PSE seeks court assist to prevent release of gas-storage records

Citing fears of a terrorist attack, Puget Sound Energy has filed a legal complaint that would prevent the city of Tacoma from disclosing records related to the siting of a planned liquid natural gas terminal on the Tacoma Tideflats.

The complaint filed Monday in Pierce County Superior Court names the city and environmental activist John Carlton, who sought city-held records of a hazard assessment associated with the storage facility.

PSE is seeking a temporary restraining order and an injunction to stop the city’s planned release of the records to Carlton. A hearing on the restraining order is set for Wednesday afternoon (April 13).

The $275 million storage facility, dubbed in a recent News Tribune story as “the second most controversial project at the Port of Tacoma,” is projected for a 2019 opening.

Primarily, it would would supply Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) — a shipping company with routes along the West Coast — and retain up to 8 million gallons of fuel for its customers on cold days that drive demand.

Environmental concerns raised by the Puyallup Tribe, the environmental think tank Sightline Institute, and activists like Carlton slowed the pace of planning in 2015. PSE secured a lease from the Port of Tacoma almost two years ago. The city released an environmental impact study in October.

Carlton drafted and circulated a flier depicting a theoretical blast zone map, based on news reports about the facility and research into liquefied natural gas risks, contending, “the public needs to know.” PSE contends the map exaggerates the risks.

The records at issue in this week’s court filing are tied to internal safety assessments of the project that assess the same risks. They were submitted to the Tacoma Fire Department during the permitting process and sought by Carlton through a public disclosure request.

PSE contends the records show that fears of an explosion and blast zone fallout are overwrought — but they also say the records are confidential and contain proprietary information.

“The flammable gas dispersion analysis reflected in the documents could be used to plan a terrorist attack on the plant,” the legal complaint states. “Widespread disclosure of this information would threaten public safety.”

Apart from such warnings, PSE relies on an aspect of the state’s public disclosure law referred to in legal shorthand as the trade-secrets exemption. Court records indicate that the city informed PSE of the potential release last week, giving the utility the chance to seek legal relief.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "PSE seeks court assist to prevent release of gas-storage records."