Vancouver USA Board of Commissioners will meet Thursday, June 27, to attend to several action items and routine port business, including the approval of meeting minutes. Click to view the meeting’s agenda. Commission meetings are regularly held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. However, due to a scheduling conflict, it was necessary to reschedule the second meeting in June to Thursday, June 27. Open session begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Commission Room at the port’s administrative building located at 3103 NW Lower River Road, Vancouver.

Immediately following the regular meeting, two workshops will be held to update the commissioners on issues related to plans by longtime port tenant Tesoro to construct and operate a crude oil handling facility at the port. In a joint venture with the logistics company Savage, Tesoro is proposing 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 such places as California, Washington and Alaska.

EFSEC Workshop

The first workshop, which will last approximately 45 minutes, will provide the commissioners with an overview of the environmental permitting process related to the proposed expansion of the port’s liquid bulk handling capabilities. As with every potential tenant, the Tesoro-Savage Joint Venture is required to obtain all necessary environmental permits for the proposed facility as a condition of operation at the port. With the State of Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) acting as lead permitting agency for local and state permits, the companies will work through an extensive process, addressing local, state and federal requirements. Thursday’s workshop will provide the commissioners with an overview of the process, the projected timeline and opportunities for public involvement.

Jim Luce, chair of EFSEC, will be in attendance to present general information on the EFSEC process and answer questions from the commissioners. Created in 1970 to provide “one stop” licensing for large energy projects, EFSEC is charged with balancing the demand for new energy facilities with the broad interests of the public. Appointed chair of the agency in 2001 by Washington State Governor Gary Locke, Luce is joined on the council by representatives from five state agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources and the Utilities and Transportation Commission.

Project Overview Workshop

The day’s second workshop will offer an overview of the proposed facility, with representatives from the Tesoro-Savage Joint Venture on hand to provide project specifics. According to their April 22 news release, the Tesoro-Savage Joint Venture would own the crude unloading and loading facilities and would enter into a land lease agreement with the port for an initial period of ten years. The facility is expected to represent private-sector investment of approximately $75 to $100 million, and would be designed to handle an estimated initial volume of 120,000 bpd with potential near-term expansion capability to 280,000 bpd.

The purpose of the workshops is to provide information to the commissioners as they prepare to consider a lease with the Tesoro-Savage Joint Venture. It is anticipated that the proposed lease will come before the commissioners in July of this year. Earlier workshops include the May 14 workshop on Marine Safety and Oil Spill Response and the June 9 workshop on Rail Safety and Oil Spill Response. A final workshop is tentatively planned for July 9, during which the proposed lease between the port and the Tesoro-Savage Joint venture will be reviewed and discussed. As always, commission workshops are open to the public, and interested parties are welcome to attend. Click for more information on communicating with the port commission.

For those community members not able to attend Thursday’s meeting, both the regular meeting and the workshops will be televised live on CVTV (cable channels 21 and 23) beginning at 9:30 a.m. It also will be streamed live on www.cvtv.org and will be archived later in the day on the same website for future viewing. Links to all of the commission workshops in the series (as they become available from CVTV) also are available on the port’s website.

The Port of Vancouver USA is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast, and its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community. For more information, please visit us at www.portvanusa.com.

 – POV –