Uninvited? According to Larrabee, the Port conducted its own analysis of the best use of the available land and settled on an oil terminal. Then the Port invited several companies to bid. Selection factors included safety, economic benefit to the community, and industry experience. “Our selection by the Port demonstrates the package we presented measured up to the Port’s factors,” said Larrabee.
Unsafe? Larrabee said safety is engineered into the facility design and operating practices. Examples of those features include a closed-loop unloading, seamlessly welded pipe, dual tank bottoms and roofs, foam fire containment system, marine vapor combustion unit, and 30-second shut-off valves throughout the facility. The tanks are installed on earthquake-proof foundations. For safety enroute, rail speed limits range from 25 mph through downtown to less than 5 mph at the Tesoro-Savage facility. Tesoro has committed to upgrade their entire rail fleet to the new type of tanker, and the BNSF railroad has committed to upgrading 5,000 tankers in the future. Only “Jones Act” vessels – double-hulled, compartmentalized ships flying the U.S. flag with a U.S. crew – will be used. These will be piloted by experienced Columbia River pilots until the ship crosses the Columbia River bar.
Export? There is no intent to export crude oil or to put in a refinery, said Larrabee. Nor is Tesoro lobbying (as some oil companies are) for a lift on the export ban on domestic crude oil. The facility is simply a rail-to-barge transfer point to deliver to California, Washington, and Alaska refineries. Larrabee said, “This is a chance to use domestic crude, create domestic jobs, and use domestic refineries.”
Incompatible? Larrabee does not see the oil terminal as incompatible with the waterfront project. Currently 70 to 80 trains pass through Vancouver every day, and the WVFA project could increase that by 8 to 12 trains/day – the oil terminal would receive only 1 to 2 trains per day, up to a maximum of 4. From the I-5 bridge, very little of the facility will be visible; the facility uses less than 8 percent of the Port’s land and the tallest proposed structure is only 50 feet high. The tanks will be over a half-mile from the river.
Hiring Practices? Larrabee said that as much as possible, jobs for the proposed facility will be filled by local talent. Tesoro-Savage has already met with Northwest Railroad Institute students, who expressed excitement over the possibility of being able to find good jobs here in Vancouver instead of having to move somewhere else.
According to Larrabee the oil terminal presents a “strong business case when it comes to national/regional economic development and the energy that drives our economy,” and he encouraged the business community to use “due diligence” as they inform themselves about the project.
