The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will modify the Department of the Army permit for the BP Cherry Point Marine Terminal’s North Wing dock, to comply with restrictions regarding the handling of crude oil at Puget Sound facilities, Endangered Species Act, and other applicable legal requirements.
This comes from the Record of Decision (ROD) issued Monday, following the completion of a Final Environmental Impact Statement released last August evaluating the potential impacts of the North Wing’s continued operation.
USACE will require BP to limit the volume of crude oil handled at the terminal to 191 million barrels per year and prohibit using the North Wing dock to handle crude oil unless authorized by USACE.
Moreover, Endangered Species Act-related permit conditions will require compliance with the NOAA Fisheries biological opinion, which imposes a limit on vessel calls to the terminal.
USACE is also requiring BP to report the number of vessel calls and the volume of crude oil handled at the terminal each year to ensure compliance with both the biological opinion and the Magnuson Amendment.
Additionally, the EIS examined the incremental environmental risk of operating the North Wing of the BP Cherry Point Marine Terminal. The environmental risk was primarily measured in terms of vessel accidents and oil spills in the Puget Sound region.
Considering all of the above, three alternatives were analyzed:
- The Proposed Action
- No Action Alternative
- Alternative A.
The Proposed Action would modify the existing North Wing permit as necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations and to uphold the public interest.
The No Action Alternative would revoke the North Wing permit, potentially requiring the removal of the previously authorized structure from the waters of the United States.
Alternative A could have left the permit in place as issued, with no additional conditions or restrictions.
