VICTORY! Riverkeeper prevails over LNG in important legal battle
Columbia Riverkeeper and partners won another legal challenge to protect salmon and traditional fishing areas in the estuary. The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) ruled in Riverkeeper's favor, rejecting the Clatsop County's approval of the Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and pipeline. LUBA found the LNG terminal violates state and county laws designed to protect endangered salmon and traditional fishing areas. CRK member and long-time commercial fisherman, Jack Marincovich (who fishes out of Clifton Channel, left side of photo), stated, "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."
Oregon Court Rejects Bradwood Landing LNG, Again. 
"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 makesthe 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.
Recent News Headlines
OR land board rejects Bradwood Landing LNG project
Posted Monday, Apr. 12, 2010
By JEFF BARNARD
AP Environmental Writer
GRANTS PASS, Ore. - For the second time, an Oregon state land board has rejected Clatsop County's approval of the Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas terminal near the mouth of the Columbia River.
The state Land Use Board of Appeals on Monday sent the case back to the county to resolve questions over whether the project is too big for the site, and whether enough is being done to protect salmon habitat and traditional fishing areas.
The board found that an area of riverbed slated for dredging to accommodate LNG ships needs to be included in the 100-acre zoning limit for the project, but an area occupied by the gas pipeline can be subtracted, so a new calculation of the project size is needed.
The board also rejected the county's interpretation of the word "protect" when it came to salmon habitat and traditional fishing areas, saying any harm needs to be minimal. However, it left open the possibility of making up for the harm by improving habitat elsewhere
Columbia Riverkeeper Brent VanderHeuven said the latest ruling is a "crushing blow" to project developer Northern Star Natural Gas of Houston, because the county has had two chances to resolve these issues and could not do it.
Although the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the project, the state of Oregon can't issue critical permits until the project complies with the county land use plan, he added.
Northern Star spokesman Joe Desmond said the company remains confident the project will go forward.
He noted that it remains to be seen whether the project size will be excessive, and that they are still waiting for word from federal fisheries authorities over their mitigation plan for salmon habitat.
Clatsop County planning director Ed Wegner said he had not yet read the decision.
The states of Oregon and Washington, Columbia Riverkeepers and the Nez Perce Tribe are appealing the federal approval, arguing the commission made its decision before environmental reviews and state permits were in.
Land Use Board of Appeals sides with LNG opponents
By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals sided with liquefied natural gas opponents today in a longstanding dispute over whether the Bradwood Landing LNG project is too big for its proposed site and whether it will harm fish and traditional fishing grounds.
The decision remands two key land-use decisions back to Clatsop County for the second time. County commissioners decided in 2008 that the Bradwood project was compatible with local land-use laws, but subsequent legal challenges have poked holes in their reasoning.
With today's LUBA decision, project opponents with Columbia Riverkeeper declared victory and cited the decision as a death knell for project developer NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. of Houston.
Joe Desmond, spokesman for NorthernStar, said the decision does not kill the project.
The county can still respond to the remand, Desmond said. Mitigation measures can make up for the project's impacts on salmon, he said, and a recalculation of the LNG terminal facilities will explain how the project meets county standards for the size and scale of development allowed at Bradwood Landing, 25 miles east of Astoria on the Columbia River.
"We've said we'll comply and meet all permit requirements," Desmond said. "In this decision, LUBA has provided some clarity on several issues. They've asked the county to go back and add some clarity, recalculate and come back."
Desmond said he wouldn't know what the company's next move would be until the decision document had been studied carefully.
Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper, said he can't see any way for the company to get around the fact that the LNG project is bigger than the 100 acres allowed for a small- to moderate-scale development at the Bradwood site. Ditto on LUBA's ruling on protecting salmon and fishing grounds.
"Anything more than a trivial impact doesn't protect," said VandenHeuvel. "That's a really difficult standard to meet. Bradwood's saying, 'If we mitigate it somewhere else it's OK.' LUBA totally rejected that. ... The opinion couldn't have been any more well-reasoned or better for us."
VandenHeuvel said he thinks Clatsop County should cancel the last day of its supplemental land-use application hearings for the Bradwood project, scheduled for Friday.
Without an approval on the original land-use application, he said, considering the supplemental applications would be a waste of time.
Look for more coverage in the Tuesday edition of The Daily Astorian.
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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.
