Lawsuit challenges Port of Seattle lease for Shell Arctic drilling fleet
ANCHORAGE – An array of Washington-based environmental groups has sued the Port of Seattle over a leasing agreement to host Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling fleet, claiming the deal was negotiated in secret and may pollute the port.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
Posted by Chris Klint, Senior Digital Producer,cklint@ktuu.com: Mar 02, 2015
ANCHORAGE – An array of Washington-based environmental groups has sued the Port of Seattle over a leasing agreement to host Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling fleet, claiming the deal was negotiated in secret and may pollute the port.
Shell contractor Foss Maritime received a two-year lease, announced in February, for 50 acres of waterfront property and the mooring of up to eight vessels. Port officials expected the lease to bring in at least $13 million in rent during the two-year period.
A Monday statement from Earthjustice says the suit, filed in King Country Superior Court against the port, asks the court to vacate the lease. The suit was filed on behalf of several groups including the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, the Sierra Club, the Washington Environmental Council, and the Seattle Audubon Society.
Shell announced in January that it was planning a return to the Chukchi Sea this year for offshore exploratory drilling, one of the company’s few expansion moves as it cut $15 billion in expenses due to plummeting oil prices. Shell CFO Simon Henry estimated the minimum cost of the operation and its support fleet at nearly $1 billion, whether or not the company is ultimately able to drill wells.
Earthjustice alluded to the chaotic aftermath of Shell’s 2012 drilling season, in which the drilling unit Kulluk ran aground near Kodiak.
The group also took objection to the planned reuse of the Noble Discoverer, a vessel cited by the Coast Guard for safety and environmental violations in 2012; owner Noble Drilling pleaded guilty to federal felony charges and paid hefty fines to settle them in December.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
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