noLNG

Northwest Natural faces LNG protests at its annual meeting

By Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian

May 27, 2010, 9:31PM

Ted Sickinger/The OregonianProtesters outside the Oregon Convention Center today chanted slogans and made speeches questioning the need for additional LNG pipelines in the state

NorthWest Natural Gas Co,'s annual share holders meeting   became a referendum on importing liquefied natural gas to Oregon, despite the company's best efforts to distance itself from controversial projects and focus on its strong financial performance.

More than 200 protesters rallied outside the Oregon Convention Center meeting site, chanting, waving placards at passing traffic, and listening to speeches from anti-LNG activists, including former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. Bradbury, the losing candidate in the democratic primary election for governor, arrived on his Segway and spoke to the crowd via bullhorn.

"I am very clearly opposed to the liquefied natural gas terminals, and I don't support pipelines for liquefied natural gas terminals," Bradbury told The Oregonian. "I don't see any reason for us to become more dependent on foreign fossil fuels."

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/05/northwest_natural_faces_lng_pr.html

Big players now control gas terminal

Published: May 25, 2010 11:00 PM

OIL AND gas giant EOG Resources Inc. has bought 49 per cent of the Kitimat LNG Inc.’s proposed liquefied gas export (LNG) terminal from the original proponent, placing the project firmly in the hands of major players.

The announcement comes on the heels of Apache Canada Ltd.’s purchase of 51 per cent of the project in January. Apache will operate the project in co-operation with EOG.

 
PLANNED FOR a 2014 start up, a proposed liquified natural gas export terminal at Kitimat has a whole new ownership group

More: http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/terracestandard/business/94795034.html

Northwest Natural plans rate cut

With the Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas terminal halted, opponents of the project this week will shift their efforts to a Northwest Natural Gas Co. pipeline that was proposed to serve the terminal.

For the third-straight year, the Portland-based natural gas utility’s (NYSE: NWN) annual shareholder meeting Thursday will be met by a chorus of protestors, this time urging the company to drop the 217-mile Palomar gas pipeline.

Representatives of the so-called “Hey NW Natural” campaign on Tuesday said hundreds of “farmers, foresters, fishers, environmentalists and ratepayers” will take part in a “visual and lively protest.”

Read more: LNG protest planned at NW Natural shareholder meeting - Portland Business Journal

Will defeat of three Clatsop County commissioners end the turmoil?

By Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian

May 21, 2010, 9:33AM

Clatsop County had a big election Tuesday night when three county commissioners were swept out by challengers who had opposed the effort to site a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River near Astoria.

It's easy to point to the LNG fight as the reason for the dramatic change in Clatsop County government.  Voters had already recalled two commissioners, in 2008 and 2009, in large part because of the LNG controversy, and had passed a ballot measure opposing the development.

More:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2010/05/will_defeat_of_three_clatsop_c.html

Why NorthernStar failed.

Dear Senator Ferrioli,

I appreciate your concern for honesty and integrity in government.  In the instance of NorthernStar/Bradwood Landing, however, your concern is misplaced.  You ought to be sympathizing with the Oregonians whose trust this company flagrantly betrayed.  For example, when the company declared bankruptcy on May 5th, it shut down abruptly, owing more than $200,000 to Clatsop County, a million dollars and more to the company's law firm, and thousands of dollars more to private businesses and non-profit groups in our area.  NorthernStar even stiffed the Clatsop County radio station that eagerly promoted LNG in its talk shows and news, bad-mouthed LNG opponents, and ran non-stop paid company ads.

For all its claims of a bad business climate in Oregon, you must know by now that the company repeatedly delayed performing required tests and turning in required documents.  It repeatedly asked for and was granted extensions on deadlines for required documents and tests at the county and state levels.  In fact, FERC approved the company's application before the company had even turned in all its required documents to the regulatory agency.  These missing documents are just part of why this FERC certification is being challenged in the 9th District Court by the States of Oregon and Washington and other parties.

There are few private citizens or other businesses in Oregon that would have been granted such generous extensions by any county or state agency.  I can't even imagine what would happen if you or I decided not to pay our bills to as many entities as NorthernStar stiffed.  Or if we decided that we didn't need to take a driver's license exam or follow building codes or land use laws.  NorthernStar apparently felt it was such a "big" project that it could ignore the rules that govern the rest of us and that make for a civil society.

Additionally, in the course of three years of Clatsop County public hearings about Bradwood Landing, the company repeatedly and shamelessly misrepresented, omitted, and distorted facts in its testimony, even about such critical issues as emergency preparedness, the size of the proposed project, and the number of jobs it would provide to the people of Clatsop County.  Even Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals, certainly not a radical anti-business entity, twice rejected the company's absurd arguments that it wasn't a big project and that it wouldn't harm salmon or salmon habitat.

Please do not spend your energy or taxpayer dollars to pursue Brent Foster.  Whatever Foster did or did not do had nothing to do with the arrogant, deceptive, and ultimately failed behavior of NorthernStar/Bradwood Landing.  The company was defeated by the absolute recklessness of its proposal, by the changes in the global gas market, and by its own failure to follow the rules.  Ultimately, its financial backers at Matlin-Paterson had had enough of this company, with its failed LNG proposal in California and now another in Oregon.

After six years, tens of millions of dollars, and innumerable lies, Bradwood Landing is deservedly dead.  Let it go.

Everyone wants a strong and thriving Oregon economy.  I urge you to focus your attention on developing and supporting the business climate that will provide sustainable jobs for ourselves and our children - jobs that will be good for Oregon and Oregonians  - jobs that will last.

Sincerely,

Laurie Caplan
Astoria, OR.

LNG pipeline developer hears 6 hours of complaints

COQUILLE, Ore. — Developers of a 234-mile pipeline
to carry imported liquefied natural gas from Coos
Bay across southwestern Oregon got an earful from
people who don’t like the prospect.

A public hearing on the Pacific Connector Gas
Pipeline held Thursday in Coquille lasted six hours.
Arrow Coyote of the Confederated Tribes of Coos,
Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said he’s
worried cultural artifacts could be destroyed.
Oyster farmer Lilli Clausen said digging trenches
through an estuary could raise silt that harms oyster
beds.
Forester Jake Robinson said the pipeline would
leave owners of private timberlands with no easy
way to get in with logging equipment.
Developers of another LNG terminal and pipeline in
Oregon recently filed for liquidation under
bankruptcy laws.

And then there was one

Repudiation of Lee cabal, LNG funny business sweeps the court house
Agatha Christie wrote a mystery titled Ten Little Indians. Through its three acts, characters disappear, one by one. "And then there were none."

We have not reached the end of the drama that began almost four years ago in the Clatsop County Courthouse, but Tuesday night's election removed one more conspirator who was part of the cabal led by the recalled commissioner Richard Lee. With Scott Lee's convincing victory (58 percent-40 percent) over Jeff Hazen, Patricia Roberts will become the last remaining Richard Lee cohort on the commission.

More: http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=70562

County trio ousted
Scott Lee, Debra Birkby and Peter Huhtala win seats on the Clatsop County Commission
By KATIE WILSON
The Daily Astorian

The deck has been reshuffled on the Clatsop County board of commissioners.

All three incumbents were ousted by the challengers, according to the final unofficial results from the county.

In an election with a turnout of 49.6 percent, Scott Lee defeated incumbent Jeff Hazen by 1,143 votes (58 percent) to 795 (40 percent).

Peter Huhtala defeated appointed incumbent John Raichl by 1,150 (54 percent) votes to 948 (45 percent).

And in the three-way race for the South County seat, Debra Birkby will replace appointed incumbent John Mushen.
More: http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=77&SubSectionID=868&ArticleID=70521

All change! Lee, Huhtala and Birkby oust incumbent county commissioners

 

Letter: Patronizing arrogance

The state of Oregon has reasonably comprehensive laws to protect individuals from robbing each other, and to protect the environment from excessive predation. These laws long predate the Bradwood Landing affair - NorthernStar is definitely not naive, and clearly knew what they were getting into. It is simply silly and childish to imagine that big, bad Oregon and a bunch of wild-eyed radical enviro-nazis teamed up to destroy a company that was just trying to help us.

Oregon is also a reasonably "pro-business" state, and when the Bradwood Landing proposal got started, the various state agencies were doing everything they could to make life easier for NorthernStar. As time went on, it became more and more obvious that the proposal was not "good for the Columbia," was not "good for the fish," was not honestly presented, could not realistically be expected to provide any net tax revenue, was not "needed," probably not "safe," definitely not "clean," and, bottom line, wasn't likely to provide any significant number of long-term "family-wage jobs."

No wonder the state agencies finally could no longer support the project. No wonder the people turned against something they could see would destroy their livelihood and cede control of the Columbia River - a national treasure, providing benefits to a huge, diverse human and natural community - to a private company for a single purpose.

As for the $100 million lost by NorthernStar, most of that money was spent on a similar project in Oxnard, Calif., that was also finally rejected by the state of California.

NorthernStar reaches new highs of patronizing arrogance when they excoriate Oregonians for trying to protect themselves.

THOMAS S. DUNCAN
Astoria
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=393&ArticleID=70474