The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, August 27, 2020, Image 21

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The daily Astorian., August 27, 2020, Page 21, Image 21

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Newspaper Page TextA5 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020 Conservation groups ask judge to reject permits for methanol plant By MALLORY GRUBEN The Daily News Columbia Riverkeeper and several other conserva- tion groups last week asked a federal judge to reject mul- tiple permits for a proposed $2 billion Kalama methanol plant. The groups ﬁ led for sum- mary judgement in a law- suit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the permits in 2019. Columbia Riv- erkeeper alleges that the Trump Administration ille- gally approved the permits because the Corps did not complete an adequate envi- ronmental review of the project. “To evaluate the green- house gas emissions impacts caused by the Kalama Proj- ect, the Corps primarily relied on initial and draft supplemental state environ- mental reviews, despite the fact that a state adjudica- tory board, state court, and the Washington Depart- ment of Ecology found these reviews inadequate. … By failing to produce a full (environmental impact statement), the Corps got it wrong,” Columbia River- keeper wrote in the brief. The court case dates back to 2019, when the Corps ﬁ rst approved the Clean Water Act and Rivers and Harbors Acts permits for the plant. That approval fol- lowed a review process by the Corps’ regulatory ofﬁ ce that included an opportunity for public comment. Based on an environ- mental assessment, the Corps found that the meth- anol project would not have a signiﬁ cant impact on the environment, and it approved the permits April 19, 2019. The conservation group ﬁ led a lawsuit against the decision Nov. 12, 2019, on the basis of an inadequate environmental assessment. “The Corps considered less than half of the esti- mated greenhouse gas emis- sions caused by the project in its environmental review — the one million tons each year that will come directly from the reﬁ ning process in Washington State,” the group wrote. According to Columbia Riverkeeper, the Corps did not consider emissions from increased natural gas pro- duction and transportation, shipping methanol to China, the use of methanol for fuel and the production of oleﬁ n (a type of petrochemical that can be used to make plas- tic.) Also, the Corps should have completed a full envi- ronmental impact statement, but it “ignored many of the project’s impacts” to use a “truncated” environmen- tal assessment instead, the group wrote. Northwest Innovation Works wants to build the methanol plant at the Port of Kalama to convert nat- ural gas to methanol to be shipped to China to make plastic. The company says the plant would create about 200 permanent jobs, gener- ate millions in local property and sales taxes and train a new generation of workers. An environmental analy- sis by the port and Cowlitz County said the plant would result in a reduction of mil- lions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions by offset- ting coal-based methanol production in China. Envi- ronmentalists — Colum- bia Riverkeeper included — say those estimates are based on “unsubstantiated” theories. The project, which was ﬁ rst proposed in 2014, also is stalled at the state level so the Department of Ecol- ogy can complete its own environmental impact study. Ecology rejected earlier studies from the port and county, citing an insufﬁ cient analysis. The Corps has until Sept. 25 to respond to the motion for a summary judgement. Corps spokesman Tom Conning said the Portland District does not comment on ongoing litigation. “We remain fully com- mitted to protecting and maintaining our aquatic resources and to protecting the navigable capacity of our Nation’s waters through fair, ﬂ exible and balanced permit decisions,” Conning said. Thousands allowed to bypass environmental rules amid virus By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, CATHY BUSSEWITZ, JOHN FLESHER, MATTHEW BROWN and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press Thousands of oil and gas operations, government facil- ities and other sites won per- mission to stop monitoring for hazardous emissions or other- wise bypass rules intended to protect health and the envi- ronment because of the coro- navirus outbreak, The Asso- ciated Press has found. The result: approval for less environmental monitor- ing at some Texas reﬁ ner- ies and at an Army depot dis- mantling warheads armed with nerve gas in Kentucky, manure piling up and the mass disposal of livestock carcasses at farms in Iowa and Minnesota, and other risks to communities as gov- ernments eased enforcement over smokestacks, medi- cal waste shipments, sewage plants, oilﬁ elds and chemical plants. The Trump administration paved the way for the reduced monitoring on March 26 after being pressured by the oil and gas industry, which said lock- downs and social distancing during the pandemic made it difﬁ cult to comply with anti-pollution rules. States are responsible for much of the oversight of federal environ- mental laws, and many fol- lowed with leniency policies of their own. AP’s two-month review found that waivers were granted in more than 3,000 cases, representing the overwhelming majority of requests citing the outbreak. Hundreds of requests were approved for oil and gas com- panies. AP reached out to all 50 states citing open-records laws; all but one, New York, provided at least partial infor- mation, reporting the data in differing ways and with vary- ing level of detail. Almost all those request- ing waivers told regulators they did so to minimize risks for workers and the pub- lic during a pandemic — although a handful reported they were trying to cut costs. The Environmental Pro- Paul Sancya/AP Photo The Marathon Petroleum Corp. reﬁ nery in Detroit. ‘THERE’S NOBODY WATCHING. A LOT OF STUFF IS GOING WRONG. AND THERE’S NOBODY TO FIX IT.’ Penny Aucoin | resident of New Mexico’s oil-rich Permian Basin tection Agency says the waiv- ers do not authorize recipients to exceed pollution limits. Regulators will continue pur- suing those who “did not act responsibly under the cir- cumstances,” EPA spokes- man James Hewitt said in an email. But environmentalists and public health experts say it may be impossi- ble to fully determine the impact of the country’s ﬁ rst extended, national environ- mental enforcement clem- ency because monitoring oversight was relaxed. “The harm from this policy is already done,” said Cynthia Giles, EPA’s former assis- tant administrator under the Obama administration. EPA has said it will end the COVID enforcement clemency this month. Reﬁ nery giant Marathon Petroleum, already strug- gling ﬁ nancially before the pandemic, was one of the most aggressive in seeking to dial back its environmen- tal monitoring. On the same day EPA announced its new policy, the Ohio-based com- pany asked Indiana ofﬁ cials for relief from its leak detec- tion, groundwater sampling, CLATSOP POWER SPORTS Kunde places third in junior tournament The Astorian Seaside’s Curtis Kunde continued his hot streak on the golf course with a third- place ﬁ nish in the Persimmon Junior tournament held Mon- day at the Persimmon Coun- try Club in Gresham. Last week, Kunde took part in three other one-day events, ﬁ nishing third, 10th and second in tournaments at Salishan, Florence and Coos Bay. In Monday’s Persimmon Junior, Kunde highlighted his round with a two-under par 34 on the back nine to ﬁ nish with a two-over 74. Nicholas Nautiyal, who will be a senior at Ore- gon Episcopal, topped the ﬁ eld of 38 golfers by ﬁ r- ing a three-under par 69. Sam Schul (Centennial High School) was second with a 73, while Kunde tied Jon- athan Scott (Sprague High School) for third. After four bogeys on the front nine, Kunde bounced back with two birdies over the ﬁ rst three holes on the back nine. He had pars on the 13th, 14th and 16th, then scored an eagle on the 17th hole. SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Kunde was back in action Tuesday at the Quail Valley Junior in Banks. He posted a three-over par 39 on the front nine (bogeys on the fourth, sixth and sev- enth holes), then carded a 41 on the back to ﬁ nish in a three-way tie for 13th. Nautiyal and Gavin Swart- ley were atop the leaderboard after the ﬁ rst nine holes, both with three-under 33 s. With seven birdies on the day, Nautiyal ultimately scored his second victory in two days with a four-under par 68, ahead of Aaron Buck (71). SUNDAY MONDAY spill prevention, emissions testing and hazardous waste responsibilities at its facilities statewide. Indiana declined to issue a comprehensive waiver but agreed to consider individual requests. “We believe that by tak- ing these measures, we can do our part to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” Tim Peterkoski, environ- mental auditing and pro- cesses manager for Marathon Petroleum, told the Indiana Department of Environmen- tal Management. Marathon also pushed for and was granted permission to skip environmental tests at many of its reﬁ neries and gas stations in California, Michi- gan, North Dakota and Texas. Spokesman Jamal Kheiry said Marathon sought broad regulatory relief early in the pandemic, when it was uncer- tain how long lockdowns would last or how its opera- tions would be affected. But the company continued emis- sions monitoring and other activities and usually met deadlines, he said. Penny Aucoin, a resident of New Mexico’s oil-rich Permian Basin, said since the pandemic, she and her hus- EQUIPMENT , INC. SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS 34912 HWY 101 BUS • ASTORIA 503-325-0792 • 1-800-220-0792 TUESDAY WEDNESDAY REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 70 52 Partly sunny 70 54 68 52 Partly sunny Mostly sunny 68 53 69 54 Sunshine Clearing 72 54 Mostly sunny 67 53 Partly sunny Aberdeen Olympia 71/52 79/56 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Tuesday Tonight’s Sky: Sunset now before 8:00 p.m. PDT. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 69/57 Normal high/low .................. 69/53 Record high .................. 91 in 2016 Record low .................... 43 in 1992 Precipitation Tuesday ................................... 0.00” Month to date ........................ 0.46” Normal month to date ......... 0.84” Year to date .......................... 38.92” Normal year to date ........... 38.03” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Time 9:47 a.m. 9:06 p.m. 5.6 3:28 a.m. 7.5 3:07 p.m. Cape Disappointment 9:42 a.m. 8:48 p.m. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Hammond SUN AND MOON Sunrise today .................. 6:30 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 8:03 p.m. Moonrise today ............. 4:55 p.m. Moonset today ............ 12:41 a.m. Full Last New First 9:43 a.m. 8:58 p.m. Warrenton 9:42 a.m. 9:01 p.m. 0.0 3.3 5.6 2:56 a.m. -0.1 7.7 2:43 p.m. 2.9 5.9 3:12 a.m. 7.9 2:51 p.m. 0.1 2.9 10:24 a.m. 5.9 4:29 a.m. 9:43 p.m. 7.8 4:08 p.m. 0.0 2.4 Knappa Depoe Bay Sep 1 Sep 10 Sep 17 Sep 23 5.4 2:40 a.m. 7.5 2:22 p.m. 0.0 2.8 9:00 a.m. 8:03 p.m. 5.7 2:14 a.m. 7.9 1:52 p.m. 0.1 3.6 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Today Hi/Lo/W Fri. Hi/Lo/W 92/76/c 74/62/t 94/74/s 88/73/t 96/62/c 89/76/s 95/78/t 91/68/pc 92/81/t 90/74/t 112/89/s 73/57/s 93/77/s 89/75/t 78/67/pc 89/69/t 98/80/s 83/60/t 90/77/pc 94/78/t 90/64/s 93/80/t 87/73/t 110/87/pc 77/58/pc 93/76/t Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow ﬂ urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 82/49 Kennewick Walla Walla 87/58 Lewiston 90/53 89/56 Hermiston The Dalles 89/55 Enterprise Pendleton 81/45 86/53 88/56 La Grande 84/44 83/53 NATIONAL CITIES High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) Pullman 88/51 79/54 Salem 84/54 Yakima 89/54 Longview 70/52 Portland 81/57 Spokane 85/59 79/48 80/52 Astoria ALMANAC band have spent days beg- ging regulators to investi- gate surges of noxious gas or hisses that they feared could signal a dangerous leak from one of the many oil and gas companies operating near their mobile home. “There’s nobody watch- ing,” Aucoin said. “A lot of stuff is going wrong. And there’s nobody to ﬁ x it.” Maddy Hayden, New Mexico’s environmen- tal spokesperson, said her agency stopped in-per- son investigations of citizen air-quality complaints from March to May to protect staff and the public but stood ready to respond to emergencies. Almost every state reported ﬁ elding requests from industries and local governments to cut back on compliance. Many were for activities like delaying in-person training or submit- ting records by email rather than paper. Others, however, were requests for temporary exemptions or extensions on monitoring and repairs to stop the ﬂ ow of harmful soot, toxic compounds, dis- ease-carrying contaminants or heavy metals, AP found. Regulators, for example, waived in-person inspections at parts of a former nuclear test site in Nevada, switching to drive-by checks. North Carolina allowed Chemours Co., which is cleaning up dangerous PFAS industrial compounds in drinking water, to pause sam- pling of residential wells because it would require entering elderly residents’ homes. Saint-Gobain, whose New Hampshire plant has been linked by the state to water contaminated with PFAS chemicals, has requested delaying smokestack upgrades that would address the problem. The company says the delays are necessary partly due to problems the company’s suppliers and con- tractors have faced because of the coronavirus. Corvallis 84/53 Albany 83/53 John Day Eugene Bend 85/50 84/49 85/48 Ontario 92/56 Caldwell Burns 87/41 90/52 Medford 91/56 Klamath Falls 85/48 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 84/40/s 74/55/s 67/55/pc 83/53/s 65/48/pc Fri. Hi/Lo/W 87/44/s 77/57/s 67/56/pc 86/53/s 65/50/s City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springﬁ eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 70/53/s 87/55/s 69/53/pc 84/49/s 81/56/s Fri. Hi/Lo/W 68/53/s 90/56/s 70/55/pc 88/50/s 84/56/s