(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

At the Port of Seattle‘s Jack Block Park, overlooking six-months-empty Terminal 5, a coalition of environmental advocates called today for the Port Commission to change its mind about allowing Shell’s Arctic-drilling fleet at T-5 as an interim use.

If commissioners don’t reconsider, they said, they might have to take the Port to court.

The notion of supporting an Arctic-drilling operation is incompatible with what the port and the region stand for, says the coalition, also suggesting, it could bring “…environmental harm (to) Puget Sound.” And reps at the media briefing repeatedly decried the fact the prospective deal had been secret until its appearance on the agenda for the commission’s January 13th meeting (published online five days in advance).

The coalition included nine national/state organizations plus City Councilmember Mike O’Brien and former Mayor Mike McGinn, both of whom were at the media event (O’Brien, left in top photo, was a speaker, McGinn, below, was not).

They are all signatories on a letter they said would go to the Port Commission today, leading off with concern that the port is fast-tracking this by using a State Environmental Policy Act exception that might ultimately not apply. Read the letter embedded below (or as a PDF, here):

As reported here right after the January 13th commission meeting, Port Commissioners Stephanie Bowman, Bill Bryant, and John Creighton voiced support for allowing staff to continue working with Foss Maritime, which would be providing the services to Shell, while Commissioners Tom Albro and Courtney Gregoire thought there should be more time for public comment. It was not a formal vote because, as also noted at that meeting, the part-time commission doesn’t usually vote on leases, delegating decisions to port staff.

Those speaking at today’s event took issue not only with the substance of the proposed deal, and with the pre-meeting secrecy, but with the notion of Arctic drilling in any form, supported anywhere. KC Golden from Climate Solutions said that it represents “a one-way ticket to centuries of hell and high water … we must not buy that ticket.”

“We flatly have to say no,” declared Councilmember O’Brien, who chairs the council committee that includes sustainability as its focuses. He said he’s hopeful that constituents will inspire Commissioners Bowman, Bryant, and Creighton to change their minds.

Raising the spectre of environmental damage to Puget Sound, Earthjustice’s Patti Goldman (top photo, second from left) made note of past problems with Shell’s fleet, “the fleet that had everything go wrong!” alluding to the expectation that the problem-plagued Noble Discoverer would return here – it was at Vigor on Harbor Island back in 2012:

(2012 photo by Ilona Berzups)
A West Seattle voice heard at the media briefing was that of attorney Peter Goldman (at right in top photo), who also had spoken during the public-comment period at the January 13th Port Commission meeting. “I regret that this press conference was necessary (but) I’m confident that (the Port Commission) will do the right thing.”

The port’s official statement on this, released this afternoon by spokesperson Peter McGraw: “This opportunity has the potential to create hundreds of family-wage jobs and generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the region. We also respect the differences of opinion amongst community stakeholders and Commissioners, and will carefully review their letter and concerns.”

Hours earlier at the Jack Block Park event, Councilmember O’Brien, among others, had seemed to anticipated the first part of that reaction, saying that “jobs vs. environment” is a “false choice.”

As for the timeline on finalization for the deal, a spokesperson for Foss told WSB they’re not commenting on where negotiations stand. Earlier information suggested work would have to be done at T-5 soon to make it ready for vessels to arrive in spring. Though the contract for Shell at T-5 would be through Foss, it wasn’t mentioned much during today’s event; we asked about that, and Peter Goldman said that while Foss has a good reputation, including attention to sustainability, “we can’t give them a pass just because they’re a good company.”