Last night, the Hoquiam City Council voted unanimously to introduce a resolution expressing their concerns about the safety of crude oil by rail. Council member Greg Grun offered a draft resolution to all the members that calls for no permitting until safety issues are resolved. It was agreed they would use this as a first draft. We don’t know what their final resolution will look like, but it is a huge step in the right direction. The resolution will be presented to the council at their next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, May 27 (regular day change due to Memorial Day).
We hope you will all send a letter of thank you to Greg and to the other members of the Council. Mayor Durney also stated that he was very concerned after these latest derailments and recognized this could be a major safety issue for the community.
Councilman Richard Pennant asked Brian Shay during the meeting if it would be too late to turn in our resolution at the end of a 7 p.m. meeting and Shay responded with "The 27th goes until midnight. I ought to know; I AM on the scoping committee." This got mild laughter. Towards the end of the meeting when Arnie Martin got up to make his remarks, he started with "According to the rules as established by the Scoping Committee, the deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. on the 27th." At which point Richard pointed a finger at Brian and said rather loudly "AHA!" and got a better laugh.
Thank you, Arnie.
The best part of Jack Durney's turning around on this was his being desirous of bringing the entire Council along with. A "Let's do this together" attitude is just what is needed. Now the stars are aligning. Last night was a big damn deal.
Tomorrow night is the Aberdeen City Council Meeting. Mayor Simpson's position is:
Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson said he still has confidence in Puget Sound & Pacific and hasn’t changed his position on potential crude oil shipping. “I still believe in the railroad. Accidents do happen,” Simpson saidMonday. “It’s just like flying on the airplane or driving down the street or walking down the street. Accidents happen. I know they know they’ve got some problems and they’re going to work on them and solve them. As far as the railroad, it’s been a great godsend to our community and brings us in a lot of revenue.” On crude oil shipping proposed by Westway Terminals, Imperium Renewables and U.S. Development at the Port, Simpson said he’s waiting for the projects to work their way through permitting. “I don’t think I’ve made a decision yet,” Simpson said. “It’s one of the things you still wonder about. As soon as all the reports are in I can come up with a decision.”
H/T to Linda, Richard & Tori for tonight's compilation.
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