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| 5/4/2010 5:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article
Comment on this article |  | | Bradwood Landing Statement | (Bradwood Landing Statement)
LNG: TIMELINESummer 2004, a liquefied natural gas terminal is proposed for Port Westward in Columbia County. The project was later abandoned.
November 2004, Port of Astoria enters into lease with Calpine Corp. for land on the Skipanon in Warrenton after minimal public notification.
February 2005, NorthernStar Natural Gas announces intention to build Bradwood Landing project.
August 2006, Clatsop County accuses Bradwood of trying to bypass the local land-use permitting process.
December 2006, NorthernStar submits land-use application to Clatsop County.
March 2008, Clatsop County Commission votes 4-1 to approve the Bradwood Landing land-use application. Commissioner Sam Patrick dissents.
September 2008, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission votes 4-1 to approve the Bradwood project, with 109 conditions, including an assurance that it won't harm salmon. The lone dissenter, Jon Wellinghoff, issues a scathing rebuttal of the other commissioners' views. The Columbia River Treaty tribes and Columbia Riverkeeper announce plans to appeal.
September 2008, In a public referendum on a narrow pipeline issue, widely viewed as a poll on LNG, Clatsop County residents overwhelmingly vote to ban pipelines in public lands by a 2-1 margin.
September 2008, National Marine Fisheries Service and the Washington Department of Ecology state publicly that the FERC approval was premature. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski says the feds need to slow down.
October 2008, U.S. Rep. David Wu comes out against the project, saying the pipeline vote is a clear message on how people feel.
December 2009, Palomar Gas Transmission files a request to build a gas pipeline through Oregon.
January 2009, The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals overturns Clatsop County's zoning approval of the project, remanding it back for a second look at the size of the project and whether enough is being done to protect salmon.
February 2009, The state Department of Environmental Quality says it is suspending work on clean air and clean water permit applications.
March 2009, NMFS goes to court to claim FERC overstepped its authority in prematurely approving the Bradwood project.
April 2009, The U.S. Coast Guard says the three proposed LNG terminals in Oregon could be workable if conditions are met.
May 2009, The U.S. Coast Guard warns about potential problems with LNG tankers' ballast systems, and the dangers to juvenile fish.
June 2009, Clatsop County Planning Commission votes to recommend approval of the zone change for the Bradwood pipeline.
July 2009, Clatsop County commissioners vote 4-1 on the zone change approval for the Bradwood pipeline, prompting the first chants of "recall." Dirk Rohne is the lone dissenter.
August 2009, NMFS says it may take longer than usual to review with Bradwood application because the project is so large and complex.
September 2009, LNG opponents say they will appeal the county's land-use approval to LUBA.
September 2009, Oregon DEQ and NMFS seek an independent review of whether the project meets clean water and Endangered Species Act standards.
October 2009, A Clatsop County recall campaign targeting commissioners who voted for the LNG plant succeeds in removing Commissioner Ann Samuelson. Commissioner Jeff Hazen survives the challenge.
November 2009, National Marine Fisheries Service weighs in with questions, saying there are 159 gaps that need to be filled before it can begin the biological opinion on the Bradwood project.
December 2009, A Clatsop County recall campaign against county Commisisoner Patricia Roberts fails.
December 2009, FERC approves the Jordan Cove LNG terminal at Coos Bay, renewing questions about how many terminals are needed.
January 2010, the federal National Marine Fisheries Service says it will go ahead with a review of the project's Endangered Species Acts consultation despite not having all the requested information.
January 2010, Jon Wellinghoff, the lone dissenting vote in the 4-1 FERC decision, comes to Portland having been named chairman of FERC after President Obama was elected. He speaks about his concerns about the projects.
February 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice withdraws the NMFS appeal of the Bradwood project.
February 2010, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality says it has concerns about the implications for the water quality permit, noting that Bradwood has failed to provide modeling details as requested.
March 2010, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley try again to wrestle control for LNG terminals from the feds to the states; Merkley reiterates his opposition to LNG terminals on the Columbia during a town hall meeting in Seaside.
March 2010, the National Marine Fisheries Service's Oregon State Habitat Office seeks an extension until December to complete a biological opinion on salmon issues.
April 2010, the state Land Use Board of Appeals remands the Bradwood application back to Clatsop County to rule again on the size of the project and whether enough will be done to protect salmon.
May 2010, Clatsop County announces it will not be joining NorthernStar in appealing the latest state issue.
May 2010, Northern Star announces it is suspending its application. Opponents celebrate.
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Opponents celebrate Bradwood LNG project suspension
By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian
Updated 6:06 p.m.
NorthernStar Natural Gas has suspended its Bradwood Landing liquified natural gas import terminal after five years of development efforts.
In a news release sent Tuesday, company president Paul Soanes said "extended delays in the processing of state and federal permits for Bradwood Landing and the difficult investment environment have forced us to suspend development."
"In particular, the challenging regulatory environment gives investors pause," he said.
The project, proposed for a site 25 miles east of Astoria on the Columbia River, included a 36.3-mile pipeline extending from the terminal to an interstate gas pipeline near Kelso, Wash. Another pipeline proposed by Northwest Natural and TransCanada would have connected the Bradwood facility to a natural gas hub in Molalla.
Houston-based NorthernStar has leaped the most regulatory hurdles of the three LNG terminals proposed in Oregon. But a legal challenge from the state of Oregon and conflicts with Clatsop County's local land-use laws and state water-quality regulations have stalled the company's progress and raised questions about the viability of the project.
The proposed $650 million LNG facility initially received approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory?Commission and the Clatsop County Commission in 2008. But those approvals have been appealed. Other permits needed by the company to begin construction - including a biological opinion from National Marine Fisheries Service on impacts to threatened and endangered salmon and authorizations from Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for air and water emissions - have been slow to materialize.
The chief LNG opponent group, Columbia Riverkeeper, has protested the development every step of the way and recently succeeded in stalling the local land-use approval a second time with a successful challenge to the?Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
Last month, LUBA?kicked two issues back to the Clatsop County regarding the size and scale of the facility and its plans to protect salmon and traditional fishing grounds. Research shows the Bradwood site is a popular place for juvenile salmon to feed as they migrate out of the Columbia River to the ocean.
NorthernStar had launched a $59 million voluntary, yet "legally binding," Salmon Enhancement Initiative in conjunction with the project.
Soanes said the project would have created hundreds of jobs and provided a new source of energy that would have stabilized costs for thousands of businesses in the region.
"While we're disappointed, we are truly grateful for the tremendous support the project received from citizens in Clatsop County and Oregon's business and labor communities," Soanes said.
NorthernStar listed project supporters including the Oregon AFL-CIO, the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, the Oregon Machinists Council, the Washington Machinists Council, Carpenters Local 1707, the International Longshore Workers' Union and the Steamship Operators Association.
In Astoria, cell phones of project opponents were ringing off the hook as the news of the suspension came in Tuesday afternoon.
"Hallelujah," said project opponent and Brownsmead resident Ted Messing. "Thank you to the citizens of the Lower Columbia on behalf of the salmon."
Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director for Columbia Riverkeeper, said the suspension is long overdue.
"This is a huge victory for Oregonians," he said. "There's been incredible statewide opposition for years. ... This project just does not make sense. It never did."
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