By Kristen Hays
HOUSTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc's proposal to move by rail up to 60,000 barrels per day of NorthAmerican crude to its Washington state refinery will not have toundergo a lengthy environmental review, local planners said thisweek.
The plan still awaits multiple permit approvals beforeconstruction can start, but the Skagit County Planning andDevelopment Services division's decision that a full-fledgedenvironmental review is not required eliminates what could havebeen a lengthy delay of up to a year.
Shell's project could now start up by early 2015, but thecompany has not disclosed when.
"Construction timing will depend on when all of the permitsare approved. We are still too early in the overall permitprocess to forecast when we will start construction," Shellspokeswoman Destin Singleton said on Friday.
Shell is the last of the state's refiners to seek approvalsto move cheaper U.S. and Canadian oil by train to their plantsto replace more expensive imports. Tesoro Corp was thefirst, starting shipments of up to 50,000 bpd to its 120,000 bpdAnacortes refinery in September 2012. Shell's 145,000 bpdrefinery sits right next to the Tesoro plant.
U.S. Oil & Refining and BP Plc followed suit, andPhillips 66 aims to start up its 30,000 bpd railoffloading operation at its 101,000 bpd Ferndale plant in thefourth quarter this year.
Those other projects did not have to undergo fullenvironmental reviews on top of required permitting.
Opponents concerned about crude by rail safety andenvironmental impacts were unaware of previous projects whenthey were in the permitting stages. But opponents took noticewhen Shell initially filed for permits late last year.
Skagit County planners responded by requiring Shell to meetsome additional conditions, but the overall environmental impactis not expected to be significant, eliminating the need for afull review, they said in a notice posted on their website.
Those conditions include compliance with the latest U.S.Department of Transportation rail and railcar safetyregulations, which are under review; agreement to help localresponders with railcar incidents off the refinery site; andstate rules regarding noise buffers and distances from greatblue heron colonies.
Singleton said Shell would meet all conditions set forth bythe county. (Editing by Marguerita Choy)
