SEATTLE — The Army Corps of Engineers has revived an environmental analysis of a controversial coal-export project nearly a year after Washington state regulators denied the project a key permit.
Washington Ecology Director Maia Bellon has expressed concerns about the Corps’ decision to restart work on the federal permitting process for proposed terminal along the Columbia River that would export coal from the U.S. to Asia.
Meanwhile, some U.S. senators in Montana and Wyoming have urged the federal agency to push ahead with permitting the port in Longview.
The state agency last fall denied Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview a key water-quality permit needed for the project, citing significant and unavoidable harm to the environment.
Corps spokeswoman Patricia Graesser says staff are thoroughly evaluating the project “while still recognizing that there are actions and outcomes outside of the Corps’ control yet to be resolved.”