Salish Sea Vessel Traffic Projections: The Need to Address Increased Vessel Traffic Impacts to Southern Resident Killer Whales

• Main Author: Pratt, Lovel
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Western CEDAR 2022
• Subjects: Orca
• Online Access: https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2022ssec/allsessions/139; https://cedar.wwu.edu/context/ssec/article/3301/viewcontent/Lovel_20Pratt_20REVISED_4_20_2022_Lovel_Pratt_SSEC_4_27_2022_Presentation.pdf

Recently completed research by Friends of the San Juans, the November 2021 Salish Sea Vessel Traffic Projections, documents 22 new or expanding terminal and refinery projects that have been proposed, permitted or recently completed and that would add at least 2,634 annual vessel transits to and from Salish Sea ports in British Columbia and Washington State. If all of these terminal and refinery projects are permitted and developed, the result would be at least a 25 percent increase in large, ocean-going commercial vessel traffic, as compared with vessel traffic in 2020. Eight of the 22 projects also include increases to both ocean-going and Salish Sea-only vessel traffic. None of the new, expansion, or redevelopment projects in Washington State quantify any increases in ocean-going vessel traffic. Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requires permit review processes to identify and evaluate probable environmental impacts, and to identify and evaluate alternatives and mitigation measures; however, vessel-related impacts are rarely addressed. Results of the updated Salish Sea Vessel Traffic Projections highlight the need to implement the Southern Resident Orca Task Force’s Recommendation 27: Determine how permit applications in Washington state that could increase traffic and vessel impacts could be required to explicitly address potential impacts to orcas. Improved regulatory requirements and implementation of existing policies are needed to protect environmental, cultural, and economic resources in the Salish Sea from new, expansion, or redevelopment projects’ increased vessel traffic, including the protection and recovery of the Southern Resident killer whales. This presentation will summarize the research results, identify gaps in the current regulatory framework, and present potential solutions.