Environmental review planned for Terminal 5 expansion in Seattle

Potential tenants have indicated that a long-term lease commitment at Terminal 5 would require the ability to handle more than 1 million TEUs, according to the Northwest Seaport Alliance of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.    The Northwest Seaport Alliance, the operating partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, will conduct an environmental review as part of a plan to make Terminal 5 in Seattle ready to handle large containerships.
   After receiving additional information from companies interested in the terminal, the alliance said it has determined “additional environmental review is required by the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).”
   Formerly the terminal was operated by APL’s Eagle Marine Services stevedoring unit. The terminal was closed in July 2014.
   The master use permit for the terminal, prepared back in 1994, envisioned a maximum throughput of 650,000 TEU. But in talks with prospective tenants, they would like the ability to move up to 1 million TEU to help pay for investment in the terminal and a long-term commitment.
   The alliance said it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement “to ensure that the upgrades will meet industry needs as a key strategic marine cargo terminal in the Pacific Northwest, while engaging with stakeholders to identify potential project-related impacts and ways to manage them.”
   Terminal 5 could only handle ships with a capacity of 6,000 20-foot-equivalent units (TEU) when container operations were suspended in July 2014 to allow for the strategic investments necessary to handle two 18,000-TEU ships simultaneously.
   “Upgrading Terminal 5 to handle larger vessels is critical to creating new maritime and industrial jobs for the region,” said Stephanie Bowman, co-president of the Port of Seattle. “As part of our commitment to the community, we will carefully study the environmental impacts of the terminal improvements.”
   The planned dock improvements will accommodate heavier cranes and provide deeper drafts to handle the larger ships cascading into the transpacific trade. Design and permitting for the project began last year.
   The search for a new tenant began about the same time, with the issuance of a Request for Information (RFI). Both the RFI and SEPA notices issued for dock construction indicated that further environmental review would be conducted if the proposed use changed significantly or volumes were expected to exceed the 650,000 TEUs in the existing EIS.
   “RFI responses from potential tenants indicate that a long-term lease commitment would require the ability to handle more than 1 million TEUs, higher volumes than previously permitted,” the port said. “The information the NWSA is still gathering about how a new tenant might operate Terminal 5 will further inform the environmental review, but we have determined the proposal now warrants an EIS SEPA review.”
    A public scoping meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12, and the port has created an “online open house,” where it has posted information about the project and invited comments.