The new rail yard would be able to handle six so-called unit-trains of 100 tank cars a week; again, about the same capacity as Tesoro’s rail yard.
The company says receiving oil by rail will not increase its overall refinery output because the amount of petroleum arriving from Alaska has decreased in recent years.
Shell says the project could destroy some wetlands. It has applied for a permit with the Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act, as well as Skagit County.
Shell’s application to the County for a shoreline variance says, “This site contains wetlands and the rail spur alignment was developed to avoid affecting the wetlands as much as possible. Alternatives to doing work within 200-feet of the shoreline were analyzed but the off-site project option would require a rezone from agricultural to industrial use, which is not consistent with Skagit County farmland protection goals and policies.”
Shell proposes to mitigate for 21.41 acres of permanent wetland impact, 3.88 acres of indirect wetland impact, 0.41 acres of wetland conversion, and 0.24 acres of long-term temporary wetland impacts on the refinery site by purchasing credits at a Skagit County wetland mitigation bank.
Shell’s refinery here is the second largest in the state.