Pensions, prisoners and Puyallup

IN THE TIDEFLATS of Tacoma, Washington, beyond the masts of sailboats anchored in the Puyallup Tribe’s marina, pipelines emerge from the earth and snake their way inland. Their destination — an 8 million-gallon liquefied methane gas tank — was once considered by politicians to be the logical answer to the climate crisis. Now, it’s the center of a local controversy with international implications.

The tank, owned by Puget Sound Energy (PSE), is the product of a recent era of proposed climate solutions. In 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency gave the shipping company TOTE Maritime a waiver to switch its operations to methane gas, also referred to as natural gas, in order to encourage it to lower the sulfur output from its diesel emissions. Two years later, PSE signed a contract with TOTE to supply its ships with gas. Against the express wishes of the Puyallup, the 14-story waterfront tank