Weyerhaeuser terminal opens at Olympia port
Weyerhaeuser Co. began moving logs through the Washington state port of Olympia Oct. 15, after a nearly two-year legal logjam by local activists failed to stop the opening of a log-export terminal.
In August 2005, officials from the Olympia port and Tacoma-based Weyerhaeuser announced a five-year lease that called for the wood product firm to export logs via the port to Japan. The lease was delayed in court two years past its scheduled start by community activists who alleged the port's environmental review of the log-export business was inadequate. Thought the suits against the facility have since been resolved, port officials estimate that the delay cost the port $2.8 million in revenue.
The log operation is being shifted from Weyerhaeuser's facility at the Port of Tacoma to the Olympia port. The Tacoma facility sits on property that the Tacoma port is planning to redevelop into container operations. Until operations are fully shifted to Olympia, both facilities will remain open.
When fully operational, Weyerhaeuser expects the Olympia facility to handle 30 to 40 truck deliveries of logs for export per day.
Olympia port officials expect the facility to ultimately generate $1.5 million in annual revenue, with up to 18 annual vessel calls.
Weyerhaeuser terminal opens at Olympia port
