Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Tacoma, WA -- As the public comment period closes tomorrow on the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE) proposed fracked gas facility in the Port of Tacoma, thousands of Washington residents and a coalition of advocacy organizations are raising serious concerns about the project’s climate impact.
In addition to thousands of public comments submitted on the draft SEIS, 30 Washington environmental, public health, and social justice organizations representing millions of people sent a letter to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency detailing flaws in the environmental review and urging the agency to conduct a new analysis and opportunity for public comment.
“Having examined the draft SEIS,” the coalition notes, “we have a number of serious concerns when it comes to the impact of this facility on public health and climate change.”
Read the full letter and list of organizations here.
The project would dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions in Washington State, as well as threatening the health and safety of the Puyallup people, whose reservation is directly adjacent to the site of the proposed 8 million-gallon gas plant and whose Medicine Creek Treaty rights would be violated by the project. Last month, hundreds of people packed the room at a PSCAA public hearing to voice their opposition to the proposal.
Flaws in the SEIS include a failure to use best available science in calculating greenhouse gas emissions, failing to adequately account for methane leakage from fracked gas, and basing conclusions on unproven assumptions about the source of the gas that would be processed at the facility.
“The Air Agency’s draft review dangerously underestimates the climate impacts of this proposed facility,” said Sierra Club Associate Organizing Representative Victoria Leistman. “For the sake of our communities and our climate, we are urging them take these impacts seriously, revise the SEIS, and reject this dirty fracked gas project.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.