Political Polarization in the Northwest

By Jordan Royer, Vice President of External Affairs

It is no secret that we are living in politically polarized times. Public policy positions are judged adequate or not largely by which side proposes or opposes them. The distrust and animosity between the Republican Administration and the Blue State of Washington is resulting in uncertainty and confusion for industries operating here – particularly those in the trade community. The perception and/or the reality of gutting of federal environmental standards is providing Democratic leaders and regulators in Washington State license for regulatory expansion into the federal realm. It also makes it more difficult for government and industry to collaborate on common sense regulations and projects to improve environmental performance while continuing to be competitive with other port gateways.

Tacoma provides an example of some of the challenges we face. While Tacoma has historically not experienced political controversy on the scale of Seattle, a battle is now brewing over a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility to fuel ships. The LNG facility was part of the Clean Air Strategy of the ports as well as the Governor’s environmental “Maritime Blue” initiative. State and local regulators encouraged Puget Sound Energy to partner with TOTE Maritime (a vessel line with service between Tacoma and Alaska) to switch to LNG propulsion because of the environmental benefits.

Four years ago, Governor Jay Inslee signed tax incentive legislation to build the facility and said this: “This may be something that we will look back at and perhaps (take) note,” Inslee, a Democrat, said at the conclusion of the Legislature’s session in mid-March. “This is the first time a tax incentive will be tied to concrete carbon-emission reductions and includes other real accountability measures to ensure taxpayers receive maximum return on their investment.” And Jessica Finn Coven, state director for Climate Solutions, said: “I’m very pleased they are looking at ways to significantly reduce their greenhouse gases. That should be applauded.”
Source: Tacoma News Tribune

But that was then and this is now. The Governor now opposes the project even though his Department of Ecology has permitted it. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has issued two extensive environmental reviews that show it is beneficial to the environment and human health. But a battle now rages over the once popular project with port industrial businesses and the Tacoma Port Commission on one side and the Puyallup Tribe and environmental activists on the other. It has made the port commission races for two open seats this year highly competitive for the first time in many years.

It has also exposed plenty of irony which is becoming a hallmark of our political times. While the Puyallup Tribe opposes the LNG facility because of GHG emissions, they own and operate seven gas stations in Pierce County. They are also building what will be one of the largest casinos in the county which will utilize natural gas provided by Puget Sound Energy.

In Seattle, where political dysfunction is at its zenith, an outgoing councilmember is pushing a package of proposals under a Seattle Green New Deal. Included are things like a ban on all new natural gas hookups, a 24-cent tax on home heating oil, and a 100% ban on natural gas and heating oil by 2030. But again, there is a fair amount of irony here: the Councilmember admits he uses natural gas to heat his home and to cook. He feels bad about it though.

The Washington State Department of Ecology has been urging people to switch to natural gas for many years. Wood burning has been a major problem in Puget Sound, creating air quality issues and leading to being out of compliance with EPA standards. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency offers incentives for homeowners to convert to natural gas.

It wasn’t very long ago that the maritime industry, non-governmental groups, ports and regulators collaborated on initiatives to reduce air emissions while promoting family wage waterfront jobs. Great examples of that work are in the Puget Sound Maritime Air Emissions Inventories. The latest inventory in 2016 provided an update to the 2005 baseline and 2011 inventories. The three successive inventories demonstrated steady and significant reductions in NOx, SOx, Diesel Particulate Matter as well as greenhouse gases.

One of our strategies was to push the adoption of MARPOL ANNEX VI at the International Maritime Organization which led to the development of the North America Emissions Control Area (ECA). The ECA has significantly reduced sulfur content of fuels from a maximum of 3.5% down 35 fold to 0.1% inside 200 miles. The worldwide sulfur reduction in fuels used anywhere at sea will be implemented at the end of this year and will lead to significant additional reductions.

While we hope to continue this kind of collaboration on these and other issues like stormwater runoff, freight mobility, and measures to improve the competitiveness of the PNW Gateway, we are concerned that political dysfunction threatens the progress we have made together.

The chaos and government agencies working at cross purposes make it almost impossible to get support for common sense solutions to environmental challenges. The breakdown of trust and the discounting of science if it doesn’t fit a rigid ideological orthodoxy are a threat to our economic well being and ability to work together. The collaboration of the last decade between industry, regulatory agencies, non-profits, the ports and others has led to tangible environmental improvements. The political environment that allowed that to occur is no longer there.