2016, 01-12 Formal MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Meeting
Formal Meeting Format
Tuesday,January 12, 2016
Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance: Staff
Rod Higgins, Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager
Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor Mark Calhoun, Deputy City Manager
Dean Grafos, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Chuck Hafner, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney
Ed Pace, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director
Sam Wood, Councilmember John Hohman, Community &Econ. Dev Dir.
Mike Stone, Parks&Recreation Director
ABSENT: Erik Guth, Public Works Director
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Pro Tem Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor Brad Bruszer of Genesis Church gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Council, staff and audience stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present except
Councilmember Gothmann. It was moved by Councilmember Pace, seconded and unanimously agreed to
excuse Councilmember Gothmann from tonight's meeting.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed
to approve the agenda.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a
COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS There were no reports.
MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Higgins reported that he attended a Clean Air meeting where they discussed
the November windstorm air quality, and that it exceeded the scale for normal hazardous amounts.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Higgins invited public comment.
Rob Lee: said he spoke here last week; mentioned that a citizens oversight committee was brought up by
Council and said he fully supports that;said Spokane County said they have an oversight committee but it's
just an advisory board and not a truly independent committee; thinks the general public needs to be more
aware of what's going on with law enforcement; commented again about a lot of unmarked vehicles or
vehicles not clearly marked Spokane Valley Police Department,said it's like the valley has no identity;said
he lives here part time and elsewhere part time; said most things are contracted out with this city so that
takes jobs away from people here.
Hearth Homes Director Angela Slabaugh, Past President Cherie Larson, and current Board President Rick
Wicks: all expressed thanks for Spokane Valley's support in 2015 and 2016; said last year they housed 19
mothers, 28 children, served over 300 valley residents in identifying resources; said they had over 7,000
volunteer hours which equals about four full-time positions; and said they have almost raised enough to
pay their building's mortgage in full.
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Jennie Willardson: concerning the resolution that was passed last week, said she has been a long time
resident and is deeply troubled by Ed Pace's anti-sanctuary resolution and the way in which it was passed;
said it was added at the last minute so it didn't allow the public to know it was going to be on agenda and
hear about it; said the majority Councilmembers were not kind to those with a dissenting opinion;said staff
didn't advise on the pros, cons or other issues and it was passed without public comment; she said it was
mentioned at that meeting that we are not like the city to the west, but she said that Spokane's resolution
was on their agenda and citizens knew it was going to be on and staff was advising and the public was
allowed to comment; said she wanted to comment last week but there wasn't any public comment on that
resolution; and said she is troubled by the new city council majority not allowing freedom of speech.
Marilyn Cline, Spokane Valley: said she is troubled with comments last week about law enforcement; said
some of the questions that were asked were asked without contemplating the cost- like marked police cars;
said there are marked cars and there are unmarked cars and there are supposed to be unmarked cars; said
she is troubled with the police chief being called a ghost; said our police department is accredited thanks to
him; said speaking is controlled but she is not sure by whom, but he is available to speak; said she has
volunteered with law enforcement for over fifteen years, and the credit that should be given to them is vast;
said some were asked if the contract should continue and many said yes; she said that if the S.C.O.P.E.
program goes away so does the sheriffs office; said she is the president of S.C.O.P.E. and they save law
enforcement$3 million a year by using volunteers.
1. PUBLIC HEARING: Tesoro Savage Vancouver Energy Distribution Terminal Facility, Draft
Environmental Impact Statement(re Application to construct and operate a new crude oil terminal) —Mike
Jackson
After Mayor Higgins briefly explained the "ground rules"and purpose of tonight's hearing, he opened the
public hearing at 6:17 p.m. City Manager Jackson explained that Tesoro Savage Petroleum Terminal has
applied for a Site Certification Agreement to construct and operate a new crude oil terminal capable of
receiving an average of 360,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and he mentioned an upcoming hearing
scheduled for this Thursday at CenterPlace.Mr.Jackson explained some of the background of the proposed
Tesoro facility as shown on his PowerPoint, including some of the impacts that could be experienced
through such project, including an increase of train traffic through Spokane Valley, impacts to air quality,
transportation, noise, safety emergency response and economic development. Mr. Jackson expressed
concern that Spokane Valley's Barker Road was omitted from the Study's Figure 3.14-7 [Volume,
Capacity,Utilization and Miles by Segment and Alignment, page 3.14.11] Mr.Jackson suggested he bring
Council a draft comment letter at next week's Council meeting so Council can review the letter and consider
if and how they would like to respond to the State by the January 22"d deadline. Mr. Jackson suggested as
a comment,that information should at least identify the uniqueness of the communities that the trains will
travel through as the DEIS is a little too broad. Mayor Higgins invited public comment.
1. Terry Finn, retired director of affairs with BNSF, and now a senior consultant. Said he does a lot of
speaking mostly on train safety these days, partly in response to accidents that happened several years ago
like in Quebec. He said BNSF takes these accidents very seriously; said that truck traffic was mentioned,
but if trucks replaced trains it would mean thousands of truck trips, and said it isn't feasible to handle that
bulk commodity; since those accidents the railroad has improved the tracks, and 5,000 state-of-the-art
tanker cars have been ordered that have larger valves and wheels that come off in case of a rollover;he said
the railroad doesn't own the cars the shipper does,but the railroad wants to make sure there is more control;
he mentioned track improvements with infrared devices to detect bad brakes and overheating,and said they
are working to see what they can do to prevent any more accidents from occurring; said 135 trains in 2030
seems lot an lawful lot, but it remains a modest percentage of the overall rail traffic, and he acknowledged
that Spokane Valley and Spokane are the gateway for rail for much of Washington, so the trains would
have to go through here.
2. George McGraff, Spokane: regarding the City Manager's report, said he didn't hear anything that was
good about this idea of shipping oil to the West Coast; said his primary concern is we have in this area the
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worst income level for young people and that we're driving our young people out as we don't have work for
them; said at least this offers jobs in the northwest and lifts the economy to a degree we wouldn't otherwise
have; said realistic thought is needed to decide if we support or oppose this, and that he doesn't know of
anything that anybody does that can be guaranteed to be totally safe; said yes,we will want that terminal in
Vancouver as it is likely about 60% imported crude oil will no longer be needed as we will be exporting
and taking advantage of the natural resources.
3. Lance Fritze, Railroad Union Representative, lives in Coeur d'Alene: said he is a representative of the
Pacific NW Regional Councils of Carpenters and is here to support the terminal; said we need a steady
reliable supply of oil and have it when and where it is needed; said shipping oil by rail is safer than using a
pipeline and more efficient that using trucks and this is a more direct route for use of rail lines; said the
company has demonstrated being reasonable by purchasing the newest rail cars, and that they will ensure
the facility will be properly built; said we could use the additional 320 construction jobs, 176 direct on-site
jobs and 440 off-site jobs this terminal will create, and voting for this means $1.6 billion in income in
construction in the first 15 years of operation.
4. Mike Peterson, Lands Council Director: said his Council has over 150 members in Spokane Valley and
that some are very concerned about this proposed increase in oil traffic; said he works with the Sheriffs
Office and they are very concerned about the safety aspects of this issue; said there is an average of nine
derailments a month,or about one every third day and it looks like Spokane Valley would have many major
delays; said it is not possible to downplay some of the dangers of the oil; there were twelve major fires
and/or explosions since 2013, some of which involved those new rail cars that are supposedly safer; said
that BNSF has had a number of violations and they were fined for failure to maintain the railways; he
thanked Mr. Jackson for presenting an excellent write up; suggests people take a closer look at Tesoro as
they have had over 4,000 air quality violations, and said they are not a safe company to be partnering with
and that we won't gain anything except increased traffic.
5. Jace Bylenga, Sierra club: said there are about one hundred members in Spokane Valley; said there are
many risks with the project for this area;people are very concerned it would bring a lot of health and safety
risks and no benefits except to make some corporations a lot of money by exporting our resources to other
countries; said we could experience doubling of rail traffic in Spokane Valley; he mentioned the disaster at
Quebec; again said there are too many risks and no benefits, and he hopes Council will send the message
to the Governor not to approve this project.
6.Jennie Willardson, Spokane Valley: expressed her concern with oil trains; said as train traffic is now, it
is already difficult dealing with delays on North Pines, even without the increased traffic; said she spends
a lot of time waiting for trains when she could be meeting with clients; also expressed concern of what
would happen should an ambulance need to get across the tracks; said trains do derail and the tracks by the
mall, we could have spills into the River; mentioned cost to the fire department; said any jobs would be in
Vancouver and that this is not a positive impact for our community, but rather represents a net loss.
7. Matt Gill, Tesoro Anacortes Refinery External Affairs Manager: asked Council to consider that the
Vancouver energy project will provide important benefits at the state and national level as it lends to
increase Washington state jobs; said access to domestic oil is less carbon-intensive and therefore results in
lower carbon emissions; said currently oil must be imported from foreign governments and this could
reduce those by about 30% and at $30 a barrel we could keep $10.8 million a day as opposed to sending
that to other countries; said a $210 million investment will generate $22 million in payments for state and
local taxes,and would provide 320 full-time during construction jobs and 176 direct on site and 400 off site
jobs.
8. Spokane Valley Fire Chief Bryan Collins: said he agrees with Mr. Jackson that the DEIS is very broad,
particularly about life safety and response capabilities; said if a rail accident were to occur, it would require
regional and state mobilization;said this study does not address how emergency response companies would
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take care of ongoing emergency needs while attending to such an accident; said he would like to see more
discussion in the report; also mentioned the hazardous materials in the area and said that would be a
challenge as emergency response units do not have the training and equipment needed to deal with an
emergency of such magnitude;also mentioned there would be significant issues like evacuation of so many
people and no plan on how to move the thousands of people,nor where to move them to as we are severely
lacking in sheltering capabilities.
9. Patrick Gannon, Spokane Valley: said he sits on the Orchard Avenue Water Board, District 6; said he
previously voiced concern about the aquifer that these trains will be travelling over; said we are here
because of the clean water; said BNSF has a blatant disregard for that by putting in a fueling station in
Idaho; said they have had multiple leaks, and one incident could ruin our water source and hence our
livelihood; said we have some of the best water in the country, and putting oil over our aquifer is a threat
to our life.
10. Zack Hutzenbiler, Post Falls: said he is part of the Local 242 boilermakers union in Spokane; said he
personally knows dozens of people who would get jobs from this facility; said they travel to work but they
live in Spokane City and Spokane Valley; said others like pipefitters and ironworkers union members who
live in Spokane and Spokane Valley would also gain jobs from this and spend their money here; that this
would create a lot of jobs and help the economy; said he never heard anything about leaks in Idaho; said he
personally knows that this would help; said rail cars have come a long way and he hasn't heard of any
recent safety hazards or train derailments like there was in Quebec and Canada and that personally it would
help his life and help him.
11.Laura Ackerman,lives in Spokane County near Cheney: said according to the DEIS,there is a prediction
of a derailment of a loaded oil train once every two years in Washington state, which she said is a great
risk;the amount of CO2 that is significant on a global scale would be approximately 54 million metric tons
per year; said Tesoro put out information in a pamphlet about greenhouse gas emissions, they said they
used the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for a reference in that, but she said Carnegie is
challenging that reference because they are saying that the pamphlet wrongly implies that the research had
analyzed Bakken shale crude to conclude that it had emitted fewer greenhouse gases other than crude and
she said this was from an article in the Seattle Times and reported in the Spokesman Review; said the
Endowment has not yet analyzed Bakken Shale emissions, and that"early indications are that greenhouse
gas emissions are likely to vary greatly depending on whether natural gas is flared in the oil fields." She
said you can't make a blanket statement that Bakken will produce less CO2; we also know that the facility
is scheduled to receive dillbit; and if you look at the plans you can see that they can't take dillbit; and at
least three of the last several accidents were dillbit; it wasn't just Bakken; said she read about an accident
in Tesoro Anacortes: "After a deadly fire in Anacortes killed seven workers,state and federal investigators
blasted Tesoro calling the company complacent after safety,and issuing 39 citations of willful indifference
to hazards to the site;: she asked if we would get any benefits from this facility being built in Vancouver,
and answered that no one does; and said that benefits, if any, would stay in the Vancouver area; she
encouraged people to attend Thursday's hearing.
City Clerk Bainbridge mentioned she received two written comments, which she said she distributed to
Councilmembers prior to tonight's meeting,one letter from Rick Rienhart discussing oil trains with hazmat
"3" signs on them, sitting not too far from Millwood off Trent, and if this continues more trains are likely;
and an e-mail received today from Bart Raynjak to Spokane Council to please say "no" to the Country's
biggest proposed oil terminal. There were no further comments; Mayor Higgins closed the public hearing
at 7:07 p.m. and called for a ten-minute recess. The meeting was reconvened at 7:18 p.m.
2. CONSENT AGENDA: Consists of items considered routine which are approved as a group. Any
member of Council may ask that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda to be considered separately.
Proposed Motion:I move to approve the Consent Agenda.
a. Approval of vouchers on Jan. 12, 2016 Request for Council Action Form Totaling$2,975,371.58
Minutes Regular Council Meeting:01-12-2016 Page 4 of 6
Approved by Council:01-26-2016
b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending December 31,2015: $494,242.89
c. Approval of December 15,2015 Special Council Meeting Minutes
d. Approval of December 15, 2015 Study Session Council Meeting Minutes
e. Approval of December 18, 2015 Special Council Meeting Minutes
f.Approval of December 29,2015 Study Session Council Meeting Minutes
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent
Agenda.
NEW BUSINESS
3. Proposed Resolution No. 16-002 Declaring Banking Authority—Mark Calhoun
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to approve Resolution #16-002 declaring which
qualified public depositories the City is authorized to conduct financial transactions with and declaring
which Councilmembers and City officers have signing authority on behalf of the City. Deputy City Manager
Calhoun explained that Spokane Valley Municipal Code requires the Council to authorize by resolution,
which qualified financial depositories the City may use and who has authority to sign checks for the City;
and that periodically this information needs to be updated. Mayor Higgins invited public comment; no
comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
4. Mayoral Appointments: Planning Commissioners—Mayor Higgins
Mayor Higgins said that we received applications from many well qualified individuals, and he thanked
everyone for taking the time and interest to apply, and then announced his choice of Ken Anderson for the
one year position, and Tim Kelly, Suzanne Stathos and James Johnson for the three-year positions. It was
then moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to confirm the Mayor's nominations for appointment
of Tim Kelly, Suzanne Stathos and James Johnson each for a three-year term ending December 31, 2018;
and Kevin Anderson to complete the unexpired term offormer Commissioner Sam Wood, with a term ending
December 31, 2016. Vote by Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
5. Mayoral Appointments: Councilmembers to Committees/Boards—Mayor Higgins
Mayor Higgins mentioned the updated Request for Council Form with proposed changes,and he asked City
Clerk Bainbridge to read the committee recommended appointments. After Clerk Bainbridge read the list
of recommended appointments, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to confirm the
Mayoral appointments of Councilmembers to the committees and boards as listed above. Mayor Higgins
invited public comment;no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:
None. Motion carried.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
6. Street Vacation, 3rd Avenue—Karen Kendall
Via her PowerPoint presentation,Planner Kendall explained the proposed street vacation of a portion of 3rd
Avenue; she explained the process and the request, showed several photos of the area in question, and
explained the conditions that were recommended by the Planning Commission. There were no objections
to moving this forward.
7. Advance Agenda—Mayor Higgins
Councilmember Grafos suggested for the January 19 Council meeting, to have the Sheriff come to that
meeting and talk about the anti-sanctuary resolution that was passed and what the Spokane Valley Police
Department is currently doing with immigration and how they work with the federal government, and to
explain what we were doing prior to the resolution; and mentioned he realizes these items would go to the
Agenda Committee. Deputy Mayor Woodard, as part of the Agenda Committee, said he has no problem
with this coming back next week,and other Councilmembers nodded in agreement. Councilmember Grafos
also mentioned the problem many people have with trying to get across sidewalks during the winter that
are impacted with snow and ice; he suggested the ordinance for clearing sidewalks be examined, and
perhaps if a business doesn't clear a sidewalk within twelve hours of the end of a storm,that Spokane Valley
would have a crew clean them and send the business owner the bill. Concerning the Council's Governance
Minutes Regular Council Meeting:01-12-2016 Page 5 of 6
Approved by Council:01-26-2016
Manual adopted by Resolution 15-007, Councilmember Hafner suggested there was a disregard of those
rules last Tuesday and said this manual would be a good discussion at the upcoming workshop,or if we are
not going to follow the rules Council sets,to abandon the manual. Councilmember Pace agreed the manual
should be discussed and he requested a meeting of the Governance Manual Committee be scheduled as
soon as possible.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
Mr. Jackson mentioned the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the State's upcoming Thursday
public hearing; said written comments are important and that he would draft some comments for Council's
review next week to decide if Council wants to comments, and if so, how.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:42 p.m.
ATTE T: L.R. HiggM. ,or
Christine Bainbridge, City Clue k
Minutes Regular Council Meeting:01-12-2016 Page 6 of 6
Approved by Council:01-26-2016
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
SIGN-IN SHEET
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS
YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTE
Please sign in if you wish to make public comments.
NAME TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE
P- a E ASE ;P RI T WILL SPEAK ABOUT
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Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure.
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SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
January 12, 2016
PUBLIC HEARING SIGN-IN SHEET
SUBJECT: Tesoro Crude Oil Terminal, Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Please sign below if you would like to speak at the PUBLIC HEARING.
PRINT NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. There may be a time limit for your comments. Any documents
for Council consideration should be provided to the City Clerk for distribution.
NAME Your City of Residence
PLEASE PRINT
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Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure.
ITEM #5 -AMENDED
CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY
Request for Council Action
Meeting Date: January 12, 2016 Department Director Approval: ❑
Check all that apply: ❑ consent ❑ old business ® new business ❑ public hearing
❑ information ❑ admin. report ❑ pending legislation ❑ executive session
AGENDA ITEM TITLE: Motion Consideration: Confirmation of Mayoral Appointments: Council-
members to Boards and Committees
GOVERNING LEGISLATION: Various ordinances, resolutions, and state statutes.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN: Annually, the Mayor makes appointment recommendations
to place councilmembers on various regional board and committees
The following are the Mayor's recommendations for each Councilmember's committee assignments:
Mayor Higgins:
GSI (Greater Spokane, Inc.)
Mayor's Association of NE Washington
Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency
Spokane Valley Finance Committee
Deputy Mayor Woodard:
Chamber of Commerce Board
Spokane Valley Finance Committee
Governance Committee
Councilmember Grafos:
Growth Management Steering Committee of Elected Officials
Wastewater Policy Advisory Board
Spokane Regional Health District Board
Councilmember Hafner:
Spokane Regional Health District Board
Spokane Transit Authority (STA)
Emergency 9-1-1 Board
Spokane Housing &Community Development(HCDAC)
Councilmember Pace:
Governance Committee
Spokane Transit Authority (STA)
Wastewater Policy Advisory Board
Spokane Valley Finance Committee
Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC)
Councilmember Wood:
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC)
Tourism Promotion Area (TPA)
Growth Management Steering Committee of Elected Officials
Councilmember Gothmann (and Councilmember Bates upon his return):
Visit Spokane
Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC)
ITEM #5 - AMENDED
OPTIONS: Move to confirm the Mayoral appointments of Councilmembers to the committees and
boards as modified or listed above.
RECOMMENDED ACTION OR MOTION: I move to confirm the Mayoral appointments of
Councilmembers to the committees and boards as listed above.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
COUNCIL CONTACT: Mayor Higgins
ATTACHMENTS: n/a
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Chris Bainbridge
From: Bart Rayniak <jbrayniak@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday,January 12, 2016 11:15 AM
To: Chris Bainbridge
Subject: Tesoro-Savage oil terminal impact on Spokane Valley
To Spokane Valley City Council - Please say No to the Country's
Largest Proposed Oil Terminal .
At 360,000 barrels a day, Tesoro-Savage's proposed oil terminal would =—
ship almost half as much crude oil as the entire Keystone XL pipeline. If .. -----
hr''i., -r-n:!
The Tesoro-Savage proposed oil terminal is approved, it will Daring four or —IL— 6A +.r, W,. J4
r .0 =Y j
five additional oil trains through the Spokane Valley each day!. These .�---� �, • ��` �
dangerous trains would carry expDosave crude oil and threaten our �.'• :.-` -'`""'.....k f�.^'f'
heaDth, our water, and our climate, and our children.
The giant terminal, to be located in Vancouver, Wash., would handle crude oil delivered by rail from the
Bakken oil fields. Washington's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council recently released its draft environmental
impact statement, which shows the problems and risks posed by the Tesoro-Savage terminal. Even with
its flaws, the DEIS describes the significant and unavoid1abDe impacts that this terminal and its
dangerous oi] trains would cause.
For example, if the Tesoro-Savage terminal were built, an oil train derailment could be expected once
every two years—at least. The DEIS exposes the risks of oil spills, traffic impacts from train crossings,
public health concerns, and the massive amount of climate-changing pollution—significant on a global
scale—that this terminal would cause.
Tesoro-Savage's unprecedented and reckless proposal is drawing enormous opposition. Opponents
include Columbia River tribes, firefighters, business leaders, health professionals, climate activities,
neighborhood associates, faith leaders, the cities of Sandpoint, Spokane and Vancouver, and a clear
majority of local communities.
We need the Spokane Valley City Council to help to stop the largest proposed crude oil-by-rail terminal in
North America! Tell Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council that this
project is simply too harmful and risky—that Tesoro-Savage is not the future we want in the
Spokane Valley.l
1.
■ Train accidents—The DEIS estimate of one accident every two years doesn't account for the entire
rail line from North Dakota to Vancouver. And the report, written by former BNSF employees,
underestimates the potential for disastrous accidents along the tracks.
■ Oil spills—Oil trains pose a huge risk to the Spokane River, North Idaho's waterways, including the
Kootenai River, home to endangered sturgeon; Lake Pend Oreille, and the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer,
OUR drinking water source for half a million people.
■ Traffic impacts—An increase in train traffic through the Spokane means more delays at main line rail
crossings, a serious concern for emergency service providers. We already have seven (7) ungated
railroad spur crossings in the Spokane Valley which have seen unprecedented use by trains on their
return trips to North Dakota. The crossing at Mirabeu is a good example.
■ Oil export ban—Now that Congress has lifted the oil export ban, we can expect more pressure to
approve export terminals. If all the proposed terminals are approved, we could see 100 trains through
our region each week, greatly increasing risk of spills, air pollution, explosive derailments, noise
pollution, and traffic delays and accidents,
■ Climate change—Tesoro-Savage's proposed terminal would generate roughly 54 million metric tons
of carbon dioxide a year, a globally significant amount. We need to invest in clean energy, not dirty
fossil fuels.
■ Lack of solutions—These impacts cannot be mitigated; therefore, the Energy Facility Site Evaluation
Council should recommend denial and Gov. Inslee should deny the proposal.
Please listen carefully to logic and throw the Spokane Valley's support to denying this proposal. There is
nothing in this proposal that benefits the Spokane Valley.
Very sincerely Yours,
3. Bart Rayniak
Otis Orchards
2