Coal-export Terminal Backers Pull Local Permits

BELLINGHAM (AP) — Developers behind a proposed coal-export terminal at Cherry Point have formally withdrawn local permit applications but say they're still weighing their options.

Last May, the Army Corps of Engineers denied the Gateway Pacific Terminal project a key permit, saying it would violate the Lummi tribe's fishing rights.

Pacific International Holdings told Whatcom County in a letter Tuesday that it was "currently considering various alternatives," including challenging the Corps decision or modifying the project to further reduce environmental impacts.

Whatcom County Deputy Executive Tyler Schroeder says the company would have to file a new application to move forward on another project.

The terminal would have handled up to 54 million metric tons of dry bulk commodities, mostly coal. The venture between SSA Marine and Cloud Peak Energy proposed receiving coal by train from Montana and Wyoming for export to Asia.