By Sept Gernez, Conservation Organizer
The world’s largest methanol refinery, proposed on the Columbia River in Kalama, would spell disaster for Washington state. The facility would use millions of gallons of water from the Columbia River daily, pollute the air with cancer-causing toxins, and could explode during an earthquake. In addition, the refinery would require a massive new pipeline down the entire length of our state along the I-5 corridor. All of these scenarios pose significant dangers to not only nearby communities, but also to the Chinook salmon population which feed our Salish Sea orca.
So, why is Northwest Innovation Works insisting we build this dangerous, dirty facility despite its risks? With expanding fracked gas extraction throughout the US, fossil fuel companies need to find new markets to keep their product profitable. The only way to export fracked gas to expanding energy markets in Asia is to turn it into liquid and ship it. Hence, the world’s largest methanol refinery on the banks of the Columbia River.
Methanol is a highly flammable and explosive liquid form of fracked gas. From production to consumption, this methanol facility bears dire consequences for Washington state, and beyond. Fracked gas (what fossil fuel companies call ‘natural gas’) is primarily made of methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide. This refinery would consume a stunning amount of fracked gas just to operate--320 million cubic feet per day, to be exact. That’s more than all other Washington industries combined. With a consumption record like that, it would quickly become Washington’s largest greenhouse gas polluter. To make matters worse, the refinery would export this fracked gas to China, further perpetuating the cycle of fossil fuel use for communities around the world.
Right now, Washington state regulators have until October 11th days to deny or approve the Shoreline permit--the last required permit needed for this refinery to be built. But we can still stop this project. The refinery faces significant opposition from local communities, who have been fighting this refinery for over 4 years. Thanks to their hard work, Governor Jay Inslee announced his opposition to the project earlier this year based on the refinery’s significant climate impacts. If we can convince Governor Inslee, we can convince the Department of Ecology to do the right thing and protect Washington’s communities and environment. It’s all come to this. The next 16 days could determine whether this refinery is built.
Here’s three simple actions you can take to make sure Washington State does not become home to the world’s largest fracked gas to methanol refinery:
1. Send a message to the Department of Ecology (DOE) asking them to deny the methanol refinery!
2. Call the Department of Ecology (DOE) at 360-407-6300. Tell the receptionist your name, where you are calling from, and that you want them to Deny the Shoreline Permit for the Kalama Methanol Refinery.
3. Show up at DOE headquarters in Lacey for No Methanol Mondays, on September 30th and October 7th. We will be greeting Ecology staff in the morning as they show up to work with a plea to protect our communities by stopping the world’s largest fracked gas to methanol refinery!