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Energy:
Stopping Liquefied Natural Gas terminals and pipelines

Our Position: support
Bill Number: HB 2015
Sponsor: Representative Chuck Riley and many others
Legislative Session: 2009

Status

HB 2015 was introduced in early March and was assigned to the House Committee on Sustainability and Economic Development. Unfortunately, the chair of the committee seemed to have little patience for the issue and all the hard work that conservation groups, farm organizations and state agency personnel had put into crafting a good bill. After one public hearing, the chair declined to hold a committee vote before a late April deadline, which effectively killed the bill for the session.

At the same time, the committee decided to move forward with another bill related to LNG that the Sierra Club opposed, HB 3058. This bill was introduced at the request of NorthernStar Natural Gas, the company planning to build one of the Columbia River LNG terminals. It would change the definition of the word 'applicant' for the purposes of applying for state wetland development permits on private land. This change in law would essentially 'fast-track' the LNG pipeline permitting process and change the rules in favor of LNG companies. This bill passed in a close vote of the House of Representatives, but has been stalled in the Senate Rules Committee, which has so far declined to hold a hearing on it. HB 3058 is opposed by the Sierra Club, the Yamill and Marion County Farm Bureaus, and the Oregon Small Woodlands Association.

Action Needed

More information

Background

Oregon is currently threatened by three proposed Liquefied Natural Gas terminals and hundreds of miles of pipelines that would cut across farms, forests, rivers and public lands. Imported from places like Russia and the Middle East, liquefied natural gas emits 20-30% more global warming pollution than domestic sources of natural gas. At a time when Oregon and the nation are grappling with how to reduce our dependence on foreign fossil fuels obtained in hostile or unstable regions of the world, it makes no sense to build LNG import terminals in our state and deepen our dependence on another yet another foreign fossil fuel. LNG will not help us meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals and it will subject Oregonians to price volatility associated with international competition for limited fossil fuels from unstable areas of the world. 

In 2005, the federal government changed the playing field for the siting of LNG terminals and pipelines and put Oregon and its citizens at a disadvantage. Since then, the federal government and LNG companies have put their plans on the fast track in order to take advantage of loose regulations before public opposition can build. But Oregon citizens, businesses and communities have raised numerous legitimate concerns over the threats that LNG poses to Oregon: from degradation of our rivers and coastal areas, to damage to public lands such as the Mt. Hood National Forest where a 47 mile long-clearcut across old growth forests and Wild and Scenic Rivers would be created for the Palomar gas pipeline; and from concerns over the use of eminent domain to take take farm and forestland out of production, to the impacts of climate change brought on by a deepened dependence on polluting fossil fuels.

This legislative session, Oregon had an opportunity to reassert its authority to protect our natural resources, and our land, water and climate in the interest of all Oregonians by passing HB 2015, but failed to do so.