Oregon Agency Rejects Coal Export Permit, Dealing Major Blow

Oregon's Department of State Lands on Monday dealt a serious blow to Ambre Energy's proposed coal terminal, denying a key permit needed for a project to export 8.8 million tons of coal annually to Asia.

The state agency said despite a two-year review, Australia-based Ambre Energy hadn't done enough to analyze alternatives that would avoid harming tribal fisheries at the Port of Morrow in Boardman, where the company had proposed to build a dock to load coal onto barges.

The project, the state agency said in a press release, "is not consistent with the protection, conservation and best use of the state's water resources."

"This application has been scrutinized for months," said Mary Abrams, state lands director. "We believe our decision is the right one, considering our regulatory parameters laid out in Oregon law, and the wealth of information we have received from the applicant and the public."

Oregon Agency Rejects Coal Export Permit, Dealing Major Blow