OC Supports Motion for an Immediate Moratorium on ALL Permits Related to Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

Councilmember Upthegrove has now committed to passing a Council Motion that will commit the County to change land use zoning codes to prohibit all fossil fuel infrastructure in King County when it updates the County's comprehensive plan in 2020. (It will do this by placing a ban on all the secondary permits that the fossil fuel industry requires to expand pipeline capacity in King County, such as grading and clearing permits; we believe that this will enable King County to essentially place am an unprecedented de facto ban on pipeline expansion in the County).However, this Motion needs to be done at the same time as an immediate moratorium on the granting of all permits related to fossil fuel infrastructure. We are concerned that if this is not the case then the Motion could unintentionally act as a warning signal to industry and they will rush to get their permits in place before the review of the comp. plan in 2020.As such, we are asking community organizations to endorse our call for an immediate moratorium on all permits related to fossil fuel infrastructure.