In anticipation of the scoping period for an environmental impact statement (EIS) that three agencies plan to jointly prepare for a proposed coal export terminal near Longview, the agencies are announcing tentative dates for scoping meetings so people can plan for them.
Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview LLC proposes to build and operate a terminal at the site of the former Reynolds Aluminum smelter in Cowlitz County.
Cowlitz County, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are conducting the EIS process for the proposed terminal project and will jointly produce one EIS. Cowlitz County and Ecology must follow the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and the Corps must follow the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Meetings are tentatively set for these dates and locations:
– Sept. 17, Cowlitz Expo Center, Longview;
– Sept. 25, Spokane Convention Center, Spokane;
– Oct. 2, The Trac Center, Pasco;
– Oct. 9, Clark County Fairgrounds, Vancouver;
– Oct. 17, Tacoma Convention Center, Tacoma.
The co-lead agencies expect to hold the meetings in the evenings.
The scoping period will begin later this summer. During that period, the agencies will gather comments to help them determine what impacts to analyze in the EIS. During the scoping period there will be multiple ways the public can submit comments including online, by mail and at the public meetings.
After scoping, further phases include researching and preparing the draft EIS, obtaining public comment on the draft, and preparing and issuing a final EIS.
[mappress]
Press Release, July 3, 2013