A Canadian mining company has officially asked the Washington Department of Ecology to begin the review process for a proposed silicon smelter in Newport.
The company now calling itself PacWest Silicon was formerly known as Hi Test.
“The lead agency, that’s us, the Department of Ecology, may determine a project is significant, and require an environmental impact statement," said Ecology spokeswoman Brook Beeler. "What that does is look at all the potential environmental factors and determine what factors need to be determined while permitting the project."
Beeler says the company and her agency agree that an EIS is the appropriate step for a project of this size.
She says the public will determine which issues need to be addressed.
“We're in the position now of starting to prepare the environmental review process, which will take the review out to the public, and get some guidance on what they think we should study in that environmental impact statement,” Beeler said.
The public scoping period has not yet begun, but Beeler expects that should be fairly soon.
Critics of the project have already cited their concerns over the estimated emissions such a plant would produce. The company’s own modeling indicates the plant would emit the equivalent greenhouse gases equal to 65,000 cars driving 11,000 miles in a circle around Newport. It also estimates a level of sulfur dioxide equal to 165,000 wood stoves burning continuously in the small community.
