The Port of Vancouver has agreed with Tesoro Corp. and Savage Companies — which now are pursuing their joint venture under the collective name of Vancouver Energy — to build an oil terminal that would transfer an average of 360,000 barrels of crude per day.
The proposal for an oil terminal in Vancouver remains the wrong idea at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. The safety concerns and the possibility of a disastrous derailment outweigh the potential benefits, as does the conflict that would be inevitable between a cavalcade of oil trains and a nearby waterfront development. Port of Vancouver officials are wise to try to tap into North Dakota’s growing population and wealth.
