There have been several developments in the oil and coal port world over the past week:

• A new economic analysis of the proposed Tesoro Savage crude oil loading facility at the Port of Vancouver (Wash.) found that it “could generate an estimated $2 billion in ‘economic value’ to the local and regional economy, and 176 permanent on-site jobs once the facility is fully operational.”

• Oregon denied a “key permit” for Ambre Energy’s proposed coal export facility at the Port of Morrow. (The decision can be appealed.) According to the Oregonian, “The terminal, one of three export facilities planned in the Pacific Northwest, is the smallest and furthest along.” (We wrote about the other two, Gateway Pacific Terminal and Millennium Bulk Terminals, along with Tesoro Savage, in a policy brief on the expanded SEPA earlier this year.)

• British Columbia, on the other hand, just approved a coal export facility near Vancouver (Canada). Fraser Surrey Docks plans to export about 4 million tons of coal a year, starting in 2015. (As we noted in part 2 of our Trade and Transportation series last year, British Columbia ports are competitors of those in Washington.)

• Meanwhile, BNSF Railway “is spending $235 million across Washington to upgrade track and roll out a computerized safety system that experts say can prevent devastating train accidents.” (In part 1 of the Trade and Transportation series we wrote about the primarily privately funded railways.)