Hundreds Attend Hearing On Permit For Kalama Methanol Plant

LONGVIEW — Several hundred people attended a hearing Monday on a key permit for the proposed $1.8 billion Kalama methanol project, and the hearings examiner promised a speedy decision. The first of three days of hearings for a shorelines permit got off to a slow start at the Cowlitz Regional Conference Center, with most of the day taken up by presentations by Cowlitz County staff and proponents of the project. Testimony also will be accepted Tuesday and Wednesday.  Hearing Examiner Mark Scheibmeir says he’ll make a decision on whether to permit the plant within 10 days of the hearing’s completion. The hearing won’t be considered complete until three days of public testimony and presentations are done and until Scheibmeir receives any additional information he requests from the project applicants.