On May 9, 2016, the Army Corps of Engineers cancelled the permit for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point—what would have been the largest coal export facility on the West Coast.
This landmark victory was won through strong community organizing, leadership from Lummi Nation, and dedicated advocacy from organizations like RE Sources. Ten years later, we’re celebrating that win—and RE Sources is still here working to protect our shorelines.
Since the last ice age, the cerulean waters of the Salish Sea have surged along the shore of Cherry Point (Xwe’chi’eXen). Herring have spawned in the nearby eelgrass for millennia. And Lummi people have gathered there since time immemorial. But for the last 50 years, this sacred ground has been—and will continue to be—perhaps the most contentious stretch of land in Whatcom County.
Extractive industries have long been drawn to its deep-water shoreline and nearby rail access. But those who are dedicated to defending this place are armed with something more durable: intimate connection, local knowledge, decades of experience, and a lifetime of commitment to protecting the places that sustain them. This is a powerful meld. Our devotion to the place we call home carries immense weight, gratitude, and tenacity.
The 2016 decision was proof that those things make a difference.
After the Gateway Pacific Terminal proposal was trounced, Whatcom County Council enacted a five-year moratorium on fossil fuels expansion projects at Cherry Point. Local organizations, ourselves included, used this time to coordinate with partners, craft policy, meet with industry and government lawyers, and work alongside county leadership and staff to rebalance Whatcom County’s approach to fossil fuel development. Centering communities—most importantly those affected by legacy pollution and those whose livelihoods are intertwined with the industry—was essential to shaping an equitable future.
This quiet work resulted in the Cherry Point Amendments; landmark protections written into the County’s Comprehensive Plan in 2021. Designed to prevent piecemeal upgrades, protect Lummi Nation’s treaty-protected fishing rights, and limit the expansion capacity of fossil fuel exports, the amendments were passed unanimously by Whatcom County Council with support from BP and Phillips 66.
Another big win, but the work continues.
But even as those amendments were being developed, Petrogas was already pushing them. Between 2013 and 2024, the County took little to no action while Petrogas moved forward with 31 unpermitted projects at their facility and increased their butane and propane exports from 3.7 million barrels/year to 22.7 million barrels/year in that timeframe. This is exactly the kind of under-the-radar expansions the Cherry Point Amendments sought to stop. It is also the kind of activity that only gets caught by local organizations staying vigilant over the course of many years.
So when Whatcom County declined to require an Environmental Impact Statement for these projects (and two future ones) in late 2025, RE Sources and our coalition of environmental partners appealed.
In a decision we considered a significant win, the Hearing Examiner agreed that the expansions “would defeat all of the policy intents” of the Whatcom County Council to regulate fossil fuel transshipment. Something we knew all along—because we helped write that policy.
That’s what ten years of sustained, place-based advocacy looks like. Big victories like stopping the Gateway Pacific Terminal are real and worth celebrating. But the fossil fuel industry doesn’t stop after a loss. They will push the edges of what is permitted. Defending a place requires the same long-term commitment.
RE Sources has been that organization for Cherry Point and for the Salish Sea for more than 40 years. We will continue to monitor industry operations, push for strong protections, and hold both polluters and decision-makers accountable for as long as it takes.