GPT

DOW SAYS IT IS ABOUT GPT: CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION AMENDMENTS 1, 3, AND 10

by Sandy Robson

[Updated October 7, 2015: Since the publication date of this article, proposed Whatcom County Charter Amendments 1, 3, and 10 have been placed on the November 2015 Whatcom County general election ballot as Propositions 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Also, the Whatcom County Charter Review Commission made revisions to amendments 3 and 10 since the publication date of this article. The link to a list of the charter amendment propositions on the November 2015 Whatcom County general election ballot is:  http://www.whatcomcounty.us/1553/Proposed-Amendments]
FullSizeRender

Whatcom County Charter Review Commissioner Chet Dow

(more…)

Honoring the Treaty: A Visit to Congressman Rick Larsen’s Office

By Dena Jensen

If you were a sleek and colorful little hummingbird who had unrestricted access to the immediate vicinity of 119 N. Commercial Street in Bellingham, both inside and out, on Tuesday, June 16, 2015, what would you have seen? (more…)

The Import of a Local Election in the Coal Export Scheme

by Sandy Robson

[Updated October 7, 2015: Since the publication date of this article, proposed Whatcom County Charter Amendments 1, 3, and 10 have been placed on the November 2015 Whatcom County general election ballot as Propositions 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Also, the Whatcom County Charter Review Commission made revisions to amendments 3 and 10 since the publication date of this article. The link to a list of the charter amendment propositions on the November 2015 Whatcom County general election ballot is: http://www.whatcomcounty.us/1553/Proposed-Amendments]

“The Obscure County Election That Could Change the Planet.” That’s how reporter Coral Davenport described the 2013 County Council election in Whatcom County, Washington, in the title of her May 2013 article in the National Journal Magazine. Davenport spotlighted the 2013 race for four seats on the County Council, and her article’s subtitle, “A little-watched race in Washington state will determine how America uses its coal—and the future of the global climate,” summed up the situation well. (more…)

SSA Marine’s ‘Good Faith’ Attack on Xwe’chi’eXen (Cherry Point)

by Sandy Robson

In a January 5, 2015  letter sent to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“the Corps”) by the Lummi Indian Business Council (LIBC), LIBC Chairman Tim Ballew II wrote: “The devastating environmental  impacts associated with this project, as well as the trust responsibility of federal agencies to ensure the protection of the treaty rights of the Lummi Nation, mandate the denial of any and all permits under the Corp’s jurisdiction.” (more…)

Consider the $ource

by Sandy Robson

Public records reveal that some of the local elected officials in Whatcom County, Washington, continue to put SSA Marine Inc. in the driver’s seat, working directly with the company’s hired public relations and advertising consultants to promote SSA Marine’s proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT); a coal export terminal, which would store, handle, and ship 48 million metric tons of coal annually at Cherry Point, located just outside the city limits of Ferndale, in Whatcom County. (more…)

Cherry Point industries have not endorsed GPT

(This commentary was originally published in The Northern Light, Letters to the Editor, December 11-17 edition)

Commentary by Paula Rotundi

There are three existing Cherry Point businesses – BP Refinery, Alcoa-Intalco Works and Conoco-Phillips – and none of them has endorsed the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT). The GPT proposal gives our existing Cherry Point industries significant reasons for concern. For them, GPT would be a horrific neighbor. (more…)

Let’s not be distracted

(This is the first publication of this piece which Whatcom Watch refused to publish when it was submitted to their publication in May 2014)

Commentary by Sandy Robson

On February 5, 2014, SSA Marine’s local consultant for its Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) project, Craig Cole, sent a letter to Whatcom Watch threatening a libel lawsuit in response to my article entitled, “What Would Corporations Do? Native American Rights and the Gateway Pacific Terminal,” published in the January issue of Whatcom Watch. The fact that Mr. Cole claimed he was libeled in an article in which he was never mentioned, and threatened to sue Whatcom Watch, distracts and misdirects attention from the article’s content. (more…)

A Million Plus for Ferndale Schools from GPT: Now You See It, Now You Don’t

by Sandy Robson

On October 22, 2012, during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) scoping period for Gateway Pacific Terminal, Ferndale School District Superintendent Linda Quinn sent an email to the Ferndale School Board summarizing a meeting she had earlier that day with SSA Marine’s public relations consultant for the GPT project, Craig Cole, along with three others who joined the meeting. (more…)

Today’s Lesson: Protecting Students’ Health vs. Protecting Corporate Interests

by Sandy Robson

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in the campaign to win approval for a 48 million ton coal export terminal at Cherry Point?  Many of those efforts are not in view of the public, but can come to light via public records requests related to various components of the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) project. (more…)

A teaspoon of action and beyond

by Dena Jensen

This weekend’s activities are beginning to come vividly to life across the country to protect our planet and the precious life upon it in concert with the People’s Climate March on September 21. Locally, there is the international rally, “Climate Change Knows No Borders,” organized by 350 Seattle,  Wilderness  Committee and the Georgia Straight Alliance, and taking place at Peace Arch Park at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, with the blessing of the Semiahmoo First Nation on their traditional territory. (more…)

Cole’s Op-Ed Sugar-Coats GPT Project

Commentary by Christine Westland

On August 15th, an op-ed by Craig Cole was published in the Bellingham Herald, giving a “Mary Poppins” version of the intentions and actions of SSA Marine/Pacific International Terminals (PIT) for the Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) at Cherry Point. According to Cole, it was “human error” in 2011, when PIT accessed the Cherry Point wetlands, clearing nine acres, degrading a Native American archaeological site, and filling in 1.2 acres of wetlands while taking borings on that land without a proper permit. Professional companies who behave legally and ethically know what they are doing don’t make these kind of mistakes. For these violations, SSA Marine-owned Pacific International Terminals was sued and paid $1.6 million in fines and penalties. These actions by PIT were deceptive and show a blatant disregard and lack of respect for the Lummi Nation and Cherry Point, which was the first archaeological site to be placed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places. (more…)

Will the Real Craig Cole Please Stand Up?
page3image128

Unauthorized land clearing at Cherry Point by SSA/PIT’s engineering consultant. Photo is from Whatcom County PDS website.

by Sandy Robson

Craig Cole, the local paid spokesperson for SSA Marine/Pacific International Terminals’ (PIT) Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) wrote an Op-Ed published on August 15, 2014 in the Bellingham Herald entitled “Gateway Pacific Terminal working to safeguard environment, job creation.” (more…)

Letter to the Editor August 19, 2014

BY LETTERS

THE BELLINGHAM HERALD August 19, 2014

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/08/19/3808413/concerned-terminal-would-hurt.html?sp=/99/122/124/

Concerned terminal would hurt tribe

The coal terminal proposals that would transport coal along railways from Powder River Basin to the West Coast, stand to cause destruction to the Lummi Nation, Coast Salish tribes, and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

In particular, Gateway Pacific Terminal, proposed at Cherry Point (Xwe’chi’eXen), I believe presents huge environmental, socio-economic and cultural threats to Pacific Northwest tribes. (more…)