Locals Voice Concerns About Bradwood Landing As LNG Site
Astoria, OR July 17, 2008 12:44 a.m.
Federal energy regulators pulled away from making a decision Thursday that could have allowed a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River. Commissioners probably won’t decide on it for a couple months.
At the same time, people living near that LNG terminal are preparing for a county-wide vote on the issue. Rob Manning reports on the local opposition to the Bradwood Landing LNG project.
Mike Duley is piloting a small jetboat on the Columbia, through what’s called Clifton channel. He says on a good day, the river here is full of boats.
-Mike Duley navigates through the Clifton Channel on the Columbia River. He predicts the LNG terminal would drastically effect the fishermen here. |
Mike Duley: “On a weekend day, if you did a telephoto lens, you probably wouldn’t see any water, you’d just see boats. I betcha sometimes, it’s pushes 200 boats on certain weekend days, when spring Chinook are in.”
Also on board is George Exum, a long-time ship and barge operator, who’s helping Duley steer around old logs. Some may date back to when Bradwood was a mill site.
LNG supporters say the industrial history speaks in favor of a gas terminal. But Exum is worried about LNG clogging up river traffic.
LNG gets delivered in long tankers with big security zones around them, that other ships have to avoid.
George Exum: “And when you’re talking about a thousand-foot ship, that’s going to have to come up this river, turn 180 degrees, back down, and dock, we’re talking a few hours. When all that’s happening, that’s going to affect anything that’s coming up and down this river.”
As we pause in a shallow area, George Exum also complains that each visiting tanker would draw thousands of gallons of water, for ballast and cooling. They could suck up juvenile salmon that thrive in this part of the river.
George Exum: “No ships should be allowed to come to this dock, that aren’t retrofitted to take water from a shoreside facility. That’s the only way to protect the salmon in here. And Northern Star has said ‘well, we can’t guarantee that.’ They have to guarantee that.”
Joe Desmond is Northern Star’s chief spokesman. When he’s in Oregon, he works out of a tenth-floor office in downtown Portland.
As for juvenile salmon, Desmond says his company can’t guarantee what Exum is asking for – but he has an alternative.
Joe Desmond: “A permeable curtain, which is essentially a curtain which would be put next to the ship, next to that ballast when they take that water in. We’re the first to propose this solution for ships on the Columbia River, and here we are being criticized.”
Environmentalists, and federal scientists, say that the "curtain" hasn't been proven to work. Desmond says on balance, the project will be good for the river’s environment, because it comes with $57 million in enhancements, though opponents say that money won't go very far.
LNG opponants celebrated the launch this week of their anti-LNG referedum at Astoria’s Wet Dog Café.
Some are are worried that changes upriver will hurt the very culture of the lower river - whether it's salmon fishing, or Astoria’s reputation for tourism. Don West is a worried hotel owner.
Don West: “The benefit for the state of Oregon is minimal, if any. And all we’re doing is we’re becoming the gas station for California and the rest of the nation. Natural gas station.”
NorthernStar’s Joe Desmond, says less than one fifth of the natural gas would go to California. He argues the increased gas supply would benefit Oregonians, long-term, as gas prices rise, not to mention the jobs it would bring.
The Columbia River gas debate may heat up as summer cools.
Three things are coming in September: that’s when federal energy regulators are likely to rule on Bradwood Landing. It’s when state agencies are expected to decide on the necessary air and water permits that Bradwood needs. And it’s when Clatsop County voters get their say, at the ballot box.
July 17, 2008 in Bradwood | Permalink
