Tesoro Savage: By the Numbers
By Dan Serres, Conservation Director
This month, Governor Inslee and Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council heard an unprecedented uproar of opposition to the Tesoro Savage oil terminal proposal in Vancouver, North America’s largest proposed oil-by-rail facility. Washington’s Energy Council conducted three public hearings and took written comments to inform its review for the proposed Tesoro terminal. The Energy Council will make a recommendation to Governor Jay Inslee. After receiving the recommendation, Governor Inslee will make the final decision to deny or approve the terminal. To date, here is what is proposed and a summary of the outpouring of opposition to this project.
Tesoro Savage proposed oil-by-rail terminal by the numbers:
- Daily crude oil barrel capacity: 360,000; annual capacity: >5.52 billion gallons.
- Weekly train capacity: 36 trains.
- Increased oil train traffic through communities along rail line: four more per day.
- Daily train traffic length: 4.5 miles unit trains (100+ cars each).
- Largest oil-by-rail proposal in North America: 42% capacity of Keystone XL pipeline.
- Public hearing attendance: 2,000 – the largest in the Energy Council’s history. This included over 1,000 people at its January 5th hearing – the largest in Clark County’s history.
- Record-breaking number of public comments: 289,256 – the most ever received by Washington’s Energy Council.
- Vancouver businesses who oppose the oil terminal: 101 and growing.
- Environmental review’s air quality, toxic air pollution, and greenhouse gas emission calculations as: incorrect or unsupported according to expert reports.
- Oil spill probability from rail cars, terminal, or oil tankers: 23% chance every year.
- Likelihood of an oil train derailment: 1 every other year.
- Volatile organic compound emissions: 1 single train of 120 cars can create 450 tons of VOC pollutants.
- Oil proposals on the Washington coast: 4 (Tesoro Savage in Vancouver, NuStar in Vancouver, and two proposed terminals in Grays Harbor, Washington).
What can you do?
Sign our petition today asking Oregon’s and Washington’s Governors to do their part in protecting our communities by opposing proposed oil-by-rail projects.
