Tesoro Comments needed by April 15

Our friends in Anacortes need comments on this proposed terminal. Please see below for talking points and where to submit. I am confident of you, dear reader, to be able to send an effective comment on this. Our experiences with the REG/Imperium will serve us well in this task.
Thank you for all you do!

TESORO’S PROPOSED XYLENE PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) SCOPING COMMENT OPPORTUNITY

Online Open House: http://TesoroAnacortesEIS.PublicMeeting.info Scoping Comment Period           Thursday March 17, 2016 – Friday, April 15, 2016 Scoping Meeting & Open House           Thursday, March 31, 4-8 pm          Anacortes High School, 1600 20th St           Gym (Open House) and Brodniak Hall (Scoping Meeting) Submitting Public Comments by Friday April 15, 2016           ONLINE:               http://TesoroAnacortesEIS.PublicMeeting.info            VOICE MAIL:        1-877-685-7356 (toll free) 5 minute time limit for messages           E-MAIL:                comment@TesoroAnacortesEIS.com           HAND DELIVERED: Skagit County Planning & Development Services                                       1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon, WA                                       Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm           MAIL:                    Tesoro CPUP EIS                                       PO Box 21069                                       Seattle, WA 98111                                       Must be postmarked by April 15, 2016                      FAX:                     (360) 416-1340 BACKGROUND INFORMATION:           For more detailed information about the likely significant adverse impacts created by           Tesoro’s Xylene Plant, please review Evergreen Islands’ Comment Letter, August 2015

Tesoro’s proposed Xylene Plant (about $400 million) will produce up to 15,000 barrels per day of mixed xylene.  The mixed xylene will mainly be exported to Asia and will be used to make polyester fibers and films for clothing, food packaging and beverage containers. Shipping xylene to Asia will also mean an increase in tanker traffic, up to five extra tankers a month entering and exiting Fidalgo Bay

THE XYLENE PROJECT WILL CREATE A MARINE EXPORT TERMINAL!

POTENTIAL FOR CRUDE OIL EXPORT FROM MARCH POINT (TRANSSHIPMENT)

Concurrent with the Xylene Plant proposal, Tesoro is proposing to construct and operate a crude oil transshipment terminal in Vancouver, Wa. Tesoro’s proposed Vancouver crude oil terminal would be capable of receiving an average of 360,000 barrels of crude oil per day by train, storing it onsite, and loading it onto marine vessels.  An average of 28 trains per week would arrive at the proposed Vancouver Facility.  Tesoro’s crude-by-rail goal for March Point is 6 unit trains per week, and Shell’s goal is 7 trains per week – potentially a total of 13 crude oil unit trains per week to the March Point refineries.  Since Tesoro already has a crude oil rail terminal on March Point, the new marine oil terminal affords Tesoro the option to ‘transship’ export crude oil by oil tanker.  Note: Congress lifted the 1975 Crude Oil Export ban late last year. Consequently, the Scope of the EIS for Tesoro’s Xylene Plant should have practically the same scope as the EIS for Tesoro’s proposed crude oil terminal in Vancouver.  The Draft Environment Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Tesoro’s proposed Vancouver project can be reviewed here, which includes a bunch of scoping issues that should be included in the EIS for the Xylene Plant

Project Application Materials “Tesoro Anacortes Refinery: Clean Products Upgrade Project, Project Description,” Skagit Planning & Development website. http://skagitcounty.net/Departments/PlanningAndPermit/tesoroclean.htm SEPA Determination of Significance – March 17, 2016 Determination Of Significance and Request for Comments on Scope of Environmental Impact Statement http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/Tesoro CPU DS and Request for Scoping Comments.pdf Shoreline Substantial Development Application – June 22, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/CPUP SSDP App (Jun-2015).pdf Notice of Development Application - July 9, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/NODA.pdf SEPA Checklist – June 22, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/CPUP_SEPA_Jun_2015.pdf Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application – June 22, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/CPUP_JARPA_6-22-15.pdf Site Plans and Diagrams – June 22, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/CPUP_SitePlan_Dwgs (2015-05-22).pdf Department of Army, jurisdictional determination – June 1, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/4_JD_Letter_USACE_1June2015.pdf Washington Department of Ecology, Wetland Findings for Tesoro Clean product Upgrade – July 2, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/4_JD_Letter_USACE_1June2015.pdf Tesoro Clean Products Upgrade Project Cultural Resources Technical Memorandum – May 22, 2015 http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/4_JD_Letter_USACE_1June2015.pdf Overview drawings http://skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/Tesoro/CPUP_Overview_Dwgs (2015-05-22).pdf

Pictures from the Vancouver Tesoro Savage Terminal Hearing & News Links

As promised, here are pictures from the EFSEC 

Tesoro hearing in Vancouver WA.

We arrived about 3pm, and checked in at the hospitality suite, one of the Fairgrounds livestock barns. It was freezing, unless you huddled near the heater provided by the local Longshore Union. Thanks go to the many sponsors:

Northwest Steelheaders

Columbia Riverkeepers

Sierra Club; who also coordinated the food!

We had more than just Oreos!

Environmental groups host rally against oil terminal project

By Dameon Pesanti, The Columbian 

Inside the hospitality room set up by oil terminal advocates, a small crowd quietly dined on antipasto skewers and tiny ciabatta bun sandwiches. In an outbuilding across the walkway, throngs of people munched on Oreos and cheered when a man on stage held high a big dead fish.  

 

 Hundreds Show Up To Speak On Vancouver Oil Project by Cassandra Profita OPB/EarthFix

The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council scheduled 10 hours of public testimony Tuesday. The hearing is focused on a draft environmental impact statement that outlines the risks of the project.

 

R.D. & Robin give their comments

Hundreds weigh in on plan for Vancouver oil terminal The Bellingham Herald

The opponents, many wearing red shirts, appeared to outnumber the supporters. Speakers came from all over Western Washington and Northwest Oregon. Comments for the first few hours were fairly back-and-forth between supporters and opponents, however.Opponents on Tuesday hammered on the risks involved with four 120-unit trains full of oil traveling through the Columbia River Gorge and into Vancouver every day.“Our safety is in your hands. We urge you to tell Gov. (Jay) Inslee to deny the project,” said Jared Smith, president of the local Longshore union.

Oil-by-rail terminal opponents dominate Vancouver public hearing

Updated: Jan 5, 2016, 3:06pm PST  Portland Business Journal

 Hundreds of people, many in red shirts, filed into a sweeping hall today to testify in favor or against a proposal for an oil-by-rail facility in Vancouver. More than 265 speakers had already signed up to speak about the oil train terminal proposed at the Port of Vancouver USA at the public meeting in Ridgefield, Washington, just after 2 p.m. The meeting is slated to run until 11 p.m., depending on how many more speakers show up.

Oil terminal  The Daily News

Those opposed wore red and were chastised for waving signs, then their fingers, in response to anti-terminal speakers, showing their evident supermajority at the hearing.“Our safety is in your hands. We urge you to tell Gov. Inslee to deny the project,” said Jared Smith, president of the local International Longshore & Warehouse Union.During the hearing’s dinner break, a sea of red filled a cool “barn” across from the meeting hall as a rally brought music and speakers together to protest the terminal.The environmental coalition Stand Up to Oil said 1,000 people attended the hearing throughout the day.

Activists in Pacific Northwest Face Off Against Largest Oil-By-Rail Terminal in North America

By Martha Baskin, Truthout | News Analysis

Vancouver, Washington - Stand on the banks of the mighty Columbia River, and in the foggy mist of a Pacific Northwest winter, you may miss the rail tracks that lie on both of its banks. The panoramic vista will give you a sense of why front-line communities have long vowed to protect it from being expanded into a high-volume fossil-fuel corridor, years before Congress lifted the ban on US crude oil exports in late 2015.

I did go over to the other Hostility Suite.

This just isn't a group of people that get all excited about free teeshirts. 

Or free hats. Ed. note- These things were HUGE! I didn't see one on an actual human head, so I have no idea how they fit.

Nope, nobody is wearing a free hat or tee.

They really weren't having any fun.

Yakama Nation voices concerns about proposed oil terminal at Port of Vancouver

By Kate Prengaman Yakima Herald

“The Yakama Nation asks all people of the Pacific Northwest to stand united with the Yakama Nation in opposing this harmful project that threatens the earth, waters, and air belonging to all of us,” Gerald Lewis said in a news release.

“The Yakama Nation will not negotiate nor agree to so-called mitigation for any violations of our treaty rights; there is no word for ‘mitigation’ in the Yakama language,” he said in a statement. “We do not compromise on these matters of life.”

The state is taking public comments on the project until Jan. 22. More information is available at www.efsec.wa.gov

Supporters join steelworkers on strike at Tesoro

United Steelworkers Union members and their supporters rally Saturday in support of striking Tesoro refinery workers in Anacortes. The action at the facility on March's Point was part of a National Day of Action for Safe Refineries, Secure Jobs, and Healthy Communities that took place nationwide. Scott Terrell / Skagit Valley Herald

Supporters join steelworkers on strike at Tesoro

Union leaders call for nationwide “Day of Action” as a sign of solidarity

By Evan Marczynski    Skagit Valley Herald   2/08/15

ANACORTES — Supporters joined United Steelworkers Union members on strike outside the Tesoro refinery Saturday as part of a national rally called to demonstrate unity after stalled negotiations over a new contract.

About 150 people walked a picket line midday outside the main gate of the Anacortes plant on March’s Point. They included refinery workers who left their jobs in a work stoppage at the facility on Sunday, Feb. 1, as well as USW union members from refineries around the region and members of other labor groups and union supporters.

United Steelworkers Union member Bill Conger, an operator at the Shell refinery, pickets Saturday in support of striking Tesoro refinery workers in Anacortes. The action at the facility on March's Point was part of a National Day of Action for Safe Refineries, Secure Jobs, and Healthy Communities that took place nationwide. Scott Terrell / Skagit Valley Herald

Tesoro’s refinery in Anacortes was one of nine nationwide called by the USW to strike in a show of solidarity after the union turned down the fourth contract offer in talks with Dutch Royal Shell, negotiating on behalf of companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.

Keith Casey, executive vice president for Tesoro operations, said the company is “extremely disappointed by USW local bargaining units’ decision to strike,” in a news release Monday, Feb. 2. “We have bargained in good faith and were prepared to continue to do so. The national United Steelworkers union instead chose to call for a strike.”

Talks continued earlier this week but are now on “temporary hiatus,” the USW said Saturday, as the union waits for a response to an information request.

The Anacortes Tesoro refinery is still in operation amid the strike. Tesoro said last week the facility was prepared for a work stoppage and expects to safely continue refinery operations and meet customer demands.

Shell’s refinery in Anacortes remains under contract and is not currently affected.

Members of United Steelworkers Local 12-591 in Skagit County who picketed on Saturday said worker safety is a chief concern in the contract talks. Tied to that is unease over a lack of union input in determining how many workers are necessary to safely run refineries, as well as risks involved in allowing more maintenance work to be done by outside contractors instead of company employees.

“We want a voice at the table about how we’re safely staffing these refineries,” said local union Chairman Ryan Anderson.

Jay Defrancesco, an operator at the Tesoro refinery, said he hopes negotiations will also ensure oil companies keep union members’ health insurance affordable, especially considering the dangerous nature of refining work.

“They just don’t realize what we go through. I think the company should stand behind us and keep us healthy,” said Defrancesco, who was among the last group of workers to walk out when the strike was called Feb. 1 at the refinery in Anacortes.

Kim Althoff, who works at the U.S. Oil refinery in Tacoma, came with six other members of USW Local 12‑592 in Pierce County. Though Althoff’s refinery has not joined the strike, he said he wanted to show support and raise awareness of the union’s safety concerns.

“We’re all in the same game together,” Althoff said.

— Reporter Evan Marczynski: 360-416-2149, emarczynski@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @Evan_SVH, Facebook.com/EvanReports

Is Tony Mazzocchi’s Spirit Haunting Big Oil Again?

FEBRUARY 04, 2015

Tony Mazzocchi's Spirit Haunts Big Oil Again

 

by STEVE EARLY

Twelve years ago, America’s leading advocate of occupational health and environmental safety succumbed to pancreatic cancer.

In the U.S., where the influence of organized labor has long been contracting, the death of a former trade union official is often little noted. Yet Tony Mazzocchi was no ordinary labor leader. His passing from the scene, at age 76, was widely recognized and correctly mourned as a great loss for the entire union movement.

As a top strategist for the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers (OCAW), Mazzocchi pioneered alliances between workers concerned about job safety and health hazards and communities exposed to industrial pollution generated by companies like Shell, Chevron, and Mobil.

In 1973, members of the OCAW (who are now part of the United Steel Workers) conducted a national contract campaign and four-month strike at Shell Oil over workplace safety rights and protections. As Mazzocchi biographer Les Leopold notes, “the strike helped build a stronger anti-corporate movement” because OCAW members learned “that you can’t win these fights alone.” To win—or even just battle Big Oil to a draw—workers had to join forces with the very same environmental groups long demonized by the industry as an enemy of both labor and management.

Striking Big Oil Again

Four decades later, echoes of that struggle could be heard on the refinery town picket-lines that went up in northern California, Texas, Kentucky, and Washington state this week. Thousands of oil workers walked out, for the first time in 35 years, over issues and demands that Tony Mazzocchi helped publicize and build coalitions around for much of his career.

About 30,000 refinery employees are still covered by the USW agreement that expired last weekend. Nearly 4,000 of them are on strike at nine plants already, including Tesoro refineries in Martinez and Carson, CA. Other USW members, including those employed at Chevron in Richmond, CA. may join the walkout if industry negotiators fail to address non-wage issues summarized by USWA vice-president Gary Beevers as follows:

“Onerous overtime, unsafe staffing levels, dangerous conditions the industry continues to ignore; the daily occurrences of fires, emissions, leaks and explosions that threaten local communities without the industry doing much about it and the flagrant contracting out that impacts health and safety on the job.”

Anacortes, eight other US oil refineries on strike

Oil Workers in U.S. on First Large-Scale Strike Since 1980

by Lynn Doan and Barbara Powell      Bloomberg  Feb 1, 2015     [Local info below ]

The United Steelworkers union, which represents employees at more than 200 U.S. oil refineries, terminals, pipelines and chemical plants, began a strike at nine sites on Sunday, the biggest walkout called since 1980. 

The USW started the work stoppage after failing to reach agreement on a labor contract that expired Sunday, saying in a statement that it “had no choice.” The union rejected five contract offers made by Royal Dutch Shell Plc on behalf of oil companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. since negotiations began on Jan. 21. ....

.... “The problem is that oil companies are too greedy to make a positive change in the workplace,” USW International Vice President Tom Conway said in the statement. “They continue to value production and profit over health and safety, workers and the community.”...

... The refineries called on to strike span the U.S., from Tesoro Corp.’s plants in Martinez, California; Carson, California; and Anacortes, Washington, to Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Catlettsburg complex in Kentucky to three sites in Texas, according to the USW’s statement.....   more here

per Ahmed Gaya: As of midnight last night workers at 9 refineries nationwide went on strike. That includes Tesoro in Anacortes. There is an active picket-line and we have gotten a request from the USW that if Environmentalists want to support striking workers who are pushing back on unsafe work conditions in the refinery that threaten our communities, please go join or support the picket line. 56 other refineries are operating on 24 hour extension contracts, but the strike will likely expand tomorrow and the next day.

If anyone from Skagit or Bellingham or Seattle want to help us bring food to the picket line Monday please e-mail directly to me:  adgaya (at)gmail (dot) com