The Protect Tacoma Tideflats coalition and Stand Up To Oil issued the following statement after it was announced that U.S. Oil submitted a permit application for another expansion of its refinery in Tacoma’s Tideflats.
Why we need to protect our streams, wetlands, and rivers by fighting for the Clean Water Rule, explore why the Occidental Chemical cleanup is so important to Commencement Bay and Puget Sound, and get up to date on the latest news regarding the Coski sand and Gravel Mine.
2015 Clean Water Rule allowed streams, rivers, wetlands, and “navigable waters”—particularly ones that are seasonal—to be included under the Clean Water Act, expanding vital protection for wetlands and small streams that provide drinking water for 1 in 3 Americans and provide our communities with flood protection, pollution filtration, recreation, and wildlife habitat.
We believe that the future of the Tideflats should be transitioning away from fossil fuel industries and towards clean energy industries that provide family-wage paying salaries without the health and safety risks.
We're pushing for a temporary freeze on new fossil fuel projects in the Tacoma Tideflats to combat climate change, and still moving forward on some of the major contamination sites in Commencement Bay.