SW Washington Congressional Delegation dedicate new terminal

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The complete U.S. Congressional delegation that represents Southwest Washington participated in a dedication of the Port of Vancouver USA’s new Terminal 5 today.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., will each speak during the dedication ceremony, which commemorates not only the new marine terminal, but also the groundbreaking of a new unit-train rail facility on the terminal as well. Construction of the rail facility is expected to begin this fall, with completion scheduled for the late summer or fall of 2010.

“This is a big day for Southwest Washington,” Murray said. “As the Port of Vancouver expands, so do job opportunities across the area. From opening a new terminal to improving rail mobility, the Port of Vancouver is laying the groundwork for the region’s economic comeback.”

Terminal 5 was previously home to the Alcoa – and later Evergreen – Aluminum smelter and extrusion facility, that once hosted as many as 1,600 jobs for the Vancouver area. Evergreen Aluminum operated on part of the property into the early 2000s, but the property had not been fully utilized since Alcoa shut its plant down in 1985.

By developing a new marine terminal on the property, the port is breathing economic life back into the formerly vacant property.

“This is a tremendous day for Clark County,” said Mark Stiffler, director of asset management for Alcoa Aluminum. “We are delighted to have been a part of the process that has returned this location to a productive asset that will generate economic benefit and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the entire region.”

Most of the environmental remediation on the property has been completed by Alcoa and Evergreen Aluminum, satisfying the requirements of cleanup to industrial standards, set by the Washington State Department of Ecology.

“Cleaning up and redeveloping Terminal 5 is a huge success,” said Jay Manning, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology. “Step one was protecting the river and people near the site form toxic waste. Step two was redevelopment to allow new economic use. The fact that Terminal 5 is now an important cargo handling site for wind turbines is an added bonus.”

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Port crews are already handling wind energy cargo on Terminal 5, which gives the Port of Vancouver more room than most West Coast ports on which to handle wind energy cargo. The port also took delivery of its second Liebherr LHM500S mobile harbor crane in March. It is no coincidence that the port projects more than 100,000 Longshore work hours on wind energy cargo alone in 2009. Vancouver’s port is the only one in North America to own two of these specific cranes – each of which has the capacity to lift the equivalent of two space shuttles (140 metric tons).

“As the United States moves to transition to using more clean energy technologies, the Port of Vancouver is going to play an instrumental role,” Cantwell said. “By bringing more facilities online, the port will be able to continue to contribute more to the economic vitality of the region.”

Murray, Cantwell and Baird have all been supportive of the production tax credit for renewable energy, which has spurred the growth in development of wind energy across the U.S., and the Port of Vancouver is one of the leading wind energy ports in the nation. Business across the port’s docks has picked up significantly since Congress extended the production tax credit in 2008.

“The Port of Vancouver will help power the economic recovery of Southwest Washington,” Baird said. “This money from the Recovery Act will put people back to work in the coming weeks, and projects like this one will create as many as 1,900 jobs in our area for years to come.”

“I’m proud to have helped the port become a leading clean-energy port and a consistent job creator,” Murray said.

Today’s event also included, as speakers, Port Commission President Nancy Baker; Larry Paulson, the port’s executive director; Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard; Martha Wyrsch, president, Vestas North America; John Lanigan, executive vice president of BNSF Railway Company; and Brad Clark, president of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 4.

About the Port of Vancouver USA

The Port of Vancouver USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

The Port of Vancouver is embarking on a year full of projects and developments that will lead to vital job creation, economic stimulation and environmental preservation. By diversifying its cargo mix between bulk commodities, breakbulk and project cargos, the port is responsible for job generation and significant contributions to the tax base for not only its own community, but also the state of Washington. Current expansion of the port’s rail system and development of new port industrial and marine properties will bring new jobs – both short term and long term – and the preservation of wetlands, the creation of enhanced wildlife habitat, and make way for more green/sustainable business partners operating from the port. For more information, please visit us at www.portvanusa.com.

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