US Supreme Court advised to pass on blocked Millennium Bulk coal terminal case

The US government has suggested the US Supreme Court not take on a dispute between states involving a blocked coal terminal because the project is no longer going forward.

Citing the Dormant Commerce Clause and the Foreign Commerce Clause under the U.S. Constitution, Wyoming and Montana filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court after Washington state's Department of Ecology denied a water quality permit for the proposed Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview LLC.

Acting U. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in a May 25 brief that, because Millennium's parent company Lighthouse Resources filed for a bankruptcy reorganization in December 2020 and was unable to find a buyer interested in continuing the project, the Supreme Court does not need to address the issues raised by the two coal-producing states.

Even if the court upheld the challenge, "Millennium would still be bankrupt, would still lack any remaining interest in the property in question, and would still have abandoned its plans to build the proposed terminal," Prelogar wrote.

As the development of the terminal is no longer proceeding, the court could not reverse any potential harm to Montana and Wyoming due to decreased coal production and sales, the filing added. Coal producers hoped the project would open up access to Asian markets for coal mined in Montana and Wyoming's Powder River Basin region.

The US Supreme Court could still decide to hear the case. The court asked the solicitor general to weigh in on the case in October 2020, but the Trump administration did not, opening the door to a Biden-led US Justice Department to offer its opinion.

The terminal as originally proposed would have been cited in Washington along the Columbia River, with an export capacity of 44 million mt/year.