LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) - A coalition of about 25 national and international unions wants Washington state officials to approve plans for a $2 billion methanol refinery in Kalama, Washington.
In a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee, North America’s Building Trades Unions wrote: “As you know, we have worked diligently to identify and support ‘blue/green’ projects that create family wage union jobs and also help fight climate change.”
“We believe the (Northwest Innovation Works) project represents one of these opportunities.”
The letter was sent a few days ahead of a federal District Court ruling that vacated federal permits for the plant and sent the plans back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for another environmental review, the Columbian reported.
Conservation organizations, including Columbia Riverkeeper, have staunchly opposed the plant since it was first proposed in 2014. Those groups have filed multiple lawsuits against the plant, including a case that led to the federal court decision last week.
In a prepared statement issued after the ruling, a Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney said the groups were “relieved the court rejected the permits for the project, but rather than send it back to the drawing board, state and federal leaders should pull the plug now.”
The NABTU letter said that it was writing on “behalf of the nearly 80,000 members of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, the broader labor community, and their families.”
Northwest Innovation Works wants to build a $2 billion methanol plant on leased land at the Port of Kalama. Company officials say the facility would employ 200 people to convert natural gas into methanol for use in plastic manufacturing in China.
A recent draft environmental study completed by the state Department of Ecology suggested that the plant would increase global greenhouse gas emissions, but likely at a lesser rate than if the plant is not built and market demands for methanol are met by other sources.
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