SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacific International Terminals (PIT), sponsor of the Gateway Pacific Terminal project, has settled with an environmental group that lodged a complaint in 2011 over a wetlands disturbance in Whatcom County. PIT requested and received agreement that the $850,000 settlement amount go exclusively towards Puget Sound environmental restoration projects. An additional $800,000 will be paid to cover the plaintiff’s legal fees. The agreement became public today.
The suit was filed in 2011 under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act dealing with wetlands which provides a tool to motivate federal and state agencies and other involved parties to react timely when disturbances occur. According to PIT, the suit did not seem necessary at all, since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Washington State Department of Ecology and Whatcom County Planning and Development Services already had alerted PIT to the wetlands violation and PIT, together with the agencies, had taken immediate steps to develop an approved restoration and monitoring plan. Bob Watters with PIT stated, "With agencies and owner already fully engaged in the restoration and mitigation activities, the suit was clearly unnecessary and was contrary to the spirit of the Clean Water Act."
“This is what we call a ‘nuisance’ lawsuit,” continued Bob. “We thought we had the permits we needed. As soon as we found out we did not, we stopped the work. Even before the Corps, Ecology and Whatcom County came out with their findings, we began to develop a plan for restoring any affected habitat. The lawsuit added no positive environmental benefit beyond what the agencies, with authority, already required. At this time, we thought it better to settle this suit for the expected cost of the legal defense, preferring the funds go exclusively towards Puget Sound environmental restoration projects rather than the lawyers. We feel there was no need for the suit but are encouraged that we finally have come to an agreement so we can move forward.”
In the findings from the Corps of Engineers, the agency found the damage was “minimal.” In fact, the Corps said the period of violation was “very minor,” the impact on water quality was “slight,” the expected duration of impacts was “short,” the risk to public health or safety was “slight,” and the violation was “likely not intentional.”
Note to editors: SSA Marine continues to exercise caution with the pursuit of its proposed Whatcom County terminal and to work above and beyond requirements to put resources into environmental protection in the Pacific Northwest. Below is a summary of those good works.
Just a Few Environmental Contributions of SSA Marine:
- Over $750,000 spent modifying over 465 pieces of yard equipment to make them less polluting by installing special mufflers and crank case filters.
- Over $16,000,000 spent, working in conjunction with WDOE, to clean-up contamination from a previous owner of 58 acres of property on the East Blair Peninsula, in the Port of Tacoma, which SSA Marine purchased in 2006.
- SSA Terminals was presented with the Environmental Excellence Award for Air Quality by the Association of Washington Businesses; this award was in recognition of the leadership and voluntary commitments to improving the air quality at Terminal 18 in Seattle, Washington.
- SSA Terminals was awarded with an Air Quality Improvement Award of Excellence from the port of Long Beach in recognition of outstanding efforts to reduce emissions from cargo-handling equipment. SSA Terminals has helped reduce emissions since 2005, including cutting nitrous oxide by 25%, or nearly 600 tons a year and particulate emissions by 50%, or more than 70 tons per year.
- SSA Terminals was the first to convert terminal tractors used to transport containers from diesel to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), reducing nitrogen oxide 77% and particulate matter 93%. These goals were met three years ahead of the EPA’s required schedule.
- SSA Marine initiated and chaired a group of west coast marine terminal operators to establish a not-for-profit organization called PierPASS to mitigate traffic concerns in around the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The “off peak” gate program addresses community concerns by spreading truckers’ visits to container terminals over more hours and thereby reducing pollution from idling trucks and highway congestion. Truckers are charged a surcharge to pick containers up during peak hours. This is a good example of SSA Marine stepping up and supplying a solution rather than the government mandating one.
- SSA Marine initiated and chaired efforts, in Seattle, to get all container terminal operators to agree to a voluntary program prohibiting terminal access to older, high emission diesel trucks.
- SSA Marine received the Best Private Terminal Operator award from Marine Digest and Cargo Business News reader survey. The top terminal operators were selected based on the responses of readers who identified themselves as shippers.
- SSA Marine was the first recipient of the first ever Toyota Logistic Services – Logistic Service Award. In presenting this award, Toyota executives noted that SSA Marine is committed to ‘kaizen’ which means the path of continuous improvement.