What could be the last permits before a liquefied natural gas facility is completed in Tacoma drew hundreds of protesters to two public hearings Tuesday.
Demonstrators briefly blocked traffic on South Ninth Street and Broadway, speaking, chanting, and singing native songs in protest.
Puyallup tribal council member Annette Bryan said she was there along with tribe members and other protesters trying to convince the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency not to grant the final permit for PSE's liquid natural gas facility.
“The fracking process from cradle to grave is damaging to the environment,” said Bryan. “We are in a climate crisis.”
The $310 million project is nearing completion with a reinforced concrete tank to hold eight million gallons of liquefied natural gas. Some said they are concerned it could explode, engulfing the South Sound in a massive fiery blast zone.
But PSE said the facility will safely store and deliver natural gas to shipping and residential customers.
“In fact, it’s engineered to earthquake standards that are more than two and a half times as rigorous as those for interstates,” said PSE spokesman Andy Wappler.
The LNG facility would provide natural gas fuel, replacing dirtier bunker fuel, to ships in the Port of Tacoma. It is expected to be up and running by late 2020.
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