Riverkeeper’s Legal Challenges to the Port of Vancouver’s Crude Oil Terminal

Two years ago, the Port of Vancouver leased public land for a massive oil-by-rail terminal on the banks of the Columbia River. Public opposition to the oil terminal has intensified since then, and Riverkeeper’s legal challenges to the lease are now squarely before Washington courts.

Riverkeeper is challenging the Port’s lease on two fronts. First, the Port Commissioners met in secret, closed-door meetings to discuss and negotiate the lease. This violated Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act, which requires government decisions be made in public. Second, the Port committed to the oil terminal without understanding the environmental and human health risks. This violated the State Environmental Policy Act’s basic premise: study the environmental risks before making decisions.

Riverkeeper will make its case about the Open Public Meetings Act in the Clark County Superior Court on July 24, 2015. Riverkeeper recently argued before the Washington Court of Appeals that the lease is void because the Port violated the State Environmental Policy Act. We look forward to the Washington Court of Appeals decision.

Listen to the Court of Appeals hearing, and read legal briefs from these cases, at Riverkeeper’s website.