Blog post by Dan Serres, Riverkeeper’s Conservation Director—
On a picture-perfect day at the end of the Fourth of July weekend, 25 Oregonians from Portland, Elsie, Astoria, and Jewell met up to learn about the proposed Oregon LNG pipeline, a controversial and destructive piece of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export puzzle. If approved by the federal government and the state of Oregon, Oregon LNG’s proposed 36-inch,high-pressure, non-odorized pipeline would ship natural gas to a proposed terminal in Warrenton, Oregon for export to high-priced overseas markets.
After a brief introduction and discussion at the Elderberry Inn, the group caravanned to a viewpoint on forestland owned by the Oregon Department of Forestry. The area is the location of streams and a spring that provides water for the homes below, including the home and farm of Patrick Dooney and his family. Next, the Dooney family graciously invited our group to walk along the proposed pipeline route through their property. Coming within roughly 100 feet of the Dooney home, the proposed Oregon LNG pipeline would disrupt the water supply of the Dooney family and its neighbors. Nearby, we walked down to the Nehalem River as it was explained how a proposed horizontal direction drill for the pipeline could impact the Nehalem River and nearby land.
To end the day, Pearl Rasmussen, with the North Coast Forest Coalition, led the group to a beautiful patch of state-owned forest near the pipeline route. There, we ate lunch as Pearl described the impact of the proposed pipeline on state-managed forest lands. A new pipeline and right-of-way would exacerbate forest fire risks for residents of Clatsop County and western Washington County.
You can read the Daily Astorian’s coverage of the July 7th pipeline tour — “LNG pipeline raises red flags: fire safety and lost land” — here.
Oregon LNG is pushing hard to gain approvals for its LNG export scheme. Riverkeeper will continue to work with people throughout Oregon to put a stop to LNG exports.
To get involved in the fight to protect the Columbia River from dangerous, dirty LNG projects, contact Dan at dan@columbiariverkeeper.org.
