On May 9, 2016, the US Army Corps of Engineers rejected the Gateway Pacific Terminal proposal, citing Lummi Nation treaty rights as the reason. Colonel John Buck, commander of the Seattle ACE District, said, “The Corps may not permit a project that abrogates treaty rights.” Lummi members cheered their victory. “With that, I want to acknowledge the hard work and leadership taken on behalf of all tribal leaders here,” Lummi Chairman Tim Ballew told those gathered. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. Today is a good day. Today definitely is a good day.”1Samantha Wohlfeil, “Army Corps rejects permit for coal terminal at Cherry Point,” The Bellingham Herald online, May 10, 2016, https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article76545117.html.
SSA Marine and Pacific International Terminals struggled with the ACE decision. PIT president, Bob Watters, said in the release, “This is an inconceivable decision. Looking at the set of facts in the administrative summary it’s quite obvious this is a political decision and not fact-based.”3Samantha Wohlfeil, “Army Corps rejects permit for coal terminal at Cherry Point,” The Bellingham Herald online, May 10, 2016, https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article76545117.html. However, the ACE rejection of the GPT did not spell the official end of the project. SSA and PIT still had options on the table to change their proposal so that it would not violate treaty rights.
SSA and PIT did not take these alternate routes and instead withdrew their application for the Gateway Pacific Terminal and ended the ongoing environmental impact statement process on February 7, 2017. This marked the official end to the Lummi Nation’s fight against the Terminal and thus, Lummi Nation’s victory.4Dave Gallagher, “Developers withdraw coal terminal applications, ending project,” The Bellingham Herald online, February 11, 2017, https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article131783149.html.
