The Washington Department of Ecology issued the following statement regarding its decision on a shoreline conditional use permit for the Kalama methanol project:
“We have determined that information submitted by Cowlitz County and the project applicants is insufficient and that additional environmental review is required.
“What was submitted does not meet the threshold set by a Washington Shoreline Hearings Board ruling, and upheld by Cowlitz County Superior Court. The ruling determined the environmental impact statement was inadequate and required a complete and sufficient analysis of the project’s greenhouse gases and the impacts of those emissions.
“Without sufficient analysis, we cannot fully assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed methanol facility. And we cannot make a decision on the permit.
“To meet our obligation under the law, and uphold our responsibility to protect Washington’s environment, we will conduct a second supplemental environmental impact statement.
“We will scope the second supplemental review to address the missing information. It will include a more robust lifecycle analysis of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions, and a more detailed assessment of the environmental impacts caused by those emissions.
“We will conduct our analysis as quickly as possible. Similar reviews have taken approximately a year to complete. Once we have a draft complete, we will make it available for public review and comment.”