States align with Gov. Inslee against coal developers

By Joe Teehan August 24, 2018 8:00 am

KGMIAP Photo/Elaine ThompsonThe port of Longview on the Columbia River at Longview, Wash. The Department of Ecology said in 2017 it rejected a water quality permit that Millennium Bulk Terminals wanted because the proposed facility near Longview in southwest Washington state would have caused "significant and unavoidable harm" to the environment.

8-24-2018

LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Six states have lined up in support of Washington State in a legal battle over its decision to block a proposed coal-export terminal on the Columbia River.

The Daily News reports attorneys general from California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Oregon filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief this week arguing in support of Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration in its defense against the federal lawsuit brought by Utah-based Lighthouse Resources.

The company claims Washington State violated federal laws in denying approvals for the Millennium Bulk Terminals project, a proposed export terminal that would be the largest coal shipping terminal in North America.

Cowlitz County has joined six other states in support of Lighthouse Resources.