POV-TSJV-lease-05142014-webBecause there have been questions regarding the port’s redaction of information in the lease with Tesoro Savage (related to the crude oil handling facility proposed at the port), we’d like to provide the following information on what was redacted and why.

First, however, it’s important to know that among Washington’s local governing bodies, which also include cities, counties and towns, ports are unique. Under state law (RCW 42.56.070(1) and RCW 19.108.010(4)), ports are empowered to provide certain business-type services, mainly to facilitate trade promotion and industrial and economic development.

As a port sets rates and enters into agreements with private companies (whether for lease of land or use of its terminal facilities), it is competing for business. That’s why the disclosure of certain information, such as shipping rates, could harm a port’s expected revenues if released to the public. It is also why ports are allowed to seek protection of such critical information.

SPECIFICS RELATED TO THE TESORO SAVAGE LEASE:

  • In response to public records requests, the port released a redacted copy of the lease in July 2013.
  • The lease is 429 pages long; and 22 pieces of information were redacted.
  • Reasons for those origianal redactions included privacy, security and the protection of trade secrets, all allowable under Washington state law.
  • In April 2014, the port received a second series of public records requests, all asking for un-redacted copies of the lease.
  • In response, the port again reviewed the lease to determine what information, if any, needed to be redacted; with the result being a lease document with only 11 pieces of information redacted.
  • The port un-redacted information primarily for two reasons.
  • First, some of the information originally redacted is now in the public domain, a result of Tesoro Savage’s outreach efforts and submittal of their permit application to the Washington State Energy Facility Siting Evaluation Council.
  • Second, in an effort to be as transparent as possible, the port carefully identified the information that was the most critical to protect (to prevent harm to the port) and then looked to see if any of the associated redactions (information that was connected with these very sensitive issues) could be redacted with relatively low risk of harm to the port. That lower risk information was made public.
  • No sentences, words, concepts, or lease principles are redacted. Only specific numbers are redacted.
  • Those redacted numbers include port rates and fees; the number of barrels per day that are necessary to maintain Tesoro Savage’s exclusivity; the number of barrels per day that triggers a discussion between the port and Tesoro Savage regarding the possibility of expansion; and the number of months the two parties have to meet lease requirements.

Again, only the information that, if made public, has a high risk of harming the port’s ability to compete and generate economic benefit to the community has been redacted. At all times, the Port of Vancouver USA makes every effort to be as transparent as possible.

For more information, view the original redacted lease and the newly redacted lease. Hard copies of both lease documents also are available for viewing at the port’s administrative offices.