After five years of pushing the Bradwood LNG project on the Columbia River, NorthernStar Natural Gas has made little progress in gaining necessary local and state permits. With only a FERC permit containing 109 conditions, the company recently took another hit when the Oregon Court rejected the Bradwood LNG application. On April 13th the Land Use Board of Appeals agreed with project opponents that Bradwood is bigger than supporters suggest and LUBA wasn’t satisfied with certain fishing protections (more here).
This leaves NW Natural in the odd position of pushing the Palomar pipeline with no gas source. The company is clearly gambling with the increasingly unlikely LNG hook up, as statewide opposition to LNG continues to successfully push back development.
NW Natural’s Palomar project relies on a Columbia River LNG terminal
According to NW Natural’s annual report,
“The east segment would extend approximately 111 miles west from an interconnection with GTN’s existing interstate transmission mainline near Maupin, Oregon to an interconnection with NW Natural’s gas distribution system near Molalla, Oregon. The west segment would then extend approximately 106 miles further west to other potential additional interconnections including a possible connection to one of the two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals proposed to be built on the Columbia River.”
“An inability to obtain the necessary state permits, or arrange for sufficient supplier commitments could impact the viability of an LNG terminal on the Columbia river and may mean that we would not proceed with the western portion of Palomar.One or more of these events may mean that our equity investments could become impaired and such impairment could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.” NW Natural 10-K, 2/26/2010
Its time NW Natural give up on Palomar. Lets help them make that decision by attending their annual Shareholders Meeting on May 27th. Not a shareholder? You are still invited to join hundreds of other NW Natural ratepayers and landowners threatened by the company’s pipeline plans.
