Council delays action on pipeline

John Stark
The Bellingham Herald

The Whatcom County Council decided Tuesday to take no action on the Georgia Strait Crossing natural gas pipeline project until pipeline backers submit a major project application.

David Grant, an assistant Whatcom County prosecuting attorney, told council members that under county land-use law, they could not act until the pipeline backers submit that application. Once that application is complete and is reviewed by county planners, it would then go to the Whatcom County hearing examiner for a recommendation and a final ruling by the County Council, Grant said.

The pipeline, known as GSX, is a project of Williams Pipeline Co. It would cross 33 miles of the county from Sumas to Cherry Point before moving under water to supply fuel for proposed generating plants on Vancouver Island. Backers say it could also eventually supply natural gas for industrial development at Cherry Point.

Steven Snarr, general counsel for Northwest Pipeline Corp., a Williams subsidiary, told the council that county planners advised his company more than two years ago that the major project application would not be required. The company did not hear otherwise until earlier this year, he added.

Grant said the misstatements from county planners did not change the law, which mandates the major project permit process for any project with a value in excess of $5 million. The county portion of the project will cost more than $90 million, he said.

Snarr noted that the major project permit process does not include any deadlines for the county to complete review of the permit application. He expressed concern that the process was being imposed in an effort to kill the project by delay.

Council member Laurie Caskey-Schreiber told Snarr that was not the council's intent, but added that the proposed pipeline has aroused widespread concern about potential impact on the environment. Snarr replied that his company had completed millions of dollars' worth of environmental studies indicating that impact will not be significant.

Snarr noted that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already given GSX a green light. He said his company wants to work with the county on developing appropriate environmental safeguards for the project, but if it appears as though the county is trying to block it, the company could take the matter to federal court.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals is already considering the question of whether Washington state and Whatcom County waived jurisdiction in the matter by missing deadlines for review of earlier applications from GSX.

Reach John Stark at 715-2274 or john.stark@bellinghamherald.com.