Photo by Martin Evans
Today, approximately 300 people joined together outside the Oregon Convention Center to rally against the Palomar Pipeline at the NW Natural Annual Shareholder meeting. Rally participants were protesting a proposed 217-mile pipeline that would have connected the proposed Bradwood Landing LNG terminal on the Columbia River to the existing TransCanada pipeline in eastern Oregon. The crowd was made up of many impacted landowners, as well as people who have stated concerns about the impacts from the pipeline on Mt. Hood National Forest. Using colorful flags to represent three of the most prevalent reasons for opposing LNG, protestors held images of salmon, forests and farms. At a point when the shareholders were entering the meeting, a fabric “pipeline” dramatically snaked through the crowd pretending to knock down the “Oregon Values” flags.
Inside the Shareholders Meeting attendees were met with vague answers and misleading information about the NorthernStar Natural Gas bankruptcy and how that would affect shareholder investments. Greg Kantor, CEO of NW Natural, stated that the $17.2 million in debt owed to Palomar by NorthernStar Natural Gas would be “covered.” This gave cause for one participant in the meeting to stand and voice concerns about the reality of the impacts of NorthernStar’s Bankruptcy and the Palomar Pipeline. Olivia Schmidt, Community Organizer for the Anti-LNG Coalition and an invited guest of a shareholder in the meeting, stood and began asking questions.
“How is it possible that the $17 Million owed by NorthernStar will be repaid when we see from the bankruptcy filings that there are less than $1 Million in assets to liquidate to close that gap?” Schmidt continued to press on the issue, raising concerns about additional ambiguities in the stated plans of the company. “You say that you will continue permitting for the entire Palomar Pipeline despite the absence of the Bradwood Landing LNG terminal; does that mean that your pipeline will be re-routed to connect to the proposed Oregon LNG terminal?”
When Kantor gave Schmidt the option of either silencing herself and sitting down or leaving the room she chose to depart the meeting stating “I can only listen to so much dishonesty from this company and I’ve had my fill. There are 250 protestors outside this meeting demanding the cancelation of Palomar Pipeline because of the harm it will cause to Oregon families, our economy and Mt. Hood. You as shareholders are responsible for holding this company accountable.” She left the meeting willingly, but was escorted by 5 security personnel.
