Wash. pulls permits for 2 oil train terminals

SEATTLE (AP) -- Officials are rejecting permits for two major oil-train terminals in Southwest Washington after deciding the projects should face more environmental scrutiny.

The state Shorelines Hearings Board issued a letter Wednesday saying it plans to invalidate the permits for Westway Terminal Co. and Imperium Terminal Services, which want to build oil shipping terminals at the Port of Grays Harbor that could store up to 1.5 million barrels of crude from North Dakota and Alberta. The city of Hoquiam issued the permits last spring, after determining in conjunction with the state Ecology Department that the proposals posed minimal threat to the environment.

Groups including the Quinalt Indian Nation and the Sierra Club appealed. They argued that city and state officials failed to consider the cumulative environmental impacts of having the two terminals running along with a third terminal planned nearby. The board agreed.

The board also says the effects of increased train and vessel traffic need to be considered, as does the damage that could be posed by an oil spill.