APRIL 1st HEARING CANCELLED!
Riverkeeper just confirmed that because the Columbia County Planning Commission was going to be unable to achieve a quorum, the meeting tonight has been cancelled. There will be no public hearing in St. Helens tonight about the proposed application to rezone over 900 acres at Port Westward. The application was controversial because of its likely link to Kinder Morgan's coal export proposal, which would involve over a dozen coal trains each day through Portland and Columbia County.
According to the announcement on the County website the new date for this meeting is May 6th at or after 6:30 PM in the District Court Room, second floor of the Columbia County Courthouse.
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For over a year, the coal industry has pushed for access to the Port Westward area near Clatskanie for two proposals to export coal. This week, as reported by the Oregonian, the Port of St. Helens is seeking to convert over 900 acres of agricultural land for use as a potential coal pile for Kinder Morgan's export proposal. Kinder Morgan's coal export proposal would ship up to 30 million tons of coal each year to Asia, necessitating at least 12 mile-long coal trains each day through Portland and Columbia County. In its application to Columbia County, the Port is ignoring the impacts of coal exports on people who live near the proposed terminal and the rail line.
Riverkeeper will be hosting an informational meeting this Friday evening (6pm) at Fultano's Pizza in Scappoose, Oregon. Come learn more about the issue and how to testify at the upcoming hearing on April 1st.
