Expanding Whatcom County’s outreach to Cherry Point UGA stakeholders / Letter to Whatcom County Planning Commission and Whatcom County Council, Dena Jensen

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October 28, 2016  Dena Jensen

Dear Whatcom County Planning Commission and Whatcom County Council:

I am writing today because there has been discussion by both the planning commission and county council about collaborating with stakeholders at Cherry Point regarding the proposal and alternatives for the Cherry Point UGA section of the Land Use Chapter for the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update. So far, in what I have heard about this collaboration, only the businesses/industries at Cherry Point have been mentioned, especially in terms of outreach from the planning commission or council. Continue reading

Council Member Weimer’s Cherry Point Comprehensive Plan amendments: important for health of environment and for safety of refinery workers / Letter to Whatcom County Planning Commission, Dena Jensen

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October 24, 2016  Dena Jensen

Dear Whatcom County Planning Commission:

I have been reading through the comments posted on the Cherry Point Amendments page of the Whatcom County website.  In light of the comments made by Cherry Point refinery employees and contractors who emphasized their efforts to maintain safety as a priority in their workplace, I wanted to offer some additional information to consider that is not strongly represented yet in the comments to date. Continue reading

“CH2M had informed the company, PIT, of the additional expenditures, and the company had not agreed to pay them.” / Facebook Post, Sj Robson

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16 hrs  October 21, 2016  Sandy Robson

This post is a follow-up to my October 12, 2016 article posted on the Noisy Waters blog. In the article, I mentioned an April 15, 2016 email and letter from Project Manager Craig Lenhart of CH2M Hill, the consultant preparing the presently-suspended EIS for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) project, and Parametrix’s Jenifer Young, sent to Whatcom County Deputy Executive Tyler Schroeder.  Continue reading

Surly Citizens Object to Backroom Deals / NorthwestCitizen, Guest writer, Anne Mackie

At the height of the objections to the rule breaking by Vargas.

Anne Mackie guest writes about the Monday, Oct 17, Bellingham City Council meeting.  She is a community leader who lives in the York neighborhood.

Wed, Oct 19, 2016, 4:27 pm // Guest writer, Anne Mackie

What does it look like when a special interest group has your City Council president in their back pocket? It looks like what transpired at the October 17 Bellingham City Council Public Hearing on the Comprehensive Plan.

Rumors of a “crowd control problem” at city hall Monday night circulated on police scanners. As someone who was there, I can say the only control problem was emanating from Council President Pinky Vargas who violated meeting rules to accommodate her friends in the real estate and building industry. […]

Read Anne’s complete article on NorthwestCitizen here.

Continue reading

A way for Whatcom County to expire PIT’s permit application for the proposed GPT project / Facebook post, Sj Robson

2 hrs  October 19, 2016  Sandy Robson

At the September 13, 2016, County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee meeting, during discussion about the then-proposed contract Amendment No. 5.1 for the preparation of the EIS for the GPT project Whatcom County Deputy Executive Tyler Schroeder did not fully inform, County Council members on the subject of expiring Pacific International Terminals’ (PIT) local permit applications for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) project.  Continue reading

The Samish Crest Logging Application; SEPA Review (Comments Due 10.19.16) / Facebook post, Whatcom Hawk, Wendy Harris

 

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Click the graphic to access City of Bellingham Current Planning Notices, where this notice and accompanying documents are about halfway down on the webpage at the date of this post.

 

6:00am  October 17, 2016  Wendy Harris

The Samish Crest Logging Application; SEPA Review
(Comments Due 10.19.16)

Need another reason to be concerned about an attempt to log 30% of this undeveloped habitat corridor in advance of eventual multi-million dollar homes?

How about this? Old Growth Forest. Continue reading

Jay Julius’ presentation at the National Congress of American Indians / Facebook post, Noisy Waters Northwest shared Freddy Lane’s post

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October 16, 2016  Dena Jensen

In case you can’t access the video, or you just want to consider the enlightening words at your own pace, here’s a transcript of most of [Lummi Indian Business Council member] Jay Julius’ presentation (shown in this video posted by Freddy Lane) at the National Congress of American Indians this last week: Continue reading

GPT EIS contract Q & A between County Administration and Whatcom County Council; and the $313,000 EIS consultant claimed it’s owed by GPT applicant

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Click on the graphic to view a transcript of Q&A between county executive officials and county council members on the GPT EIS preparation contract at the September 13, 2016 Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services committee meeting

October 12, 2016  Sandy Robson

During the September 13, 2016 Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee meeting, County Deputy Executive Tyler Schroeder, gave a presentation to Council about proposed contract Amendment 5.1 to the June 2012 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) preparation contract for the Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) and interrelated Custer Spur Modification projects.  Continue reading