Description: Challenge to lease that would allegedly make the Port of Seattle the homeport for Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet.
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Puget Soundkeeper Alliance v. Port of Seattle
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/27/2015 Notice of Appeal Download Notice of appeal filed. The environmental groups appealed the court’s order granting summary judgment to the Port of Seattle. 07/31/2015 Order Download Order issued granting Port of Seattle's motion for summary judgment and denying plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. Washington State Court Upheld Port of Seattle Lease for Shell Arctic Drilling Homeport. A Washington State Superior Court rejected a challenge to the use of a Port of Seattle terminal as a homeport for the Royal Dutch Shell Arctic drilling fleet. Four environmental groups had charged that the Port of Seattle illegally circumvented the environmental review requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act when it entered into a lease with the operator for the homeport. The court said that the Port acted within its jurisdiction and that its actions were not arbitrary and capricious. 03/02/2015 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Four environmental organizations filed a lawsuit against the Port of Seattle alleging that it had improperly entered into a lease pursuant to which it would serve as a homeport for Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet. The organizations claimed that the Port had illegally circumvented the State Environmental Policy Act and had therefore avoided a full assessment of the project’s environmental impacts. The organizations also contended that the Port was required to obtain a revision of its substantial shoreline development permit prior to entering into the lease.