On Aug. 25, 2015, the Washington Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Port of Vancouver USA in an appeal brought by Columbia Riverkeeper and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center.  The Court affirmed the ruling of the Clark County Superior Court that the port’s lease for the Vancouver Energy terminal complies with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

The environmental groups claimed that the port failed to follow SEPA during the lease approval process.  Specifically, they alleged that the port should have waited to approve the lease until the state energy siting council (EFSEC) issued its environmental impact statement, and alleged that the lease improperly limited the alternatives to be considered in the siting council process.

In Jan. 2014, Clark County Superior Court Judge David E. Gregerson ruled that the Port of Vancouver USA was not required to conduct a SEPA review prior to entering the lease with Tesoro-Savage.   He also found that the lease did not limit the alternatives to be considered during environmental review because it is contingent on completion of that review.

The Court of Appeals agreed with Judge Gregerson, finding that the port’s decision to enter the lease was exempt from SEPA’s Environmental Impact Statement requirement and did not limit the choice of reasonable alternatives for the project.

“We are pleased that the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the decision of the Superior Court.  This is yet another ruling in the port’s favor that reaffirms our commitment to responsible development and thorough environmental review,” said port CEO Todd Coleman. “We look forward to continuing our collaborative work with all interested parties as the Vancouver Energy project goes through the EFSEC process.”

Port attorney Lawson Fite of the Markowitz Herbold law firm added that Tuesday’s unanimous decision allows the EFSEC process to continue moving forward.   “The Court of Appeals confirmed that the structure of the Vancouver Energy lease was appropriate to comply with SEPA and account for the siting council process,” Fite said.

Visit www.portvanusa.com/marine/crude-oil for more information on the Vancouver Energy project.