noLNG

Armed vessels on the Columbia an unwelcome vision

Several members of Wahkiakum Friends of the River are featured in Tony Lsytra's article "Armed vessels on the Columbia an unwelcome vision" in today's Longview Daily News. The article talks about the potential for the militarization of the river, noting that "the Coast Guard won't say what kind of armaments the escorts would include, it has been known to use small vessels mounted with M-60 machine guns on the river."

Frans Eykel says "It sets a certain tone. ... You've got that feeling like a little tickle on your back. ... We live in a peaceful area of natural beauty and all of a sudden you get those big ships with the guns and all of a sudden everybody is suspect."

Paula and Gregg Carlson also talked with Tony and are shown sitting on their beach, just across from the site where Northern Star wants to put in the LNG regasification site.

The article is worth a read and the comments...well, let's just say they are typical for Daily News stories about possible LNG plants in the area.

Coast Guard releases WSR

The Coast Guard has completed their review of the Waterway Suitability Assessment for the Bradwood Landing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal project submitted by Northern Star Natural Gas, LLC. We have heard that many people are having difficulties in attempting to download the file, so we have made it available for download here: Download Bradwood_WSR.pdf

Here are a couple of articles from local newspapers on the subject:

• Longview Daily News article: Coast Guard releases study on LNG
• Daily Astorian: Coast Guard: River not ready for LNG

 

 

LNG veil of secrecy on security to be lifted 'early next year'

article from the Daily Astorian

 

A report detailing safety and security issues connected to the proposed Bradwood liquefied natural gas project will be released to the public, Clatsop County announced Thursday.

County Administrator Scott Derickson said the U.S. Coast Guard and Northern Star Natural Gas, the project developer, have agreed to make available the Coast Guard's review and response to the company's Waterway Suitability Assessment.

The assessment will address at least some safety and security issues, including tanker traffic, although it will also have information redacted for security purposes. It should be interesting to see what actually makes it through the review process.

But here's the thing I really love. Remember this article from last week? Shipping impacts left out of LNG report which said:

"...the company contended large vessel traffic on the Columbia River had already been assessed by other projects such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Channel Improvement Project, which considered the impacts of deepening the shipping channel for vessels traveling upriver. Northern Star did not feel the need to do another review based on the impacts of LNG vessels."

Reread that last sentence. Then read this quote from Gary Coppedge in today's article:

"All our studies show there will be no substantial impact, aside from another ship on the river..."

Ummm, Gary, what studies? Didn't you just say you didn't do any studies? Although to be fair, I guess if you didn't do any studies, it makes it awfully easy to say that the ones you did didn't show anything negative. Or something.

ADDENDUM:

Oh wait! There another thing. While perusing the Partner list at Northern Star's site, I noticed that the company listed as providing "river transit analysis" is Parsons Brinckerhoff. That would be the same Parsons Brinckerhoff that was the project manager on Boston's Big Dig project that collapsed last summer, killing Milena Del Valle. The same company that is now being sued for gross negligence and breach of contract and being investigated on criminal charges in relation to Del Valle's death.

This is a nice piece on the pending lawsuit in the Boston Herald:

State Attorney General Tom Reilly, whose term is up at the end of the year, said the lawsuit being filed in state court is based on the belief that the project managers knew early on about problems with the epoxy bolt system used to secure 4,500-pound cement ceiling panels but didn’t take steps to fix it.

"The clock was ticking. The fuse was lit. It was just a matter of time until this tragedy occurred," Reilly said.

    The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for repairs, loss of tunnel use and toll revenue and other economic factors. ... A separate criminal investigation is ongoing. Evidence is now being presented to a grand jury that will decide whether criminal charges up to manslaughter will be brought, Reilly said.

    "I can tell you this: What I saw was a crime. ... It will be up to the grand jury to decide whether it is," Reilly said Monday in announcing the state lawsuit.

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling safer already.

Shipping impacts left out of LNG report

Again, from Cassandra Profita at the Daily Astorian:

"Federal officials are not satisfied with the biological impact report submitted by Northern Star Natural Gas Co. for its proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas terminal, according to a document recently filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The Bradwood Landing report left out the impact of LNG ships on the Columbia River and in the Pacific Ocean and key details are missing from its mitigation plans, according to the filing, the result of a phone conversation among multiple agencies' officials and the company's contracted engineer. Because of the company's outstanding data issues, FERC project manager Paul Friedman said his agency, which will ultimately approve or deny the terminal siting request, has not set a project review schedule for other officials to follow."

Northern Star contends that

"...large vessel traffic on the Columbia River had already been assessed by other projects such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Channel Improvement Project, which considered the impacts of deepening the shipping channel for vessels traveling upriver. Northern Star did not feel the need to do another review based on the impacts of LNG vessels.

Nice try guys, but the Coast Guard begs to differ.

"Jack Hug, a Coast Guard attorney, told the company LNG ships are different types of vessels than those considered in the channel deepening project, and the review for the Corps project did not consider terrorist acts. Dean Amundson of the Coast Guard said the company's project raises its own potential issues of vessel traffic and ship strikes off the coast.

Cathy Tortorici, chief of the Oregon Coast and Lower Columbia branch of National Marine Fisheries Service, said her agency looked at the impact of dredging for the Corps project, but the dredging project was designed for existing ships on the river, and a change in the type of vessels on the river was never considered.

Officials concluded the company should address the increase in ship traffic caused by the project, which is expected to bring in three or four LNG ships a week, as well as the fact that LNG ships are different types of vessels, and generally larger, than other ships using the river."

According to the article, other LNG projects discuss the impacts of ship traffic within a 200-nautical-mile zone of the coast, but Northern Star did not. There is also a list of other aspects of the project that Northern Star avoided addressing in their plan.

Gee, unanswered questions, ducking responsibility for the impact of their project, ignoring the concerns of both the federal licensing agency and the Coast Guard, which is tasked with keeping our river secure. I feel so much better about the proposed plant now. Don't you?

Read the entire article here.

Federal government agency contact information

The Coast Guard and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are apparently both still accepting public comments on the proposed LNG project at Bradwood. It's not clear exactly when they will cut off the comment period so we encourage you to write soon.

(for contact data, click the "continue reading..." link below)

Comments may be submitted via physical mail, email, or fax and should include your name and address as well as the appropriate docket number.

Coast Guard
Docket No. CGD13-05-017
Lt. Shadrack Scheirman, Commanding Officer
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Portland
6767 N. Basin Ave.
Portland, OR 97217
Email: Shadrack.L.Scheirman@uscg.mil
Fax: (503) 240-2586
Voice: (503) 247-4015

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Docket No.  CP06-365-000
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First St. NE, Room 1A
Washington DC 20426
File comments electronically

If you are mailing physical letters, label one copy of your comments for the attention of Gas Branch 3, PJ11.3

Important meeting in Cathlamet Oct 26

Don't let them do this to our river!

That's not a very pretty picture is it? Well, that's what we could all be looking at if the LNG transfer terminal is built at Bradwood. Those tanks are shown at about the right relative size--unlike some other images we've seen--and it gives you a bit of an idea how huge they would be.  And that's without the 300 yard  long ship--you'll just have to imagine a ship the length of three football fields and over a dozen stories tall floating next to it. Come to think of it, that's not too far from the size of those three tanks.

Well, if you don't like that picture much, here's your chance to talk about it with the people who are tasked with listening to our concerns before deciding on the suitability of putting this unsightly, and dangerous, heavy industrial development right on our front doorstep. You can discuss the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas facility that would be placed just across the river from Cathlamet and Puget Island at Bradwood. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Coast Guard will be in Cathlamet to listen to your comments and answer your questions at 7 p.m. on Wednesday October 26th in the multi-purpose room at the Julius A. Wendt Elementary School.

The last Coast Guard/FERC meeting was in Oregon and, even though the ferry ran late so folks could attend, a number of Wahkiakum residents didn't get a chance to voice their concerns about the negative impact such a plant would have on our community. Fortunately, another meeting has finally been scheduled for this side of the river and we're hoping that everyone gets a chance to come and have their voices heard on this critical issue.

It is important that you come to this meeting—it is the only chance scheduled for residents of Wahkiakum County to be heard locally on the proposed LNG transfer terminal. If you are concerned about this potentially dangerous, heavy industrial development on the lower Columbia, and the impact on our way of life, please come and help us protect the river, and all the people who use it to work, fish, and play.

 A flyer about the meeting is available for download here. You are encouraged to print, post and distribute it (without any changes, please) to help make people aware of this meeting.

Hope to see you there!

Mark your calendars:
Coast Guard/FERC meeting with Wahkiakum County residents
7p.m. October 26th
multipurpose room
Julius A. Wendt Elementary School
265 South Third St.
Cathlamet, WA
map