After reading this article, I am honestly shocked by the fact that the Port of Kalama has sued the state to give this project a green light for construction.
The Port’s job is to find new, appropriate, clean and desirable businesses to build within the lands that have been selected for their use. Their job is not to decide whether the state is being too slow for them, or to decide if the additional studies requested are “unnecessary,” but to abide by the decisions made by the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Washington Shoreline Hearing Board.
Port of Kalama Executive Director Mark Wilson stated that the project needs to be evaluated based on existing documents.
I am in favor of this, and since the existing documents are insufficient, then the only answer to the Port and Northwest Innovation Works (NWIW) can be no permit. Gov. Jay Inslee is against the project and has requested $600,000 to supplement the additional study. Local opposition to the project is very strong, and since the money to finance this is coming from China, it should not be allowed.
As far as I am concerned, infrastructure construction in the United States of America should be financed and built by American companies, not Chinese.
Do not be fooled by the term “100 percent greenhouse gas emission” mitigation that NWIW claims they will achieve.
This does not mean there will be no pollution coming from the plant but only means that they will be buying emission credits from other companies. They claim a “net benefit to the environment,” which is ludicrous. The only way that the local environment will benefit is if this plant is not built at all. The net benefit language is based on international standards, not local, and again, there is no benefit to increased pollution of our local air.
To even consider building a facility of this scale, with the massive amounts of pollution that will be released in a heavily populated area like ours, is entirely foolish. If this project is completed, property values in the area are sure to drop, and the locals will lose money, as NWIW rakes it in and then sends a lot of it to China (interest debt on the $2 billion loan).
Port director Mark Wilson had better back off and allow the state agencies as much time and effort that they say is needed to completely study this project. That, or he should find another job.
I personally live just 13 miles from the planned plant site, and if this monstrosity is allowed, I will be considering selling my property and moving as far as possible from it.
