Proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Coal Plants Threaten Columbia Estuary!

NorthernStar Natural Gas is a Texas based energy speculator that has proposed a plan to build what would be the first LNG import and storage terminal on the west coast United States at Bradwood, Oregon, which is about a half hour east of Astoria. The facility would import more LNG than was imported into the entire United States in 2006 and more than double the average amount of gas currently used in Oregon.

What is Proposed?

Energy speculators have plans for at least four major new fossil fuel facilities in the Columbia River Estuary that threaten the Estuary habitats that are critical for salmon and a broad diversity of native fish, wildlife, birds and plants. The serious pollution and public safety impacts these facilities would have also make these projects a serious threat for communities around the Columbia Estuary. Read below to find out more about each of these high-impact facilities and how you can take action to help us protect the Columbia River Estuary from these projects.

 

 

NorthernStar LNG terminal at Bradwood, Oregon

NorthernStar Natural Gas is a Texas based energy speculator that has proposed a plan to build what would be the first LNG import and storage terminal on the west coast United States at Bradwood, Oregon, which is about a half hour east of Astoria. The facility would import more LNG than was imported into the entire United States in 2006 and more than double the average amount of gas currently used in Oregon. The project would dredge over 700,000 cubic feet of sediment from the Columbia River, putting a large hole in the River right at the head of Clifton channel, a critical salmon rearing, migration and fishing area. The project would also remove over a billion gallons of Columbia River water (along with thousands of juvenile salmon) a year as dead weight in the ballast tanks of outgoing LNG tankers.

The project is intended to send natural gas to California to meet the large market demand there. California has rejected numerous plans for LNG terminals because of the safety, environmental and economic threats of LNG. While NorthernStar has denied it was trying to use the Columbia Estuary as a back door to send California gas, NW Natural, who NorthernStar has contracted with on this project, has now proposed a more than 200 mile-long pipeline that would take NorthernStar’s gas across literally thousands of wetlands and other key habitats and over the Cascades Range to Madras, Oregon where it would connect with the California-bound TransCanada pipeline. Click here for more information about the NorthernStar LNG project and click here for a document that will help you separate NorthernStar’s public relations fictions from the facts.

Because LNG is highly flammable a terrorist attack on an LNG tanker could create a fireball that is over ½ mile wide and burn for 20 minutes or more according to the U.S. Sandia National Labs. If the gas plume drifted before it ignited, the Sandia National Labs report that the blast could extend more than 1.5 miles from the LNG tanker. Click here to see a map of the fire risk zone for the Astoria/Warrenton area or for the Bradwood/Puget Island area.

LNG is methane gas (aka “natural gas”) that has been cooled to minus 260 degrees to facilitate shipping from the Middle East, Russia and other countries where it is produced. It has much higher contaminant levels that domestically produced natural gas and has a carbon impact that is similar to newer coal technologies, given the long distances that LNG travels and the gasification and re-gasification processes.

PROJECT STATUS: The project is currently being reviewed by Clatsop County who is considering NorthernStar’s request to change existing land use laws to allow the project. The project will also need to get state water pollution and air pollution permits from the State of Oregon and this is we need Governor Kulongoski to oppose this project and direct State agencies not to approve the proposed project permits.

TAKE ACTION: Please contact Governor Ted Kulongoski and ask him to oppose the proposed Northern Star LNG projects today.

Governor Kulongoski
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, Oregon 97301-4047
PHONE Governor's Message Line 503.378.4582
FAX 503.378.6827

For email visit: http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/contact_us.shtml

Leucadia National’s (“Oregon LNG”) terminal at Warrenton, Oregon

New York City investors at Leucadia National formed “Oregon LNG” and have proposed to build a project that is similar to NorthernStar’s project. It would similarly degrade key salmon rearing and migration habitats and open the door to further industrialization of the Columbia Estuary. It would pose similar risks to the people of Warrenton who would have to live in the shadow of fear from the high risk LNG tankers and gas storage tanks.

As a part of this project Leucadia has also proposed a major new gas pipeline across the coast range to Molalla, Oregon. We expect that this pipeline will also be extended to Madras, Or to connect to the California bound TransCanada pipeline.

PROJECT STATUS: This project has already received land use approval from the City of Warrenton and has submitted a project application to FERC. The Port of Astoria also approved a lease for the project which would be located on Port land despite the fact the project would provide few jobs and could undermine commercial and sport fishing and threaten tourism. The next step will be FERC’s preparation of a draft Environmental Impact Statement. The project will also seek to obtain water and air pollution permits from the State of Oregon and a determination as to whether the project complies with the Coastal Zone Management Act.

TAKE ACTION: Contact Governor Kulongoski at the contact information above and ask him to oppose this project and direct state agencies not to approve the required water and air pollution permits and the water rights that Oregon LNG is seeking.

Contact Brent Foster at brentfoster@gorge.net for sample comments, for more information or to get involved!

 

 

Kalama Coal Plant

Columbia Riverkeeper won a major victory against global warming and dirty air and water by defeating a proposed coal-fired power plant at Kalama, Washington, called the “Pacific Mountain Energy Center.” CRK partnered with our friends at Willapa Hills Audubon Society, Rosemere Neighborhood Association, and Northwest Energy Coalition to oppose the coal plant. The proposed power plant was slated to import 2.5 million tons of coal each year, emit thousand of tons of greenhouse gases, withdraw 8.4 million gallons of water from the Columbia River each day, and discharge millions of gallons of heated wastewater containing toxic pollutants back to the river each day.

Our victory came after two years of legal wrangling and participating in hearings before EFSEC, as well as organizing citizens to fight dirty coal. The Washington Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSEC) rejected the proposed coal-fueled power plant in Kalama because it failed to meet standards for greenhouse gases that cause global warming and harm human health. Read EFSEC’s decision here. Even though the applicant, Energy Northwest, promised it would capture (or “sequester”) the carbon emissions, when the time came to develop a sequestration plan, Energy Northwest admitted it did not have a plan in place and did not expect to capture the carbon in the foreseeable future. EFSEC left the door open for Energy Northwest to come back with a sequestration plan in the future, but a coal plant is unlikely after they admitted they could not produce a legitimate plan. Because Energy Northwest is a collection of Public Utility Districts, pursuing this ill-advised project is huge waste of tax-payer money. See CRK Opinion piece in the Columbian here.

A critical component of this victory was CRK’s challenge to ensure that the project complied with local land use rules designed to protect areas deemed “critical” for salmon and floodplain protection. While this lawsuit was pending, the State of Washington passed legislation that greatly limited the carbon emissions from power plants.

CRK’s legal staff was assisted by excellent help from attorneys Aubrey Baldwin at PEAC, Keith Hirokawa, and Peggy Hennessey.

CRK recognizes that clean, renewable energy is critical to the health of the Columbia River ecosystem and the people who depend on it. We are committed to fighting misguided reliance on fossil fuel, as shown by our work on coal plants and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).

Port Westward Coal Power Plant near Clatskanie, Oregon

Westward Energy LLC has submitted an application to construct a 520 MW Intergrated Gas Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant called the “Lower Columbia Clean Energy Center” on the banks of the Columbia River near Clatskanie, Oregon. IGCC burns gas derived from coal or petroleum coke, which is a petroleum refinery waste product. Despite its clever name, the “Clean Energy Center” will utilize dirty coal or petroleum coke to be the greatest new air and water polluter Oregon has seen in decades.

This new polluter would also suck 8.9 million gallons of water from the Columbia River each day, and discharge hundreds of millions of gallons of hot and toxic water water back to the river. Westward Energy LLC has not released projected air emissions data. But, we expect pollution levels similar to the proposed IGCC plant in Kalama - 4,400,000 tons of the global warming gas carbon dioxide per year, which is equivalent to more than 750,000 new cars on the road. In addition, it would spew thousands of pounds of toxic pollutants, including mercury and cyanide, into the air each year.

TAKE ACTION: Call or write to the Oregon Department of Energy to tell them that you oppose a new power plant on the Columbia River. Contact: Adam Bless, Oregon Department of Energy. Phone: 503 378 4040, Email:adam.bless@state.or.us, Mail: 625 Marion St. NE, Salem, OR 97301-3737.

Call or write Governor Kulongoski. Tell him that a new fossil fuel burning power plant is inconsistent with his stated greenhouse gas reduction goals for Oregon. Phone: 503-986-6525, Email: jo.l.bell@state.or.us, Mail: Governor's Natural Resources Office, 900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301