On Tuesday, November 14th, the Cowlitz County Hearing Examiner denied two shoreline use permits for the proposed Millennium coal export terminal in Longview, WA for causing significant unavoidable harm and failing to meet the requirements of the Shorelines Management Act. This decision marks the fourth independent denial of project permits; without these permits, Millennium cannot go forward.
The Hearing Examiner found that “in this hearing the County and the Applicant have been given the opportunity to propose reasonable mitigation. Nonetheless, by the conclusion of the hearing the parties had failed to do so. As the unchallenged FEIS concludes that the Project has many unavoidable, significant adverse impacts, and as the parties have failed to provide reasonable mitigation, the Shorelines Permits must be denied.”
"I took an oath to protect the lives and well-being of our communities. The Millennium coal export proposal runs counter to all of medicine, and the health and well-being of our community, " said Dr. Stephen Chandler, a Longview physician who treats cancer patients every day. "Our voices were heard by the Hearing Examiner and I hope that his decision will finally stimulate our leaders to move forward with a healthy, productive and creative use of this precious river site."