noLNG

Riverkeeper leader a hero to friends, obstructionist to foes

HOOD RIVER, Ore. — From his second-story office in an old househere, Brett VandenHeuvel has a fine view of the object of hispassion. Last Wednesday, the Columbia River coursed by in the neardistance, wide, cold and gray, with white hills rising above itsbanks after a recent snowfall.

VandenHeuvel, the executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper,has made it his duty to fight any project he considers harmful tothe 1,400-mile waterway. More: http://tdn.com/news/local/article_98d8f458-000f-11e0-b3c1-001cc4c03286.html ...Comment by Brett van den Heuvel, I think the thing that the story completely missed, and that perhaps you could comment on in letter to editor, is that the LNG victory was a huge group effort of hundreds and hundreds of people and over a dozen organizations, etc.  The story reads like Riverkeeper simply waved a magic wand in order to “bleed” LNG.  Nothing is further from the truth, as you’ve seen for years.  Riverkeeper was but one piece of an amazing coalition – a coalition that started in Cowlitz County and Clatsop before Riverkeeper even got involved.

Gas Blasts Spur Questions on Oversight of Pipelines

At a Christmas Eve gathering in 2008, a natural
gas explosion in a suburban Sacramento neighborhood killed a 72-year-old man
and injured his daughter and granddaughter. Investigators determined that
Pacific Gas and Electric was to blame for a leak, but federal and state
regulators never cited the utility for safety violations.

Complete article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/us/25pipeline.html?exprod=myyahoo

County board OKs new review on pipeline

New evidence will be
allowed at meeting

By KATIE WILSON
The Daily Astorian

Jaws actually dropped
at the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday night after three
of four commissioners voted to allow new testimony and evidence on a liquefied
natural gas application decision.

"What it tells me is that they're
really listening," said Astoria resident and longtime LNG opponent Laurie
Caplan after the meeting. The commissioners' decision caught her completely by surprise.

More: http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=73551

Yemen LNG security "good" despite militant hand grenade attack

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKSGE68L05820100922

Yemen LNG security "good" despite militant hand grenade attack

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKSGE68L05820100922

Letter: Let new commissioners decide

An open letter to the County Clatsop Commissioners:

I respectfully ask that you let the incoming recently elected commission decide the future of liquefied natural gas in Clatsop County.

The proposed Oregon LNG project would disturb hundreds of family farms, forestland, wetlands and one of the greatest rivers in America - the Columbia River. The Clatsop County Planning Department staff and their retained experts recommended denial of the LNG pipeline. However, the final decision rests with the board of county commissioners. 

More than 100 people testified in public hearings that the LNG pipeline would harm the community - fishermen, teachers, nurses, affected landowners and businesses in the valley. And, the people of Clatsop County overwhelmingly rejected the pipeline. The current board of county commissioners did not hear this testimony, and should not make any decisions without holding public hearings.

http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=393&ArticleID=73455

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/

 

 

Get all the news from San Bruno, California

From the homepage of Pipeline Safety Trust

San Bruno Incident We have set up a website with information about the San Bruno Pipeline incident. You can read all about it here.

http://pstrust.org/ or http://pstrust.org/SanBruno.htm

Aging gas pipe at risk of explosion nationwide

By GARANCE BURKE and JASON DEAREN, Associated Press Writers Garance Burke And Jason Dearen, Associated Press Writers – 28 mins ago

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – An ominous theme has emerged from the wreckage of a deadly pipeline explosion in California: There are thousands of pipes just like it nationwide.

Utilities have been under pressure for years to better inspect and replace aging gas pipes — many of them laid years before the suburbs expanded over them and now at risk of leaking or erupting.

But the effort has fallen short. Critics say the regulatory system is ripe for problems because the government largely leaves it up to the companies to do inspections, and utilities are reluctant to spend the money necessary to properly fix and replace decrepit pipelines.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100914/ap_on_re_us/us_pipeline_explosion

PG&E pipeline safety record called into question following San Bruno explosion

By Paul Rogers and Steve Johnson
Mercury News

Posted: 09/10/2010 06:59:58 PM

 PDTUpdated: 09/11/2010 09:11:27 PM PDT

The explosion that devastated a San Bruno neighborhood captured the nation's attention, but it is hardly the first tragedy involving a Pacific Gas & Electric natural gas pipeline

Between 1986 and last month, PG&E had 132 "significant incidents" with its natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines, according to records from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Those incidents resulted in 18 fatalities, 64 injuries and $41 million in property damage. They were caused by a variety of problems, including pipeline corrosion, failed valves and excavation damage by contractors.

"It's a lot of deaths, which concerns me. But they are a big company, too. The technology is to a point where you ought to be able to prevent all of these deaths," said Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit that monitors pipeline safety.

 
The group cited internal PG&E documents that found "a significant number of employees" conducting routine checks for leaks in distribution lines from 2004 through 2007 had been improperly trained and that some records associated with the checks had been falsified, although the PG&E documents didn't elaborate.

Complete article: http://www.mercurynews.com/san-bruno-fire/ci_16045866?nclick_check=1