Continued Application Hearings On Bradwood Landing On Hold

From: Clatsop County Department News Release

Friday, April 16, 2010

REVIEW OF BRADWOOD APPLICATIONS ON HOLD
Clatsop County’s review of eight supplemental applications related to the proposed Bradwood Landing LNG project has been put on hold pending the outcome of challenges to the development.

On Friday, Land Use Hearings Officer Peter Livingston concluded an extended public hearing held regarding the eight applications, then announced that his review of and possible ruling on the applications will be continued to an unspecified future date to allow for possible appeals or other actions stemming from this week’s ruling from the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals on the Bradwood project.

Read Full Release

Read Daily Astorian Story

Put The Onus Back On Northern Star

And maybe now it is simply time for Clatsop County Commission and Planning Commission, in support of its/our staff suck it up, get a spine and bring all this misery to a screeching halt by simply insisting that before any more review and approvals of NSNG's Bradwood Landing take place, that all requirements of County, State and Federal agencies be met to the letter of the law and those approvals be laid on the table for a final approval.

This is a project of such a magnitude that "Trust us, we will do the right thing" just should not even be brought into the equation.

With this last LUBA ruling the term "Action Talks, Bullshit Walks" is in full play here and to avoid any more talk or notions of "Recall" and the tearing apart the unity of this community's citizens, it is imperative we take the directorship of this mess out of the hands of Texas based Northern Star Natural Gas and put the onus back on them to satisfy us.

Online Clatsop County Voters Pamphlet Now Available

Read All The Candidates Information At Your Leisure

From Columbia Riverkeeper:Oregon LUBA Rejects Clatsop County's Approval Of Bradwood Landing Again!!!

For Immediate Release. April 12, 2010.

Contact: Brett VandenHeuvel, Director, Columbia Riverkeeper (503) 348-2436
Dan Serres, Conservation Director, Columbia Riverkeeper (503) 890-2441

Oregon Court Rejects Bradwood Landing LNG, Again

Read The Official LUBA Ruling Here

The Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) rejected Clatsop County’s approval of the Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Columbia River.

LUBA found the LNG terminal violates state and county laws designed to protect endangered salmon and traditional fishing areas.

“This is a crushing defeat for Bradwood Landing. With the legal requirement to protect endangered salmon and traditional fishing areas, I can’t conceive of a way this LNG project moves forward,” stated Brett VandenHeuvel, Director of Columbia Riverkeeper, who argued the case to LUBA. “This is the second time we’ve won on these issues. Bradwood has run out of options.”

Long-time Columbia River commercial fisherman, Jack Marincovich stated, "No matter what Bradwood says, this project will harm salmon and set us back as fishermen. It's good to see the court stepping forward to protect salmon and fishermen."

“This is an important victory over LNG on the Columbia River. It not only makes the Bradwood project less viable, but it also sends a message to the other proposed LNG projects: destroying salmon habitat and the livelihoods that depend on them will be rejected,” stated Brian Pasko, Director of the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club.

In a concurring opinion LUBA stated, “the county must ensure that any damage to those resources will be no more than de minimis. In other words, any such damage must be trivial.” Bradwood Landing’s proposal to dredge 46 acres of critical salmon habitat

In addition, LUBA rejected Clatsop County’s decision that the LNG terminal was “small to moderate” in scale, as required by county law to protect the Bradwood area of the estuary.

“The Commissioners made a mockery out of county law. The unprecedented damage caused by the LNG terminal is far beyond small to medium,” stated Astoria resident and retired school librarian, Cheryl Johnson. LUBA found that the county erred by failing to consider the dredging area and construction areas. The county lost on this same issue before LUBA in 2008.

Petitioners include Columbia Riverkeeper, Columbia River Business Alliance, Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the Columbia River Clean Energy Coalition. After prevailing on the same claims in 2008, this is the second victory for petitioners. Houston-based NorthernStar Natural Gas proposed the Bradwood Landing LNG terminal, located 20 miles upstream from Astoria, Oregon, in 2005. Legal challenges and the inability to obtain needed state permits have significantly delayed the project.

Brett VandenHeuvel of Columbia Riverkeeper and Jan Wilson of the Western Environmental Law Center represented the successful petitioners.