noLNG

Letter: Cherry-picking through laws

Commissioners: You have heard the story of a group of blind men describing an elephant after each touches one part of the animal. The man who touches the tail says an elephant is like a rope. The one who touches the leg says an elephant is a pillar. The man touching the side says it's like a wall.

The sequel to that story is playing out in Clatsop County with the promoters of Bradwood Landing using teams of lawyers to cherry-pick through laws, plans, policies and regulations, preparing an application designed to keep us all in the dark.

Complete letter: http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=393&ArticleID=62415&TM=59009.15

With  appreciation to The Daily Astorian, More great letters go to:

http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=393&TM=58977.56

LNG (the sequel) ignites county hearing

You’re not here to apply the will of the people,’ says lawyer

By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian

After five hours of testimony on the Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas project, Clatsop County commissioners called it quits Wednesday without taking a vote on the two land-use issues remanded to them by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

The board scheduled another meeting for 6 p.m. July 16, to deliberate.

About 75 people flooded the Judge Guy Boyington Building for the remand hearing Wednesday and attempted to follow a strict set of procedures outlined by the county board and its counsel. Most of the testimony came from project opponents, who urged the board to reject the solutions proposed by Bradwood Landing project developer NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. of Houston.

Must more: http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=62338

Click the above link for additional fireworks.

                                               WE THE PEOPLE.............

Bradwood Landing Paddle Trip with CRK

 Join us for this exciting new trip opportunity. We will paddle the beautiful waters of the Columbia River Estuary and tour the landscape of the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at Bradwood Landing.

This overnight adventure will begin with a Friday night of camping along the mighty Columbia in Southwestern Washington. Learn about the proposed LNG terminals and associated pipelines and impacts from leaders in the fight to keep LNG out of the Columbia River. Enjoy an evening of mingling with fellow river supporters over a pasta dinner and locally brewed beverages. Awaken Saturday morning to a fresh breakfast and a day-long paddle trip in the Columbia River Estuary. A riverside picnic lunch will also be provided. Reserve your spot today for this exciting new paddle adventure!

Date:

• Friday, July 31st through Saturday, August 1st
  

Registration Information:

Costs are as follows:

• $115/person (without personal boat)
• $95/person (with personal boat)
  

 

Please complete the  registration form: http://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/index.php/headlines/view/24

LNG issue is back on the county agenda

By JOE GAMM
The Daily Astorian

It's just days after the Fourth of July and more fireworks are on the way.

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners will address two unresolved land-use issues holding up development of a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Judge Guy Boyington Building.

In response to a ruling from the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) the county board has to reconsider whether the Bradwood Landing LNG project protects salmon habitat and traditional fishing grounds and whether the project is "small or moderate" in scale.

More: http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=62299

To observe how this County Board of Commissioners rewrite the Webster's, be there at 10:00 a.m.(blogger)

 

Pipeline permitting bill dies; sponsor mourns for taxpayers

by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian Tuesday June 30, 2009, 10:42 PM

While opponents of liquefied natural gas projects were celebrating the demise of a pipeline-permitting bill Monday night, state Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, used her final floor speech of the 2009 session to accuse House Democrats of abandoning taxpayers in a fit of legislative pique related to the controversial projects.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/06/pipeline_permitting_bill_dies.html

Rush to wind is like haste for LNG (Editorial)

The Columbia River is an example of our ability to alter nature, for good and ill
Generations of children growing up in Eastern Oregon may never know it was an expansive and majestic landscape devoid of wind turbines. Already the foothills that display a beauty all their own are becoming something of an anomaly.

More:  
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=62145

When is LNG a small thing?

When high-priced lawyers want to disregard Oregon’s vaules
In all likelihood, it will become one of those legendary Clatsop County absurdities that historians chuckle about in years hence when county commissioners again determine that Bradwood Landing is a "small- to medium-scale" development.

Although they deserve a modicum of praise for at least holding another public hearing and accepting limited public comments, there can be little doubt that the Clatsop County Commission will find ways to ratify its prior approval of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Bradwood. The commission must revisit the issue because the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) in January questioned two important aspects of the county's land-use permit for the Bradwood facility proposed by NorthernStar LLC.

More: http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=62123

Strange bedfellows on property rights

by James Huffman, Oregonian columnist Thursday June 25, 2009, 9:30 AM

James Huffman

Every now and then, even in Oregon, environmental activists and property rights advocates find themselves on the same side of the political fence. One of those politics-makes-strange-bedfellows issues has been brewing in the Oregon Legislature and may still find its way to the governor's desk if Senate strategists can get it to the floor for a vote.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/strange_bedfellows_on_property.html

Exxon Mobil's Weapons of Gas Destruction

Exxon Mobil has a loaded gun pointed at the U.S. natural-gas market -- and it isn't the only one.

The ammunition is liquefied natural gas. Exxon is scheduled to start up another three LNG projects in Qatar this year. They will produce more than three billion cubic feet a day of natural gas and freeze it for transportation. Europe and Asia are potential markets. But the U.S. could be a magnet for LNG cargoes, despite not really needing it, a paradox that spells low prices.

LNG is joining up the world's hitherto largely regional natural-gas markets just as demand is ...

More at The WSJ by subscription:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124595565700755357.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

Schedule set for county review on LNG

By JOE GAMM
The Daily Astorian

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners only disagreed on one point as they laid out the ground rules for a hearing to resolve two issues on a proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at Bradwood Landing during Wednesday evening's regular meeting.

Commissioner Dirk Rohne disagreed with the other four commissioners on how long to accept written public testimony for the hearing. He wanted to accept written public testimony through the close of the July 8 public hearing on the issues - a recommendation of staff.
More: http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=62018