Comment on Judge upholds state’s denial of Millennium water quality permit

In a potentially fatal blow to the Longview coal project, a federal judge Tuesday upheld the state of Washington’s denial of a key water quality permit for the $680 million export dock. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan dismissed claims by Lighthouse Resource and BNSF Railway that the permit denial pre-empted the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act and the Ports and Waterways Safety Act. Bryan found that Lighthouse failed to show that the court could grant relief to remedy the company’s claimed injuries.