Citizens for a Healthy Bay Continues Community Engagement Despite Methanol Plant Pause

TACOMA – Last Friday, Northwest Innovation Works (NWIW) announced they have temporarily postponed their controversial proposal to build the world’s largest methanol manufacturing plant at the Port of Tacoma. Citing vocal community opposition, NWIW stated they plan to engage the Tacoma community in further dialogue about their proposed project over the next few months.

Regarding NWIW’s decision to postpone environmental review of the proposed plant, Citizens for a Healthy Bay (CHB) Executive Director Melissa Malott said, “We're gratified to see Northwest Innovation Works listening to community concerns and stepping back to rethink this project, which could potentially pose serious threats to our ecosystem and sustainable water future.” Malott emphasizes that, although the proposed methanol project has been paused, CHB will continue to share clear and scientifically accurate information, to hold free public comment workshops and discussion forums, and to broker straightforward conversations with policymakers, industry representatives, government agencies, environmental groups, academia and others.

In November of 2015, Citizens for a Healthy Bay created a webpage dedicated to providing comprehensive and factual information regarding the proposed methanol plant project. Through this webpage and other outreach strategies, Citizens for a Healthy Bay seeks to educate and empower the public to be effective advocates for a healthy Commencement Bay. The webpage includes information from sources such as the City of Tacoma, research done by CHB and non-technical information received from NWIW. To learn more about the proposed methanol plant in Tacoma, please visit www.healthybay.org.