Seattle City Council calls for statewide moratorium on new oil train terminals

SEATTLE -- The Seattle City Council on Monday unanimously passed a resolution calling for a statewide moratorium on new oil train terminals in Washington.

“Seattle joins Spokane, Bellingham and other cities in the Northwest in adopting similar resolutions calling for greater safety regulations on oil transport by rail. But we must go further if we want to prevent further climate change, we need to stop building new oil export facilities in Washington,” said City Councilman Mike O’Brien, sponsor of the resolution.

The resolution asks Gov. Jay Inslee and state regulators to refrain from issuing permits for any project that would increase oil train traffic through Seattle or other Washington communities until environmental and safety concerns have been addressed.

Seven new oil terminals are currently proposed for Washington state.

C.R. Douglas analyzed the situation in this video report filed last week.