City officials announced a shoreline-permit review Monday that could delay or stop the Port of Seattle’s plan to serve as a base for Shell Oil’s Arctic Ocean drilling fleet.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council buoyed the efforts of environmental activists Monday, saying the city might have the power to delay or block the Port of Seattle’s plan to serve as a base for Shell Oil’s Arctic Ocean drilling fleet.
The Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will “review, investigate and determine” whether the plan is allowed under the Port’s Shoreline Substantial Development Permit for Terminal 5, Murray and the council said.
The terminal is scheduled to be redeveloped in 2018 but is currently vacant.
In February, the Port signed a two-year lease with Foss Maritime, which is set to manage Shell’s fleet in Seattle. Under the lease, which will cover 50 acres at Terminal 5 and allow Shell to keep eight vessels there, Foss will pay more than $13 million.
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The Port defended its plan Monday. “The Port of Seattle believes it has complied with all necessary environmental requirements,” a statement from Port spokesman Peter McGraw said.
Four environmental groups, opposed to Arctic drilling at a time of growing concern over the impacts of fossil-fuel combustion on the climate, sued the Port last month for agreeing to host the fleet in Seattle.
They claim the Foss lease violates state law because the Port didn’t subject the plan to State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) scrutiny and didn’t revise the shoreline permit, which says Terminal 5 must be used for cargo.
The Port Commission meets Tuesday, and some activists plan to show up to make themselves heard.
The Port insists Shell will use the terminal for cargo, storage and minor repairs only. Murray and the council questioned that in a release.
“In the past, Shell’s drilling fleet has needed extensive repairs, maintenance and conversions after returning from a season of drilling,” the news release said.
“These activities may substantially change Terminal 5’s use and require new, different permits … which could require additional environmental review.”
McGraw countered that heavy repairs would be done in a shipyard, not Terminal 5.
Murray stopped short of criticizing the Port outright, but Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw slammed the plan.
“I think the Port has made a mistake,” O’Brien said in an interview.
“I have grave concerns about Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling fleet coming to Puget Sound in a damaged state, discharging oil and other toxic pollutants along our shorelines during transport and repair, jeopardizing the local ecosystem and undoing decades of work to clean up the Sound,” he added in the news release.
A Shell spokesman said Monday the company is confident that the lease meets “all legal and regulatory requirements.”
“Nothing is currently being contemplated outside the normal activities associated with vessel outfitting, docking and mooring,” spokesman Curtis Smith said. “Specific activities could include loading of tools and equipment, as well as crew change operations and the transfer of consumable goods.”
Environmental groups have long fought offshore drilling, warning it could result in a major Arctic oil spill, and have said the Port was secretive in negotiating with Foss.
Before signing the lease, the Port held only one public meeting discussing the deal — and that came just one week after the plan made its way into the news. A majority of the Port’s commissioners chose to defer to staff rather than vote on the deal.
The DPD review announced Monday could delay Shell as the company races to prepare for summer drilling. The agency will try to expedite the process but will need a few weeks to a month, spokesman Bryan Stevens said.
Stevens was uncertain about whether Shell will be allowed to start using Terminal 5 in the meantime.
A new or revised permit could take four weeks to eight months to obtain, he said.
Shell’s drilling explorations in the Arctic haven’t gone smoothly. In 2012, one Shell-contracted ship ran aground off Kodiak Island, Alaska, and another nearly did at Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
The company didn’t drill in 2013 and 2014, but contractor Noble Drilling, which operated the ships, in December pleaded guilty to eight felony counts and was fined $12 million for safety and environmental crimes.