BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- The president of a state business advocacy group says the war on coal and shipping terminals – like the one proposed for Cherry Point – could hurt the northwest economy.

President of the Association of Washington Business Don Brunell says opponents of the shipping terminals are calling for a more expansive layer of environmental review that would assess the national and possibly the global effects of the terminals.



Brunell says the more extensive review – called a programmatic environmental impact statement – would delay, if not block, the projects for years and rack up expenses for the backers.

He claims this could set a bad precedent for future business ventures and would cause employers to take their business, and jobs, elsewhere.