Bradwood Landing LNG Update

Aside from volcanic eruptions and 100-year floods, most of the major events that shape our environment occur in appeals courts. Pretty much every approval for every aspect of every LNG proposal in Oregon has been appealed, causing years of delays. Sometimes the delays alone are enough to stop a project, especially when they coincide with a radical regime change like the switch from Bush to Obama. That is why it turns out that Clatsop County wasn’t doing Bradwood Landing a favor when they let Bradwood’s application sail through the county approval process in 2008. Now, two years later, an appeals court has returned the decision back to the county for a second time, because, after all this time, no one has successfully defined the terms “small,” “medium,” and “large.” (I blame Starbucks for the confusion.) Laws protecting the Columbia River state that only small to moderate-sized developments can be approved. I mean, obviously a 55-acre development is large — if you’re opposed to it. On the other hand, it could be medium, or even small. Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, for instance, is 2538 acres. The funny thing is, this issue could turn out to be the one that sinks Bradwood Landing for good.