RE Sources and fellow environmental groups (Friends of the San Juans, Whatcom Environmental Council, Evergreen Islands, Sierra Club, and Washington Conservation Action) are calling on Whatcom County to require a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for unpermitted expansions of fossil fuel transshipment through the ALA Energy Ferndale Terminal.
Owned and operated by subsidiaries of Altagas, the Ferndale Terminal is now used exclusively for transshipment and export of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The facility brings propane and butane from out-of-state by rail to load onto transoceanic cargo ships through a marine pier (one of three) at Cherry Point near Ferndale, Wa. The pier was built in 1965 to serve the Intalco aluminum smelter until its retirement in 2020. A secondary terminal was attached in 1975 to import propane, and a rail transshipment terminal was added in the 1990s.
In the 2010’s, Petrogas took over the pier entirely to export butane and propane, expanding shipments dramatically from 3.7 million barrels in 2013 to 22.7 million barrels in 2024. In that timeframe, dozens of projects were completed to support the expanding operation, without any review of the environmental impacts of the expanded rail and marine vessel traffic.
The expansions took place in spite of a County ordinance (in effect from 2016 to 2021) barring permits for projects to increase transshipment of unrefined fossil fuels through the Cherry Point area. The moratorium was lifted when the County enacted a law that would require conditional use permits for transshipment capacity expansions of the existing facility beyond 2021 levels.
Petrogas was served with a Notice of Violation by Northwest Clean Air Agency in 2021 for evading permits and disclosure requirements, and paid a $4 million fine. Altagas acquired Petrogas and all its holdings in 2022, and thereafter reached an agreement with Whatcom County to undergo a full environmental review and conditional use permitting process for 31 prior completed projects.
In 2023, Whatcom County announced that a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be produced. Defying expectations, on September 3, 2025, Whatcom County formally declined to require an EIS and determined that the environmental impacts of the unpermitted and proposed projects were nonsignificant, with mitigations. RE Sources and our partners do not believe that the County’s proposed conditions will sufficiently mitigate the adverse impacts. On September 29th in coalition, we filed to appeal the County’s decision.
Whatcom County’s determination ignores the consequences of 31 previously unpermitted projects that have already increased propane and butane transport, along with additional vessel traffic and the risks these expansions bring to communities and the Salish Sea.
—Ander Russell, RE Sources Co-Executive Director
We hope that the County Hearing Examiner will direct Planning and Development Services (PDS) to duly execute their authority under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) to conduct a transparent public review. A fair process should lead to reasonable limits and feasible conditions assigned to the permits that better protect communities and ecosystems.