Cross Posted from TDN
The last investor of a proposed Coos Bay coal terminal has dropped out, leaving three coal export terminal projects still alive on the Columbia River.
According to the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, negotiations on a lease agreement Metropolitan Stevedore Company of Wilmington, Calif., known as Metro Ports, ended Sunday. The company and the port had first signed a tentative lease agreement in October 2011.
The project was in serious jeopardy last month when two major investors, Mitsui & Co. and Korean Electric Power Corp., dropped out of the project. Port of Coos Bay officials said they would continue to market the property to other maritime businesses.
The announcement is a victory for conservationists, who have mounted a big campaign against proposed Pacific Northwest coal terminals.
“It is hard to imagine that anyone would want to risk getting in bed with risky and desperate coal industry,” David Petrie, director of Coos Waterkeeper, said in a written statement.
In the lower Columbia region, two companies have filed permits to build coal terminals. Milennium Bulk Terminals is seeking to build a $643 million dock west of Longview, and Australia-based Ambre Energy is hoping to build a barge dock at Port Westward near Clatskanie. A third company, Texas-based Kinder Morgan, has stated it plans to submit permits next year to build a second coal terminal at Port Westward.
In Whatcom County, developer SSA Marine has filed permit to build the Gateway Pacific terminal, which would be the largest coal dock in North America.
