Fight water bottling plant in Anacortes

[eridani]

The City of Anacortes contracted with Tethys Enterprises to give the company an entitlement of five million gallons of water per day to build in Anacortes the largest water/beverage/food manufacturing plant in the United States. Five million gallons is reduced to approx. four million gallons of plastic bottled water/beverage product due to modern reverse osmosis. Bottling plants normally operate 24/7.

The attached chart will be used in a series of emails, this time in regards to roundtrip rail traffic to March Point, the proposed bottled water/beverage plant location according to current available public records. As stated by Matthew Kelley of Tethys, Inc., to Ryan Larsen, Anacortes planning and community development director, "Think 400 rail cars per day--4 unit trains--and how that may affect access to the Skagit Airport and other businesses on that side of SR 20." (See second attachment.) However, 400 railcars per day is calculating one-way! An additional 400 rail cars would need to return to the plant each day for loading. This assumes that no product is shipped by truck, meaning that at any given point along the Anacortes rail spur to/from March Point and Burlington and beyond, 800 railcars would pass each day. More frequent and longer closings of the old swing bridge over the Swinomish Channel will impact La Conner boat tourism. (Double-click on the attached chart to enlarge and print.)


Then add the 200 roundtrip rail cars every other day for Tesoro's North Dakota crude oil due to a new $50 million rail terminal. Approximately 25 rail cars currently support operations at the Tesoro and Shell refineries. If the coal trains come to pass through Burlington and Mount Vernon, add "18 or more one-and-a-half-mile trains every day." All this adds up an unimaginable number of trains competing with cars/commuters throughout Skagit Valley.


Tethys Enterprises' 800 roundtrip rail cars per day will impact rail crossings along State Highway 20 from March Point to Burlington, including local roads--Bayview-Edison Road, Farm to Market Road, Higgins/Airport Way, Avon Allen Road and South Burlington Avenue. Members of Defending Water in the Skagit River Basin are of the opinion that traffic studies should be included in the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) process, since diesel pollution is a health hazard. Diesel will be settling over our farmlands.

We need to give preferred consideration to already-established industries and invite low-impact industries and businesses that will blend with quality of life.



Erna -Dryer

422 N. Barker Street
Mount Vernon WA 98273
phone: [phone]
erna {at} berghuys.com

[eridani]

1. A note from the person who sent me this email

Her husband is very sick and being treated in Tacoma. If you know of any cheap temporary housing there, please PM me.