The proposed Palomar Pipeline impacts thousands of Oregonians and our coalition represents a diverse set of people. Each month we will introduce one of the many people who has taken a stand against the Palomar Pipeline and learn more about why they have committed their time to protecting Oregon from a destructive, unnecessary project.

We caught up with John, AKA Smerf, about a year ago at one of the Maupin public meetings for the Palomar Pipeline. Not only is John one of the premiere flyfishing guides on one of the premiere rivers in the country, but he also has serious concerns about the impacts that the Palomar Pipeline would have on the Deschutes River and the community of Maupin. Being a member of Maupin’s city council means that John’s concerns go beyond just his favorite fishing spots; he’s also wondering what it means for his community to have a 36”, high-pressured gas pipeline going down Main Street.

When the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) raised concerns to Palomar about the proposed crossing of the Wild & Scenic Deschutes River at a point on the river that is popular for rafting and fishing, Palomar came back with an alternative; Main St., Maupin. Risk a community’s safety or the river that the community is culturally and economically connected to? We think that’s a question nobody should be forced to answer for development that has so much opposition.

Since 1985, John has operated the Deschutes Canyon Fly Shop. Next time you’re driving out to the Wild & Scenic Deschutes River, stop in and thank John for standing up for Oregon’s rivers. He might even give you some of those coveted fishing tips.

We asked him a couple questions to get some thoughts from one of Palomar’s many opponents:

Why do you oppose LNG development in Oregon?
For starters, there is no genuine need for foreign liquefied natural gas in Oregon. In a 2008 report, the Oregon Department of Energy found that imported LNG was not necessary to meet Oregon’s natural gas needs, and would likely cost ’substantially more’ than domestic sources of natural gas.

At a time when affordable domestic supplies of natural gas are becoming more available to Northwest markets and there is an increasing desire for energy independence in the U.S., it simply does not make sense to invest in expensive foreign fossil fuels like LNG. By requiring proof of a demonstrated need for LNG in Oregon, we should not needlessly tie ourselves to 30 more years of dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Further, LNG terminals and pipelines will have an irreversible and detrimental impact on Oregon’s rivers and streams, fisheries, farmland and forests.

What concerns do you have about the threats posed by the Palomar Pipeline?
It is very obvious that any of the Palomar Pipeline projects will have a negative impact on our quality of life. Energy speculators from Texas, New York and California want to make Oregon the back door for the very type of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminals that California itself won’t allow. Why should Oregonians and Oregon’s treasured rivers, Wet Lands, and Protected Lands, be put at risk for California Gas? California’s Lieutenant Governor has openly said California doesn’t need to approve any LNG terminals because if they need the gas they can just get it from Oregon, but does Oregon want to be known as host to the industries that are too risky for California?

We need to protect our quality of life, clean water, and healthy rivers in Oregon and say no to LNG which has up to a 40% higher carbon impact than domestic natural gas and would directly undermine Oregon efforts to fight global warming.

When was the moment you knew you wanted to get involved in the resistance?
After the first meeting they held here in Maupin, when the project was first being introduced.

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Outdoor enthusiast clubs, civic groups, unions, and industry groups all have reasons to be involved in the anti-LNG movement. Are you involved in any organization that may be willing to take a stand? Perhaps your hiking club, or women’s group. Let us know any organizations you think should hear about LNG? Email oliviariver@gmail.com and we’ll find a way to plug them into the movement.

***For campaign press release click here***

Yesterday, the Palomar Pipeline project submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission essentially pulling their application and indicating that the pipeline in its entirety is on indefinite delay. This is a great victory for the Hey NW Natural campaign and all coalition partners calling for a complete cancelation of the Palomar Pipeline project.

The letter said,

“This is to advise FERC that our project plan to transport gas from Bradwood Landing now makes no sense because NorthernStar is bankrupt.  Therefore, our pipeline, if built, will be empty.  Not a good plan.  Palomar continues to seek additional commercial underpinning for the project, which means that we are talking to Oregon LNG about being their pipeline, but we’re not so sure that project is going to fly.  We already lost $17,200,000 on Bradwood so we’re a little gun shy.

As much as we hate to say it, FERC might as well stop reviewing our project. We may amend our application if we can find someone to put gas in our pipeline.  In the meantime, we will continue to go through the motions so we can pretend our project isn’t dead.”

OK, so maybe those weren’t the exact words. But, the meaning of the letter is essentially the same. (Read their exact language at the bottom of this post).

Now that Bradwood LNG is off the table after filing for bankruptcy, there is no source of gas for the Palomar Piplein the project is desperate for additional financial backing. The project backers, NW Natural and TransCanada, plan to amend its application to make significant changes to the pipeline project, and are suspending the premitting and surveying process. This comes hand in hand with the US Forest Service ceasing its processing of Palomar’s application through Mt. Hood National Forest.

This is a huge victory for us, and a huge blow to Palomar. We’ll continue to fight until the Palomar Pipeline is officially canceled and there are no remaining applications for LNG projects or pipelines.

The reason behind this victory is trifold: market conditions to import LNG don’t make sense, the Palomar Pipeline is a bad project with extreme negative environmental costs, and hundreds of Oregonians and Southern Washingtonians actively opposed this pipeline and worked to stay involved in the process! You’ve sent letters to your representatives, contacted NW Natural, talked to your neighbors and brought an awesome energy to the Rally at the NW Natural Shareholder Meeting. Lets keep it up!

Thank you for everything you have done. You are part of a diverse coalition with strong grassroots organizations like Bark and Columbia Riverkeeper as our backbone. Be sure to check out Bark and Columbia Riverkeeper and make a donation to assure we can keep these victories coming!

To read more about this victory, see this article in Blue Oregon by the dedicated Hey NW Natural campaign volunteer, Nick Engelfried, read this article at the Daily Astorian, or watch this news segment on KGW.

Thanks for all you’ve done!

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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.