Community interest has been so strong, public meetings have been rescheduled and moved to larger venues.

Much of the noise has been from those opposing the project.

However, backers of the Gateway Terminal say they have gathered 10,000 petition signatures in favour of the coal export terminal.

The Northwest Jobs Alliance plans to deliver the petition at 10am on November 27.

In essence, the NJA wants the economic issues to be considered alongside environmental issues.

There have even been rumblings that the project could still go ahead despite Washington State having one of the nation’s greenest governors.

Jay Inslee – an early proponent of America’s clean energy economy – takes charge of the state in January.

According to a Bloomberg report, Inslee’s supposed leanings on the coal project depend on who is asked.

Environmentalists say Inslee is their best chance of torpedoing the port plans.

Port proponents say they are not worried because job creation was a tenet of Inslee’s campaign.

The port and the jobs it would create could be vital to a state with an unemployment rate hovering above the national average.

For his part, the governor-elect has not voiced a position on the port project.