Ecology had investigated and fined Alcoas previous tenant at the facility, Chinook Ventures.

Ecology had investigated and fined Alcoa's previous tenant at the facility, Chinook Ventures.

Washington’s Department of Ecology has filed to become a party in an appeal of a coal export facility in Cowlitz County, state officials announced Tuesday. The appeal, put forward by an alliance of environmental groups, is scheduled to be heard in mid-April.

In November, Cowlitz commissioners gave unanimous approval to a permit for construction of the coal terminal on the recommendation from the county’s Building and Planning Department. Ecology officials say that the county should have conducted a broader environmental analysis of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the coal project.

Shoreline board members plan to tour the site and hold part of the hearing in the Longview area, moving the remainder to the agency’s headquarters in Tumwater. The board must rule on the terminal application before June 14.

Millennium officials say they hope to buy buildings and facilities on the 416-acre property from Chinook Ventures by the end of the year. Millennium would assume Chinook’s lease on the site, which is owned by Alcoa, Inc.

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