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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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LNG opponents urge Gov. Brown to take a role on gas export terminals

The Columbian
Published:

Portland — In the decade-long fight over proposals to build liquefied natural gas terminals in Oregon, the state leader who has said the least may now matter most:

The state’s stand on such projects could be a make-or-break proposition for the developers of Oregon LNG in Warrenton and Jordan Cove Energy Project in Coos Bay. Brown is the third governor to deal with the LNG question in Oregon, and decisions made on her watch could have far-reaching environmental and economic consequences for the state.

In contrast to Gov. John Kitzhaber’s behind-the-scenes support of LNG, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s full-throated criticism of federal regulators he thought were rubber-stamping the terminals, Brown’s stance is still unclear.

With that in mind, hundreds of LNG opponents swarmed the Capitol steps Tuesday, urging Brown and the state agencies she controls to act against the projects.

They came from around the state, a mixture of coastal and inland, southern and Northwestern. They waved signs, brought out a pipeline made of garbage bags, and dressed in costumes demonizing fossil fuel executives.

They were joined by notable speakers such as environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., State Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, and former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury.

“We respectfully ask Governor Brown and our legislative leaders to fulfill their duty,” Jody McCaffree, a Coos Bay resident who runs Citizens Against LNG, told the crowd, invoking the state’s coastal management plan.

Activists contend the governor should order the state Department of Land Conservation and Development to render a decision soon on whether the Warrenton project fits with the state’s coastal plan.

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That determination is a key for both projects. Clatsop County has already denied zoning for a 41-mile stretch of pipeline that would serve the Oregon LNG terminal, a decision backed by the Land Use Board of Appeals.

The state doesn’t typically substitute its judgment for counties’ in that determination. But the state lands agency has repeatedly delayed opening its review of the Warrenton project, saying it doesn’t have what it needs to make a decision. The indecision leaves residents in limbo, and activists claim the state has everything it needs to say the project doesn’t fit the coastal plan.

In fact, both projects still face a slew of permitting decisions, and opponents of the projects hope Brown will take a different stance than her predecessor.

Gov. John Kitzhaber was politically cautious about the controversial LNG projects. But emails and memos released after his resignation show that he consistently supported the Coos Bay terminal, and the use of natural gas as a “bridge fuel” in transitioning to a lower carbon future. The concept was that the use of more natural gas, which burns far cleaner than coal, would immediately reduce carbon emissions while utilities develop more renewable forms of energy and energy efficiency.

The “bridge fuel” rationale is one that most environmentalists don’t buy, as methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon when leaked during drilling or transportation. They also contend it will build dependency for decades on another dirty fossil fuel.

But Kitzhaber and his advisors had become frustrated by environmentalists’ opposition to virtually every gas project and any compromise approach to global warming. Kitzhaber and his aides believed that approach would effectively leave Oregon out of the discussion, with no influence on the industry.

Margi Hoffman, Kitzhaber’s energy policy adviser, was tasked in 2014 with helping develop a certification standard to ensure that gas sold in or exported from Oregon was more environmentally friendly, with lower leakage rates in production and shipping and less harmful drilling practices.

The emails show Hoffman, along with first lady Cylvia Hayes, were determined to make progress on both a gas standard and the imposition of a carbon tax in Oregon in 2015.

The emails and memos also show Kitzhaber’s staff trying to help him become a more public proponent of the Jordan Cove project.

“Over the past two years you have indicated to the Oregon State Building Trades Council that you do not have a problem with the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal and see natural gas as a bridge fuel to a lower carbon future,” said a briefing memo from staff in early 2014. “The Building Trades have since asked when you would lend public support to the project and weigh in with the federal delegation.”

The memo recommended that Hoffman and another policy advisor, Duke Shephard, meet with officials supportive of the project, including Sen. Arnie Roblan and Rep. Caddy McKeown of Coos Bay, officials from the Port of Coos Bay and Jordan Cove’s developer “to pursue what courses of action may be available as part of the development of that facility.”

Brown retained many of the same advisers when she took over after Kitzhaber’s resignation, including Hoffman. But Chris Pair, a spokesman, said Tuesday that the governor has parted ways with the Kitzhaber approach – at least on developing a certification standard for natural gas.

“Governor Brown’s office is not pursuing a similar policy,” he said.

Brown said in a statement after Tuesday’s rally that she appreciated the concerns being raised and encouraged Oregonians to participate in the public process.

“The governor’s role is limited beyond ensuring that agencies and commissions process applications lawfully,” the statement said. “In this capacity, Governor Brown expects Oregon’s state agencies to follow all laws and regulatory processes to the letter.”

That was not the kind of decisive leadership activists sought.

“If she’s going to take a stand on the climate, this is the key decision,” said Dan Serres, an organizer with the advocacy group Columbia Riverkeeper. “We know she has a lot on her plate, but this is an area where we expect some leadership.”

Lucinda Hites-Clabaugh, one of a group of Forest Grove citizens who blocked a proposed LNG pipeline route through that town, said at Tuesday’s rally that it was critical to remind Brown of her important role in the LNG decisions.

“We’d like to see her use her authority,” said Hites-Clabaugh, a Portland Community College science instructor whose sign said “Gov Kate Protect Our State.” “It’d be a good idea if she did step in.”

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