noLNG

Wu Introduces Bill to Return State Control Over LNG Decisions

At a time when Congress is expected take little action in the run-up to the November elections, U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) has introduced a new bill aimed at returning state control over where to place liquefied natural gas facilities.

Wu, who’s running for re-election in the First Congressional District against Republican Rob Cornilles, on Tuesday introduced the Local Control for Energy and the Environment Act. The bill would repeal portions of the 2005 Energy Policy Act that stripped away much of the decision-making power over LNG facilities from the states.

 

Wu’s bill would return much of the authority states lost over LNG decisions in the Bush-era Energy Policy Act. It would also require FERC to consult with states about any inter-agency agreements over safety and security at LNG facilities

http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2010/09/16/wu-introduces-bill-to-return-state-control-over-lng-decisions/

 

 

Wu fights for Oregon's rights in LNG siting

By SUE CODY
The Daily Astorian

Summer appeared in more ways than one Friday as the sun finally kissed the clouds and fog good-bye and Rep. David Wu, standing on the shores of the Columbia River at the Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria, announced that he will introduce a bill to the U.S. House of Representatives that will return the siting of liquefied natural gas facilities to state authorities.

 
Photo courtesy LaREE JOHNSON
U.S. Rep. David Wu, second from left, announces he will introduce legislation to the U.S. House of Representatives to return the siting authority of liquefied natural gas facilities to the states Friday at the Cannery Pier Hotel. The siting is now in the hands of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. From left are Clatsop County Commisioner-elect Peter Huhtala, Wu, Columbia Pacific Common Sense Chairwoman Laurie Caplan  and Cannery Pier Hotel General Manager Don West.

http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=72604

Advocates laud halt of LNG proposal

ASIG suspends project due to Gulf oil spill fallout

BY ANDREW DAVISON Staff Writer

Ocean advocates are welcoming a decision by Atlantic Sea Island Group to withdraw its proposal to construct Safe Harbor Energy, a 116-acre liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on a manmade island 19.5 miles off the coast of Sea Bright.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, which led opposition to the project it labeled “Insanity Island,” said last week that she thinks public opinion played a large role in the company’s decision.

Complete Article: http://atlanticville.gmnews.com/news/2010-08-05/Front_Page/Advocates_laud_halt_of_LNG_proposal.html

Press Releases

Press Release of Senator Wyden

Wyden, Dodd, Cantwell, Mikulski, Cardin and Merkley Fight for Local Control Over LNG Terminal Siting

Senators Want to Wrest Power Over Terminal Placement from FERC

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC – Working to give state entities the power to determine both the need for – and the location of – liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in their states, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced legislation today to repeal portions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which gave that authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Prior to the passage of the 2005 Energy Bill, such decisions had historically been decided by siting agencies in each state.

More:  http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=322678

Columbia restoration act introduced in Congress

By Erik Robinson / The Columbian | Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010 9:50 pm

The federal government could provide as much as $40 million a year to monitor pollution in the Columbia River and clean it up, under a bill proposed Tuesday.

The Columbia River Restoration Act of 2010, introduced Tuesday in both chambers of Congress represents a substantial boost in federal support for addressing toxic pollution in the great river of the West.

"This is one of the great estuaries, not only of America but of the world," said U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver.

Mroe: http://www.tdn.com/lifestyles/article_6ec15cfc-2269-11df-94f0-001cc4c03286.html

High stakes: LNG and the Legislature

By Guest Columnist

February 03, 2010, 7:05AM

By Nick Engelfried

Suppose you had one month to address Oregon's biggest challenges, from raising education standards to maintaining our competitiveness in the increasingly crowded green economy. This month the Oregon Legislature has just such a chance before it, as lawmakers meet in a special  session.

Given the stakes, you'd hope legislators would use the limited time of the special session to make concrete deliverables in the realms of education, economic vitality and environmental safeguards. You might not want your elected officials devoting the session to a resurrected version of a bill that failed to pass in 2009, and which redefines the language in relatively obscure land-use codes

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/02/high_stakes_lng_and_the_legisl.html

Wyden encourages healthy debate

U.S. Senator answers questions on health care, LNG and emergency preparedness from the public at town hall meeting in Astoria
Taking back LNG regulation

Wyden held fast to his argument that approving LNG facilities should be the state's job, and that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission process is "totally disfunctional and not serving the needs of Oregonians."

He said the Energy Policy Act of 2005 took the approval power away from the states and put it in federal hands because "powerful special interests wanted to take it back to Washington D.C. where they could hot-wire these decisions."

Wyden sits on the Senate Energy Committee, and said he is ready to revisit the legislation he cosponsored in 2008 that would put approval decisions back in the state's hands. His cosponsor on that bill, he pointed out, was a young senator from Illinois when it was first proposed and "now has a new job as our commander in chief." He said he is going to ask President Obama to support the bill once again.

As for whether Oregon needs LNG, he said, "We certainly don't need three LNG plants."

He questioned whether the country should be relying on imported natural gas when it should be developing domestic and renewable energy sources, but he didn't say whether he thought LNG was needed as a "bridge fuel" between the energy sources available today and those that will be available later.

http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=67103

LNG companies targeted in bill

POSTED: Friday, January 8, 2010 at 11:45 AM PT
BY: Nathalie Weinstein
Tags: Chuck Riley, Domestic Resource Protection Act, liquefied natural gas

Representative Chuck Riley (D-Hillsboro) has introduced new legislation to keep liquefied natural gas terminals and associated pipelines from being built without first performing an assessment proving a need for importation of LNG from China and the Middle East.

The Domestic Resource Protection Act (HB 3616) comes in response to three LNG terminals proposed for construction in Oregon, including Bradwood Landing, Oregon LNG and Jordan Cove. Riley claims that the companies pushing for these projects have no yet proven that the Northwest is in need of foreign natural gas.

Along with an assessment proving need, the act will require applicants to pay for all costs associated with the review of project permits or the authorization of an application, something Riley says could save Oregon tax payers $90,000.

In a statement, Riley said that LNG companies have too much power currently to seize land from private citizens, and that taxpayers could see millions of dollars in potential legal fees as land owners appeal the planned LNG facilities. http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/01/08/lng-companies-targeted-in-bill/

China is not a LNG export source. (Blogger)

I believe that there are reasonable alternatives that would more efficiently, more reliably, and in an environmentally preferable manner meet the projected energy needs of the markets that the Jordan Cove Project is intended to serve. (FERC Chair Mr. Jon Wellinghoff) Page 92, Download Jordan Cove Dec. 2009