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Landowners and Citizens for a Safe Community |
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Gayle's Page
Landowners and Citizens for a Safe Community (LCSC)
Newsletter for January 2010 Landowners
and Citizens for a Safe Community May 2010 be the year we celebrate the defeat
of Bradwood Landing! I wear my no-LNG pin everywhere I go. Last week,
I had a woman say “I guess there’s not much you can do” when she saw it. NOT TRUE!! The one thing that never
changes is the need to educate the public as to what we have accomplished and where we stand right now. I told her that most
of the action is now taking place in the courts. We should see the argument of our suit against FERC in the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco this year. Just last month, the 4th Circuit Court upheld Maryland’s
denial of a key water quality permit for the Sparrow’s Point LNG plant. The State of Oregon holds that same power regarding
water quality permits for Bradwood Landing. We need to continue to support the Oregon DEQ and urge them to stand strong in
this. In December I was alerted to a scheme going on in Oregon concerning
“fill/removal” permits, needed by Bradwood to complete their Coastal Zone Management permit application. Landowners
on the Oregon side of the river received “limited time offers” from Bradwood. “Sign now, and we’ll
give you $1000 just for allowing us to apply for these permits on your property.” You needed to act by Jan. 14th
to qualify. Isn’t it nice to be offered money right during the Christmas season? These guys are all heart. Just last
year, they had their pet Oregon representative, Brad Witt, introduce legislation that would have allowed them to apply for
these “fill/removal” permits, without the landowners’ knowledge or permission. We were able to defeat that
travesty, but it is scheduled to be heard again in special session, coming up next month. We have been in a heated battle in Clatsop County regarding land use laws. We prevailed the first time,
and the changes the commissioners enacted to allow Bradwood Landing to construct their facility were remanded to the County.
Another hearing took place, in which the commissioners refused to allow any new evidence and heavily redacted written testimony
filed by our supporters. Interestingly, Bradwood was allowed to introduce more than 20 pages of new testimony. So of course,
the vote went 4-1 in favor of adopting Bradwood’s “findings”. In the ensuing recall elections, we were successful
at removing Ann Samuelson from office. Now the land use issues are back in the Land Use Board of Appeals. I can’t wait
to see what happens there! During the recall campaigns, we were constantly
identified as “outsiders, extremists, and even anarchists”. Not bad for a bunch of grass-roots grandparents, huh?
Our enemies have enlisted a group called Energy Action Northwest, made up of a PR guy who was employed by Exxon, and the president
of a now bankrupt paper company who was defeated twice in court by some of our attorneys. Their only purpose is to try to
defeat Columbia Riverkeeper because of the strong fight we are putting up against LNG. They are being bank-rolled by the LNG
industry and have a hired gun at a “news” blog in Astoria doing their dirty work. There something so wrong with
a group of Texas energy exploiters calling us locals “outsiders.” Checking
the FERC website, I found that Williams Pipeline has asked FERC to suspend NEPA work on the Sunstone pipeline, which would
have brought domestic gas from Wyoming to the Northwest. It seems that the Ruby pipeline has the inside track to bring that
gas to Malin, Oregon, where it would go directly to California. One thing to be noted, all these pipelines would connect to
LNG terminals, making the possibility of EXPORTING our gas more likely. Keep an eye on this one!!The only beneficiaries of
such a scheme would be the owners of the LNG terminals. There is an argument to be made that this was the plan all along.
We will keep working to defeat LNG on the Columbia, and I will try to
keep all of you informed as to our progress. If you would like to take a more active role, contact me at lcsc1@yahoo.com. And Columbia Riverkeeper can always use contributions. I asked relatives to make donations in my name for Christmas in lieu
of gifts. Go to the Riverkeeper website, www.columbiariverkeeper.org, to see about donating online. Onward, Gayle
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RESOLUTION AGAINST LNG (LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS) TANKERS AND TERMINALS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER WHEREAS, the 2005 Energy Bill which granted FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) the sole and exclusive
authority to site LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) terminals in the United States, over the objections of states’ rights,
and private property rights; WHEREAS, there are plans to site LNG terminals on the Columbia River between its mouth at Astoria, OR and Longview,
WA, as well as at Coos Bay, OR in order to supply California with vast quantities of natural gas after California’s
citizens and politicians united to adamantly oppose LNG in California’s harbors and along their coastlines; WHEREAS, a typical LNG tanker, which is over 3 football fields long and carries 35 million gallons of LNG—which
is the equivalent of 29 billion gallons of natural gas—could explode with the force of 55 Hiroshima bombs, engulfing
nearby communities in an inferno; (1) WHEREAS. LNG import profits could go to terrorists as do some suspect oil import profits, aiding terrorists
who fight our troops, and is not in the best interest of our country by opening our borders to a Trojan Horse in the form
of an LNG tanker; WHEREAS, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on January 8, 2007 which states LNG tankers
are prime terrorist targets and the Coast Guard is stretched too thin to provide adequate protections for those tankers; WHEREAS, LNG on the Columbia River estuary creates a threat to critical salmon habitat and each outgoing LNG
tanker would take 20 million gallons of fresh water with as dead weight to stabilize the empty ship; (2) WHEREAS, due to extreme risk of explosion, the U.S. Coast Guard requires a 1500 WHEREAS, the National Grange, the older farm and rural public interest organization in the United States, vigorously
opposes LNG tankers, terminals and pipelines because they threaten public safety, degrade the environment and obstruct the
movement of farm products down the Columbia River to market; WHEREAS, former Governor Mitt Romney ® has tken a leadership role in fighting LNG, as have other governors across
the nation, but Governor Gregoire, Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell are, as yet, unwilling to oppose LNG on the Columbia
River; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED; that we, the 19
As of December
26, 2007, all comments in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement were due to the FERC. If you did not submit
your comments by the deadline, it’s too late. However, feel free to submit comments on new information filed by NorthernStar
and/or others. Newspaper links:
You can search the archives for articles. www.dailyastorian.com
The Daily Astorian—excellent articles
www.tdn.com
The new format takes some getting used to. You will need to use advanced search options to view most articles www.oregonlive.com
The Oregonian—good editorials www.thecolumbian.com News Articles: Emissions Concerns
Delay LNG Project http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080102.RWESTPAC02/TPStory/Business Canadian Natural
Gas vs LNG LNG Can be Explosive http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/vcs/letters/archives/2008/01/lng_can_be_expl.html New Entries on
FERC http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071219-0194 Comments
by http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071220-3001 Conflict of
Interest request for additional information Appearance of Conflict of Interest
with Natural Resource Group with their representing the FERC on the NorthernStar Bradwood Project and representing Northwest
Natural and TransCanada on the Palomar Pipeline Project which is tied to the Bradwood project. http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071220-5110 WA State Dept
of Natural Resources—Aquatic Resources DEIS Comment submittal http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071219-5122 http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071218-5063 Oregon Department
of Justice and Gov. Kulongoski’s Comments on DEIS http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071218-5055 Wahkiakum
http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071219-5137 US Environmental
Protection Agency http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071221-0006 http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071224-5007 http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20071224-5008
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