October 20, 2014 [Biz Journals] - Three major trade unions are throwing their support behind a proposed oil terminal in Vancouver after securing an agreement that the project will be built with union labor.
The Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council together with the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters and the International Union of Operating Engineers endorsed the Vancouver Energy project, which would handle the transfer of oil from rail cars to ocean-going vessels.
The project is a joint venture of Tesoro Refining and Mining Co. LLC and Savage Companies, which are teaming to construct the terminal at the Port of Vancouver USA. Savage would operate the terminal, designed to unload trains ferrying up to 360,000 barrels per day from the Midwest.
Oil would be transferred to ocean-going vessels for shipment to U.S. refineries on the West Coast, chiefly in California. The project includes storage tanks but no refining capacity.
Tesoro would be an owner and anchor client for the terminal, which could serve other customers as well. The project would cost $210 million to construct and would generate 320 jobs during construction and more than 600 ongoing jobs once it is fully operational. Indirect and induced jobs push the impact to more than 1,000 local jobs, according to the report by the Analyst Group.
The Analyst Group projects the terminal will generate $1.2 billion ($2 billion in dollars adjusted for inflation) in local economic activity over the 16-year life of the lease with the port.
“This project creates great family-wage jobs, fuels our economy and promotes energy independence,” said Willy Myers, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council. “We agree that transportation of crude oil by rail and marine vessel to and from the terminal can be accomplished in a safe, environmentally responsible manner, and Vancouver Energy is committed to doing that. We’re anxious to help them build it.”
The project is being scrutinized by the Washington Energy Facilities Siting Council, which has a March 2015 deadline to recommend approval or denial to Gov. Jay Inslee.
In addition to the local economic impact, supporters say Midwestern oil shipped via the Columbia and Vancouver will displace up to 30 percent of the crude oil currently imported from foreign sources.
The issue is not without concern. The prospect of oil train derailments alarms both regulators and environmental groups. Earlier this month, the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, of which Oregon is a member, said it is expanding its mission to include inland oil spills as well as marine ones.
