Attended an anti crude-by-rail / oil containment forum tonight. A broad coalition of organizations opposed to the oil train industry gathered for a public meeting at Hoquiam High School. Many state county tribal and city leaders in attendance.

The bastages are looking for every avenue to get this toxic volatile mess to western ports for eventual export. Giving in to the industry now will doom the region to long term unmitigatable risk.

Is this really what we want for a community so reliant upon its natural riverine/estuarine/marine resources for its well being?

This is a MUST WATCH!

Anything with a probability of happening will happen given enough chances. DOD and DOE obviously recognize that based on some of the wild design criteria I've seen.

Who's the ultimate decision maker on the trains? DOT?

Federal or state courts will have the final say after all the posturing & BS is done.

Since oil trains are inter-state commerce, the Feds have final jurisdiction. In this case, it's the Federal Dept of Transportation. But they can only enforce the laws passed by Congress. The courts can't get involved unless somebody takes someone to court. And then, the courts can only interpret existing law or regs. They can't make it up.

I live in Vancouver, WA, not far from those tracks shown in the video. I see enormously long oil trains running right thru downtown Vancouver, Camas, and Washougal almost daily. This is a huge issue right now in Vancouver. We might be able to beat back the proposal to build an oil terminal at the Port of Vancouver, but local and State governments are powerless to stop the oil trains from running through their neighborhoods.

But don't worry, oil train accidents won't happen. Never, never. Ever. I know because the folks at Tesoro said so. (What is the sarcasm font on this BB?)

Right. And unless anyone can outspend Warren Buffet and Big Oil, all this protest amounts to no more than delays and added costs (which, don't get me wrong, are the citizens' only hope of affecting the outcome.) The only potential deal-breakers here are the EIS determining that the projects are not environmentally feasible (which to my knowledge has never happened), the process becoming prohibitively expensive (not likely- this is Big Oil and Berkshire Hathaway we're dealing with), or the foreign market for oil dropping to a point at which exports will no longer be profitable (not likely, but probably the most likely of the three).

Another potential outcome that I think is more realistic would be that other, existing ports would offer the corporate partners a sweet enough deal to make it profitable to ship oil to Asia from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast. Apparently, Montreal and New Orleans have both thrown hats in the ring. Hopefully, that starts moving fast, as I think it's the only scenario in which we won't see these projects eventually approved on our coast.

Local govt still holds the TRUMP card!

If Hoquiam fails to approve the permits for an expanded receiving facility, or conditionally revokes the existing ones... there's no reason to bring the oil to GH.

Conditionally... as in show proof of insurance to cover the damage from a accidental spill, seismic-induced spill, or catastrophic explosion. Hoquiam does NOT want to be stuck with the tab for cleanup/restoration.

After watching the same dog and pony show down here, the first thing I would expect would be convincing the fishing groups to give up impacts. They ain't going spend 5 -10 billion on infrastructure and then get stopped by a fish.

Nip that infrastructure in the bud... and then there's absolutely no reason to bring oil cars to GH.

We aren't "on the way" to anywhere else the oil might go.

If we build it, they WILL come.

If we don't, they NEVER will.

They're coming to the West Coast and are here in a big way on the Columbia now and trying to get bigger with propane methanol and of course the never ending LNG saga.

The NIMBY hypocrisy is overwhelming . You vote for big oil
Every time you stuff that gas nozzle in your boat, truck, car turn on the stove etc. you vote for massive copper mines with you big houses filled with copper wire and electronics. You vote for dams every time you buy something made from aluminum. It's hard to believe that people can be as educated as they are and still not get that they are the problem they are trying to stop.

Q's might come in handy with this.

This is about DANGEROUS, EXPLOSIVE, TIMEBOMBS running through our neighborhoods and along our waterways. People may use oil, but we've never had this much dangerous activity shoved down our throats before. Not to mention the lack of plans for containment and response to derailments and spills. To blame this response on "nimbys" is absurd. Go live in one of the communities affected by inevitable "accidents" from this flawed method of transporting dangerous substances and then talk. Bob R

This is THE key factor...

No storage terminal = no reason to bring the stuff here.

End of story.

Now lets KILL the proposed terminal!

Once this industry gets a foothold in our community, God only knows how much expansion the future holds. Once the area becomes known as a regional crude oil depot, it gives every other place an excuse to keep it coming our way.... we become the sacrificial lamb.

"Ah hell, Grays Harbor's already fukked... just keep the crude oil development there."

Is this what we want for our community?



No thanks.

I'd rather keep this...

I get it my bad . As long as the dangerous stuff goes through someone else's neighborhood it's ok . Preferably some poor 3rd world neighborhood right? Did you care before it showed up in your back yard. If you use it or its derivatives you are part of the problem. That is a reality you cannot pretend away. You cannot choose X and then cry because Y happens. Well you can but that does not make it better.

They're on it!

http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/fi...0Attachment.pdf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/21/exxon-ceo-rex-tillerson-lawsuit_n_4833185.html



Another NIMBY

I'd think a simple map overlay of tsunami hazard zones and the rail system would be enough to realize this is a very bad idea. Especially after what just happened in Japan. But hey, spend enough money and it won't happen here

p.s. Vice News may be the best source of investigative news out there today. They do excellent work.