Six states filed an amicus brief in support of Lighthouse Resources Inc. in its lawsuit against Washington officials who denied permits for its planned coal export terminal.
The $680 million Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview LLC, a subsidiary of Lighthouse, would allow the company to ship coal from Montana and Wyoming for export to Asia. State agencies have denied permits and a sublease needed to build the terminal, citing "unavoidable and negative environmental impacts."
"The interests of interior states in developing foreign trade are now subject to the barriers erected by the policy whims of states that control access to international markets through their ports," the states of Wyoming, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Utah said in a May 8 brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. "This is clearly a matter of 'overwhelming federal interest' that is crucial to the trade and economic activity of this nation."
Lighthouse's suit said the officials' actions ran afoul of federal law by "discriminating against and unduly burdening foreign and interstate commerce."
Four trade groups and Cowlitz County, which would be home to the terminal, also recently filed amicus briefs backing Lighthouse.
