Legislators back off LNG while activists keep heat on
Obama administration applies scrutiny to gas projects
Chase Allgood / News-Times
Even as state leaders quiet their opposition to installing liquefied natural gas terminals in Oregon, citizen activists are keeping the topic alive, whether by raising thousands of dollars for the cause at vineyard auctions, or bringing the protest to the parking lot of the Ballad Towne Shopping Center.
Last Saturday, 250 people packed into Montinore Vineyards, just south of Forest Grove. to sip wine, mingle with former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and raise money for the fight against liquefied natural gas.
A lot of money.
Allen Neuringer said the event raised more than $16,000, most of it through a silent auction of local art and goodies.
Neuringer, a retired Reed College professor who lives in Gales Creek, has been active in the effort to stop a trio of proposed LNG terminals in Oregon that would import super-cool gas from overseas.
Over the past four years, the fight’s burbled up from a smattering of local concerned citizens, into a real movement, pushing elected officials to take sides.
But in the most recent legislative session, neither the companies hoping to build LNG terminals in Oregon, nor the activists opposed to the LNG developments came out ahead.
The Oregon House supported a bill that activists said was a fast-track for LNG developers (but the Senate quashed it). At the same time, the Senate’s efforts to push through a bill that the activists supported fizzled in the house.
State Rep. Tina Kotek , D-Portland, recently told the News-Times she was doubting whether the state legislature has much of a role to play in the LNG debate, acknowledging that President Obama’s decision to change the leadership of the federal agency that oversees energy projects reduced the likelihood of projects moving forward.
But Dan Serres, with Columbia Riverkeeper an environmental group that’s been fighting LNG development, said the state still has a role to play.
“Over the next several years the ball is going to be in the court of the state of Oregon,” Serres said. “They have all of the authority that they need to kill all of these projects.”
Three terminals are proposed for Oregon, Bradwood Landing and Oregon LNG, both in Clatsop County, and Jordan Cove, near Coos Bay.
“We're seeing all three terminals trying to convince the state of Oregon that they're a good idea,” Serres said.
If the Saturday event in Forest Grove was any indication, the movement against LNG is still thriving.
“Lots more people showed up this year, so I think we're broadening the base there,” said Susan Vosburg, who helped organize the event.
LNG is driving politics in Clatsop County, and State Sen. Betsy Johnson has picked up the fight, but Vosburg acknowledged it’s been difficult to connect with Portland voters.
“I just don't think people make the connection that it's a statewide issue,” Vosburg said. “But they really should.”