Photo: The Skipanon Peninsula, proposed site of the Oregon LNG terminal, Oct. 2009
I have decided to remove the Oregon LNG liquefied natural gas terminal from my list of looming environmental disasters. It’s still a terrible idea, but I just don’t see any way that it’s really going to happen.
Some of my reasons:
1. The bankruptcy of Bradwood Landing LNG. You might think the loss of its biggest rival would be good news for Oregon LNG, but like Bradwood, Oregon LNG is backed by investment bankers, and they like a good, safe investments. When an almost identical project goes bankrupt, red lights start flashing.
2. In the May election, three non-incumbents were elected to the five-person Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, and all three are opposed to LNG, including one candidate who was a high-profile anti-LNG activist before running.
3. Peter Hansen is an ass. Hansen is the CEO of the project as well as its main spokesperson (which looks kind of sketchy right there), and he’s managed to piss off pretty much everyone. He’s also stopped speaking to the Daily Astorian.
4. Oregon LNG still doesn’t have it’s FERC certificate, and the Bush era of rubber stamping these things is over.
5. Oregon LNG relies on an extremely controversial pipeline that will be causing headaches for years to come. I just don’t think it has the legs to weather both local opposition to the terminal and something like 200 separate eminent domain court battles.
6. The anti-LNG coalition is focused, experienced and emboldened.
For these reasons I have decided to stop obsessing on Astoria politics and instead to dedicate my neurotic energy to the oil spill in the Gulf.
You do that. No need to obsess over here in Clatsop Co. Elections can't be voided, especially when a dirty DOJ lawyer has his filthy paws in elections across the state. Bradwood can't be bought, thats not why all of their court appeals are still in place and going through, no sireee. I mean, after all, the anti-job, anti-energy, anti-hope for a decent economy folks already had their party! The fat lady sang at the party, I heard her! So what if deep water drilling is proving to be pretty damn difficult, drilling for shale ng is contaminating ground water, the renewables are 25 years out from being sustainable and taking on the majority of the grid. You are right, LNG, who needs it when we have the option of becoming wards of the state and Oregon can become the first statewide national park?
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