Is the Port of Kalama giving up too much land for the Northwest Innovations methanol project? Will a 90-acre conservation set-aside undercut future development?
Cowlitz County Hearing Examiner Mark Scheibmeir on Monday approved two shoreline permits that would require the port to conserve 90 to 95 acres of land to compensate for the plant’s impact on the environment. The conservation area would be about as large as the plant site itself, meaning that the port would devote a total of about 180 acres to the $1.8 billion project.
The hearing examiner’s decision will formally go to the state Department of Ecology next Tuesday. From there, Ecology will have 30 days to approve or reject the permits, or to approve the permit with modified conditions. If Ecology approves, opponents already have vowed to appeal the decision to a shoreline hearing board, in addition to challenging the adequacy of the state environmental impact statement on the project.
