WE AGREE, NO LNG!

By Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian

Eight years after initially proposing to build an import terminal for liquefied natural gas on the North Spit of Coos Bay, backers of the controversial Jordan Cove Energy Project are starting their regulatory odyssey anew.

The company filed paperwork late last month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to change the project to an export terminal, potentially making Oregon a hub for natural gas producers looking to tap lucrative markets in Asia.

Click here to read the full story.

NOTICE OF ONSITE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

On March 27, 2012, the Office of Energy Projects staff will be in Coos County, Oregon to gather data for the environmental analysis of the proposed Jordan Cove Liquefaction Project. Staff will examine the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal site. This will assist staff in completing its comparative evaluation of environmental impacts of the proposed project.

All interested parties planning to attend must provide their own transportation. Those attending should meet at the following location:

Tuesday, March 27, 2012,

starting at 1:00pm

Red Lion Inn – 1313 N. Bayshore Dr.,

Coos Bay, OR 97420

On the evening of March 27, 2012, FERC staff will also attend an open house sponsored by Jordan Cove Energy Project, LP at the following location:

The Mill Casino Hotel,

4:00pm to 8:30pm

3201 Tremont Ave.,

North Bend, OR 97459

The state of Oregon has asked federal regulators to revoke their approval of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Coos Bay and reopen the record so the state can submit evidence that a revised terminal proposal is not in the public interest.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission conditionally approved the Jordan Cove LNG import terminal project and the associated, 234-mile Pacific Connector pipeline in December 2009. Read more…

Original Mail Tribune can be found here.

The state of Oregon has asked federal energy regulators to rescind their approval of a natural gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas terminal in Coos Bay now that backers say they want to reverse the flow of gas and export compressed gas rather than import it. It’s more than reasonable to make backers demonstrate that the benefits to the public of exporting gas outweigh any environmental considerations.

In 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted conditional approval of the Jordan Cove LNG import terminal project and the 234-mile Pacific Connector pipeline, planned to stretch across Southern Oregon from Coos Bay to Malin on the California border. Supercooled liquefied gas brought in by cargo ships would be warmed back to a gaseous state in Coos Bay and then transported through the pipeline to Malin, where it would connect to a pipeline taking it into California.

Federal regulators said at the time that the public benefit of bringing in natural gas supplies from Australia, Russia or the Mideast outweighed any environmental issues posed by the project. Read more…

After 7 years of fighting Liquefied Natural Gas imports through Oregon, our suspicion that LNG plans for Oregon are actually intended to export domestic U.S. natural gas via Oregon to Asian markets have been confirmed.  Read the Oregonian article exposing LNG company plans by following this link: Oregon LNG terminal plans reverse from importing to exporting natural gas

Should Oregonians bear the burden of environmental damage, property loss/devaluation, and air quality impacts of LNG and pipeline development for the sake of energy company profits? Should NW Natural be allowed to clearcut a highway-wide swath through 40 miles of Mt. Hood National Forest to facilitate this development?
We say no!

Contact Governor Kitzhaber today and urge him to take a stand opposing LNG exports through Oregon!

Don’t let NW Natural resurrect the Palomar Pipeline! Today at the NW Natural shareholders meeting, company executives will unveil plans to pursue a new version of the Palomar Pipeline through Mt. Hood National Forest.

Take action today to protect Mt. Hood and the communities impacted by the Palomar Pipeline. Tell NW Natural executives and Board of Directors that the recent demise of Palomar shouldn’t be reversed.

Don’t let NW Natural’s bottom line cause the destruction of our public lands! Send your message to NW Natural and then please forward this email to friends who care about our climate, our communities and our chance for a clean energy future.

On Thursday, May 26th NW Natural will hold its annual Shareholders Meeting where the company will inform investors of its plans to resurrect the Palomar Pipeline through Mt. Hood National Forest. In March, Palomar withdrew its application to construct the 220-mile pipeline through Oregon, but NW Natural is scheming to bring the project back as early as next year.

Let’s send NW Natural the message that we will never allow this pipeline to go through Mt. Hood! We will have in-person and on-line actions all day on the 26th so mark your calendars and be ready to send your message to NW Natural! Contact Olivia at olivia@bark-out.org to plug in to our in-person activities for our Day of Action and get ready to take a stand for Mt. Hood on Thursday, May 26th!

Surprised to hear that NW Natural is still harboring plans to clearcut Mt. Hood National Forest? You can find out more about their plans by clicking here.

For the third year in a row, NW Natural and it’s LNG company cohorts are pushing a bill through the Oregon State Legislature that would allow pipeline companies to obtain permits on private land without the landowner’s permission. We’ve stopped this bill in the past and we need to do it again to ensure that NW Natural, Pacific Connector and Oregon LNG Pipelines don’t get a leg up from the Oregon Legislature at the expense of our forests, farms and fisheries. If the LNG Fast Track Bill passes, the Palomar Pipeline, Pacific Connector and the two remaining LNG terminals proposed in Oregon would be years ahead of their current delayed schedules. Contact your Oregon State Senator today to urge a NO vote on the LNG Fast Track Bill!

Jordan Cove Admits to Contemplating LNG Export Facility
Landowners Outraged At Prospect of the Use of Eminent Domain for Private Gain

After years of denying that the Jordan Cove LNG project had any intention of exporting domestic natural gas, Jordan Cove Project Manager Bob Braddock now admits they are seriously considering export due to cheap, surplus domestic natural gas supplies.  Growing U.S. natural gas supplies make an LNG import facility unnecessary and not economically viable.

In a statement to Platt’s LNG Daily in an article titled, “US West Coast LNG proposal mulls exports, faces hurdles,” Braddock stated, “We have received inquires from people who have production so we are starting to mull it (export) over in our minds…If they came to us and said, ‘we would like you to switch to exporting’, we would”.

Monica Vaughan, with the conservation group Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, reacted to the new admission by the LNG industry that they may seek a West Coast export port. “For years, Oregonians have fiercely opposed the use of eminent domain and the destruction of our natural resources for unneeded LNG import projects.  Now, with the admission that Jordan Cove LNG will seek to export LNG, the negative impacts of LNG are even more unjustifiable.” In the Platt’s article, the Oregon LNG proposal on the Columbia River in Warrenton also indicated that they may consider export.

Oregonians, including farmers, foresters, fishermen, ratepayers and environmental organizations have long been concerned about the potential for the Jordan Cove LNG project to export domestic natural gas. According to these groups, hundreds of families across Oregon are facing the threat of eminent domain for a project that was originally justified for importing LNG, but that may now export gas.

Read more…

URGENT – Show Oregon some love on Valentines day: your quick action is needed TODAY to protect private property rights and the environment in our beloved state:

Community members around Shady Cove show their opposition the fast-track bill. Photo credit: Margaret Bradburn for the Upper Rogue Independent.

HB 2700 Up For a Vote Soon

On Friday February 11th, the Oregon House Business and Labor Committee referred HB 2700, a version of the LNG fast-track bill, to the floor for a vote.  This vote may occur this week (possibly as early as tomorrow).  The Committee heard from 15 landowners who traveled to Salem to testify against the bill and to urge that the bill be voted down or amended until it was limited to non-LNG projects, but ignored their concerns in sending the bill to the full House.

Please make a phone call or send an email to your representative today.

You can find your legislator’s phone number and email address here: http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/

HB 2700: If this bill passes, companies could apply for and receive removal and fill permits to cross wetlands and streams on your land without your consent.  The immediate impact of the proposed legislation for landowners facing proposed LNG projects and related pipelines is simple: the bill would fast-track permitting for these projects. In addition, all future projects requiring a removal and fill permit would be impacted by this law, making landowners across the state, even those not impacted by the proposed pipeline projects, impacted by this potential law.

The bill is being justified by proponents as necessary for public projects, such as water lines and sidewalks.  However, the impact of the bill is much broader than these public projects, and would facilitate speculative and destructive LNG projects.  After all, the bill was originally introduced by Bradwood LNG.  Tell your representatives to vote for the people of Oregon, not out-of-state corporate interests.

At the very least, ask your representative to oppose the bill unless it is amended to exclude LNG projects and pipelines.  This could be done by limiting the scope of the changes to public projects.

Tell Your Representative:

Dave Lohman, Medford land use attorney, speaking to the 60 concerned citizens who rallied against the fast-track bill in Medford on January 27th. Photo credit: Mail Tribune.

1.     You oppose HB 2700.  If you are a property owner along the pipeline, explain that this bill will harm your land value and allow a private company to obtain a permit without your permission, and that the bill would hamper your ability to use and sell your land.

2.     HB 2700 makes it easier for liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and related pipelines to obtain permits on private farms, forests and other lands.  Thousands of Oregon families are directly impacted by and oppose the proposed LNG pipelines.

3.     HB 2700 undercuts private property rights, allowing private companies to push unneeded projects at the expense of Oregon families and businesses.

4.     HB 2700 disrupts farms, forestry operations, and nurseries – all bedrock economic drivers of Oregon’s rural economy.

5.     HB 2700 was originally proposed in 2008 by Bradwood LNG, a now bankrupt company that owes public agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The bill makes no more sense now than it did when it was defeated in 2008.

The bill is a flawed approach to the LNG issue.  While it might work for other types of projects, it increases the already heavy burden on Oregonians from speculative LNG projects.

Please make your voice heard TODAY and consider forwarding to your family and friends asking them to do the same.