Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview, LLC v. State

The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed a Shorelines Hearings Board’s ruling that upheld the denial of permit application for a coal export terminal. The court rejected the terminal developer’s argument that the Board had erred in concluding that consideration of the project as a whole, instead of just its first phase, was clearly erroneous. The court said the developer’s argument was based on “an impermissible attempt to piecemeal its project” under the Shoreline Management Act of 1971. The court also found that denial of the permit application based on State Environmental Policy Act substantive authority was not clearly erroneous. The court agreed with the Board that there was a basis for exercising such authority. In particular, the court found that conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions constituted a significant impact was not clearly erroneous.

The developer of a proposed coal terminal in Washington State filed a petition for review before the State Shorelines Hearings Board to appeal the decision of a Cowlitz County Hearing Examiner denying a shoreline permit application for the terminal. The hearing examiner had found, among other things, that the developer had failed to reasonably mitigate ten unavoidable, significant impacts, including impacts from greenhouse gas emissions.