June 13, 2019: Port of Kalama and NWIW Amend Dock Usage Agreement to "assure" Chinese government contolled NWIW only sells methanol to entities that will not burn as fuel. Of course this is impossible to police, once methanol leaves U.S. shores we have no control over to whom it is sold or how it is used. Desperate move intended to skirt true accounting of GHG emmissions and avoid FERC oversight.

• 6/13 POK / NWIW Amendment: First Amendment Dock Usage Agreement
• 6/13 OPB: Port Of Kalama: Methanol Refinery Can’t Export For Fuel
• 6/12 TDN: Port to vote on methanol export requirements

June 3, 2019: State Representative Richard DeBolt, (R) LD-20, has serious conflict of interest. While serving in the WA Congress he also earns 6-figure salary as NWIW's Executive of External Relations thus having influence over permits NWIW needs to build its methanol refinery. Seattle Times: State lawmaker touts Kalama methanol plant — and works for company that’s trying to get it built. In fact DeBolt lists NWIW as his main job on his Linked-In page [GIF version] making his service to the people in the 20th district a mere afterthought. DeBolt is officially an agent of Chinese government - violating his oath of office -- not working in best interest of Cowlitz County.

May 18, 2019: No Methanol Land and Water Rally & Community Picnic About 125 people on land and 50 people in kayaks on the Kalama River rallied against Kalama methanol at Camp Kalama, the closest non-industrial business to the proposed refinery. Speakers, music, food! A great success thanks to the activists, local and otherwise especially those who drove down from Seattle/Tacoma or up from S. Oregon. A special shout-out to our hosts Camp Kalama, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Sierra Club.

• CRK's post-event Press Release
• CRK's video clips of speeches
• The Reflector Newspaper: Activists gather in opposition to Kalama methanol plant

May 8, 2019: Gov. Inslee opposes Kalama methanol refinery and Tacoma LNG! This is huge as he oversees Washington Dept. of Ecology who have permitting authority over the project. Thank-you Gov. Inslee for being our climate champ :) Inslee announces opposition to two gas projects in Washington after originally supporting both projects. He now says, "I am no longer convinced that locking in these multidecadal infrastructure projects are sufficient to accomplishing what's necessary." What does this mean for our cause? See FAQs from Columbia Riverkeeper.

April 19, 2019: Kalama methanol is to be burned as fuel. Proof! NWIW lies exposed. The purpose of this project is to sell the methanol to be burned as fuel, not solely or even mostly for use in producing plastics. This fact greatly increases the lifecycle GHG emissions. NWIW knew this from the beginning while blatantly lying to the public, state regulators, and permitting agencies. News broke 4/19 by Oregon Public Broadcasting OPB: Controversial Kalama Methanol Plant May Be Misleading Public, Regulators (includes audio, 5 min.). Their story was based on a presentation NWIW gave to investors as recently as Jan. 2019: NWIW's "GTM Investment Overview" presentation to investors, March 2018. Prior to this bombshell find, evidence of NWIW's lack of transparency regarding methanol-to-olefin (MTO) vs. methanol as transportation fuel had been mounting, see links below. This is important not only because it significantly changes GHG emission estimates provided in the EIS currently under review, but also could qualify the project for an EFSEC (Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council) review, for which methanol opponents have called all along. (Columbia Riverkeeper filed petition for EFSEC review in 2016, but it was denied.) By the way, GTM (named for gas-to-methanol, no really!) is a shell company for NWIW, sharing all the same eecutives.

• 2018-02-14 (Updated Feb. 2019) Sightline Institute: How Northwest Methanol Is Likely Intended for China’s Gas Tanks
• 2017-12-04 Reuters: China's CAS plans gas-to-methanol plant on U.S. West Coast
• 2017-04-05 China Daily: US shale methanol soon en route to China (where CASH Chair Wu Lebin states methanol to be used as vehicle fuel.
• 2016-06-23 (updated Jan 2018) Sightline Institute: Examining Methanol's Green Claims in the Northwest
• 2015-11-25 Shanghai Bi Ke Clean Energy Technology Company Ltd. (Clean Energy Commercialization Company, CECC): NWIW affiliate, JOVO group sign partnership (JOVO Energy builds and operates oil and gas terminals including gas stations in China.)

April 18, 2019: Northwest Innovation Works (NWIW) is a limited liability company established in 2014. NWIW is a controlled foreign entity of the Chinese Party State (the CPC), the only company the Chinese Academy of Sciences Holdings (CASH) has spun outside China. On 4/18, out of genuine concern, Columbia Riverkeeper legal team sent a letter to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. regarding 'Potential Foreign Governmental Control of NWIW' along with two exhibits: (1) Jacobs Engineering Inc: Independent Engineers Report for Kalama Methanol Plant (20160108, excerpt) and (2) Briefing Memo to Gov. Inslee, Meeting with Representatives of Chinese Academy of Sciences (20150212). More at:

• Sightline Institute's Kalama Methanol Facility Could Put Taxpayers on the Hook: The Chinese-owned company is seeking $2B in US grants and loans; Tax breaks could divert $143M more from local coffers (2018-12-04)
• KBOO's Locus Focus radio program with host Barbara Bernstein Kalama Methanol and the Chinese Connection (2019-02-04)

February 2019: We joined forces with Power Past Fracked Gas holding a rally on the steps of the capitol building in Olympia on 2/21. 143,592 public comments opposing huge fracked gas projects (particularly Kalama methanol refinery and Tacoma LNG facility) were delivered to Governor Inslee's office. Guest speakers from around the state joined about 100 climate activists in protest. Related news stories and audio/videos include:

• PPFG press release: WA Climate Activists Deliver Nearly 150,000 Public Comments to Gov. Inslee Urging Him to Reject Fracked Gas

• Power Past Fracked Gas: short video of speeches on capitol steps (under 2 mins)

• Power Past Fracked Gas: full video of speeches on capitol steps (FB link, 1.5 hours)

• KIRO7 evening news report about protest on capitol steps (video, 2.5 mins)

• KNKX radio: Climate groups urge Inslee to denounce fracked natural gas in Washington

• TDN: Protesters blast gas fracking needed for Kalama methanol plant

December 2018: Busy month. DSEIS 30-day comment period included community information forum, comment writing workshop, Folly of Frack play, rally and public hearing, multiple LTEs, and sign-waving.

Official comments on DSEIS were submitted by:

• Columbia Riverkeeper and 15 other Environmental Protection and Health Advocacy Orgs

• Washington State Department of Ecology

• Stockholm Environment Institute, Seattle WA

Public hearing on 12/13 was attended by over 1000 people. 74% of those who were allowed to speak were against the refinery. 200+ participated in the pre-hearing Power Past Fracked Gas rally. 25,000 written comments were submitted in opposition to the refinery. DSEIS-related news stories and audio/video include:

• 12/28: CRK Press Release: 25,000 Oppose Kalama Methanol Proposal
  

• 12/26 Sightline: Kalama Methanol Facility Could Put Taxpayers on the Hook

• 12/24 Locus Focus: Testimonies at 12/13 Hearing in Longview on DSEIS (audio)

• 12/17 The Reflector: Kalama methanol plant hearing draws hundreds

• 12/12 OPB's Think Out Loud: Debate between CRK and NWIW (audio)

• 12/3 Locus Focus: World's Largest Methanol Refinery Update (audio)

• 12/1 Native Daily Network: Attorney General Calls Fracked Gas Review Fictional

• 11/15 EcoWatch: World’s Largest Fracked-Gas-to-Methanol Refinery Must Be Stopped

• 11/7 Pacific Standard Mag: Taxpayers May Soon Be on the Hook for a $2 Billion Fracked Gas Refinery

November 2018: DSEIS released mid-November brought new talking points and infographics, phone banking parties and letter writing workshops. The U.S. 4th National Climate Assessment released by the White House on Black Friday described more horrific news on the climate crisis front bolstering our perseverance and determination.

October 2018: The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published IPCC Special Report: global warming of 1.5° that confirms the dire need to stop using fossil fuels immediately, including fracked gas. CRK and LCSC co-hosted a community forum on the massive PCF anhydrous ammonia plant proposed in Longview. Final recommendations were made regarding Cowlitz County's Health Impact Assessment (HIA) that could have consequences well beyond the main focus on the Millennium Bulk Coal Terminal.

On 10/8 we helped run a Community Forum on Proposed Fracked Gas to Anhydrous Ammonia Plant in Longview hosted by CRK and LCSC. On 10/31 the No Methanol BOO-th at the Halloween event in downtown Kalama handed out thousands of candies and info flyers to Kalama youth.

Summer 2018: Summer events included booth with LCSC at Go 4th in Longview, Folly of Frack play, booth at Kalama Fair, walk in Kalama Chamber of Commerce Parade, No Methanol Mural Reveal, silent protest to get Inslee's attention at Port of Vancouver rail ribbon cutting event, National Night Out community event, Picnic along the Pipeline, canvassing at the Untouchables Car Show, making of "No Methanol" movie clip for People's Climate Movement Day of Action, more!

May 2018: Another victory in the fight against fracking and fossil fuel export! On May 8^th the Cowlitz County Superior Court upheld the Washington Shorelines Hearings Board’s decision that the Port of Kalama and Cowlitz County broke the law by failing to disclose and evaluate greenhouse gas pollution from the proposed Kalama methanol refinery. However, it was not all good news for our side as he also reinstated the two key permits, pending the new SEIS. Keep the pressure on Gov. Inslee to protect our climate and go 100% renewable now!

Cowlitz County Superior Court Affirms Port Broke Law by Ignoring GHG Pollution 5/8/2018

Related News Articles:

- Columbian: Methanol plant review will include emissions
- TDN: Judge restores methanol permits, but rules environmental review inadequate
- Sustainable Life: Massive fossil fuel export plant proposed in Kalama faces setback in court

Port of Kalama must now choose: appeal court decision, admit true environmental cost of methanol refining and export; or abandon this dirty fossil fuel project as NWIW did in Tacoma when faced with strong public outcry.

March 2018: Scoping comment period during February was a grand success! 19,000 comments received, 100 new yard signs in 3 weeks, 250 people attended one of four public information meetings, 10+ letters to the editor, solid editorial from the Columbian (Conundrum in Kalama), phone banking to 500 people, and 11 organizations representing local, regional, national, and tribal concerns signed on to the technical scoping comments.

PSR's 2018 Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking was released showing the rapidly expanding evidence indicating harm to health from fracking and methane infrastructure.

February 2018: Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Report on GHG emissions from Kalama methanol refinery. [Press Release | CRK Blog Post]

- EcoWatch: Fracked Gas Project Could Undermine Washington’s Clean Energy Goals

January 2018 "Climate Countdown Day 1" rally in Olympia with like-minded groups.