Washington Supreme Court Rules Against Oil Terminal in Grays Harbor

Citing the Oceans Management Act, the Washington Supreme Court "effectively canceled" the Grays Harbor Oil Terminal according to reporting from Lynda V. Mapes in the Seattle Times. The decision will set a precedent as it is the first time the act, written after the Exxon Valdez spill, has been used for a shore side development.

"The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) opposed the oil terminal on the grounds that it threatens the tribe’s treaty-protected fishery in Grays Harbor," Mapes writes. Grays Harbor which sits on the Pacific Ocean west of Olympia Washington was to transport 17.8 million barrels of oil a year. "The justices reversed decisions by a state board and the state Court of Appeals, which held the Ocean Resources Management Act did not cover plans by Houston-based Contanda to ship crude out of the Port of Grays Harbor at Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County," Mapes reports.