FernanBridge Industrial’s proposal to erect four buildings totaling about 2.5 million square feet on a Superfund cleanup site in South Tacoma is anticipated to bring about 5,000 additional vehicle trips, including about 1,400 truck trips, through South Tacoma each weekday when the development is fully occupied, according to planning documents filed with the city of Tacoma.
Despite pushback from residents and environmental advocates, including an attempt to appeal a permit decision for the project, Bridge Industrial could break ground as soon as spring.
The warehouse project was the catalyst for Rep. Sharlett Mena, a first-term lawmaker, to propose legislation that would overhaul the state’s environmental permitting processes and protect communities overburdened by pollution, like those she represents. Dubbed the CURB Act, House Bill 2070 would add a review of cumulative pollution in neighborhoods carrying the greatest environmental health disparities when evaluating project applications.
Applications for projects with some of the biggest impacts on communities — like adding diesel truck trips or refining or processing fossil fuels — could be denied permits, or be required to mitigate for the worst impacts. While the legislation won’t be moving forward in the current legislative session, Mena plans to revive the effort next year.
“We literally can’t take it anymore, right?” Mena said, addressing Fernandez and his neighbor, Thiery Prim, sitting with The Seattle Times on a recent visit.
“The more I got to know, the more I became incredibly alarmed that there is the biggest nuclear waste cleanup in the Western Hemisphere right in our backyard,” Mena said. “There are huge implications for how this is done, and I didn’t see my community at the table.”
Read more at the Seattle Times.