VANCOUVER — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says a plan to build the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal does not comply with the federal Clean Water Act, and that a key permit for the project should be withheld until its risks are addressed.
The Columbian newspaper reports that the EPA expressed its concerns in a letter last week to the Army Corps of Engineers, which is considering whether to grant the permit. Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. hope to build a terminal that would handle an average of 360,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The oil would arrive by rail and leave by ship.