Oregon LNG, proposing a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal on the Columbia River at Warrenton, is also suspected to be developing plans to reverse its proposed terminal to EXport domestic gas. If the company does in fact establish an EXport terminal on the North Coast of Oregon it will likely rely on the Palomar pipeline to funnel domestic natural gas over the Cascades to connect with the Oregon LNG pipeline to take that resource out of the U.S.

NW Natural Gas continues to promise a resurrection of the proposed Palomar Pipeline as early as 2012. Will Oregonians and natural gas consumer advocates allow for that pipeline to be the open door to domestic natural gas exports from the Oregon coast? Stay connected to be updated on company plans for exporting domestic natural gas through Oregon and the connection between NW Natural’s possible revival of Palomar to facilitate that development.

Read the Oregonian story announcing Jordan Cove’s export plans here.

NW Natural’s postponed Palomar Pipeline is a critical aspect of Oregon LNG’s plans to export domestic gas as LNG through the Columbia River. If NW Natural attempts to bring the Palomar Pipeline back to the table through Mt. Hood National Forest, it will be for the purpose of exporting gas through the Columbia River.

Follow the link to read Oregonian journalist Ted Sickinger’s expose of the true driver behind Liquefied Natural Gas proposals in Oregon. Oregon LNG terminal plans reverse from importing to exporting natural gas.

Take action today to protect Mt. Hood and the communities impacted by the Palomar Pipeline. Tell NW Natural executives and Board of Directors that the recent demise of Palomar shouldn’t be reversed.

Don’t let NW Natural’s bottom line cause the destruction of our public lands! Send your message to NW Natural and then please forward this email to friends who care about our climate, our communities and our chance for a clean energy future.

Let’s send NW Natural the message that we will never allow this pipeline to go through Mt. Hood! We will have in-person and on-line actions all day on the 26th so mark your calendars and be ready to send your message to NW Natural! Contact Olivia at olivia@bark-out.org to plug in to our in-person activities for our Day of Action and get ready to take a stand for Mt. Hood on Thursday, May 26th!

Surprised to hear that NW Natural is still harboring plans to clearcut Mt. Hood National Forest? You can find out more about their plans by clicking here.

Zach (center) marching with students at 2009 Power Shift Conference in Eugene, OR

by two proposed LNG-related pipelines. He has dedicated countless hours in the past two years to protesting new fossil fuel development and rallying with other students and Pacific Northwesterners to raise awareness about the threats of the Palomar Pipeline. Recently we asked Zach to sum up his concerns about Palomar and here is what he had to say:

As a student and young adult, I’m concerned the Palomar pipeline represents a dangerous direction for our future energy policy to be headed. Do we want to continue on the path towards pollution and ecological destruction, or do we innovate and avert environmental disaster? It appears that NW Natural thinks the former is sufficient, but for young citizens such as myself this is an unacceptable plan of action. Continuing usage of fossil fuels will only make the task of solving our energy problems greater for ourselves and our children and grandchildren. From Bike the Pipe community events to Fossil Fools Day activism, students from campuses such as Linfield College and Pacific University have been actively engaged in fighting the Palomar Pipeline. As students whose futures are determined by decisions such as these, we ask that NW Natural consider our stake in the matter and stop the Palomar Pipeline.

Protesters in Salem oppose Palomar

This weekend the Oregonian printed a story detailing the new investment of the Williams NW company in NW Natural’s Palomar Pipeline proposal. The Oregonian story acknowledged that the pipeline is “controversial,” “tentative,” and faces “fierce opposition among landowners and environmentalists.” Now it is our job to let them know how much opposition this proposal really faces and what kind of threats it poses to Mt. Hood National Forest, Willamette Valley farms, critical fish habitat and Oregon utility ratepayers

Please consider sending a Letter to the Editor to the Oregonian and your local newspaper to express your concern about the Palomar Pipeline. Explain the true impacts of this project on your land, and highlight the fact that this is a risky investment on the part of Williams and NW Natural Pipeline Company.

Here are some possible points to make in your Letter to the Editor. Please note that most newspapers have a 250 word limit for Letters to the Editor:

• Palomar is an illegal pipeline that violates environmental laws protecting Mt. Hood. In fact Palomar is trying to change those laws by amending the current plans governing Mt. Hood National Forest.
• Palomar has already lost millions in Bradwood Landing LNG’s bankruptcy. This is a risky investment for Williams NW and NW Natural.
• Williams NW Pipeline Company is also a partner in the Pacific Connector pipeline (related to Southern Oregon Jordan Cove LNG proposal).  Both of these pipelines, Pacific Connector and Palomar, are proposed as bi-directional pipelines serving proposed LNG terminals in Oregon. With a current wave of LNG terminals in the U.S. now proposing to export domestic natural gas as LNG, is Williams NW really investing in future export potential?
• The Citizens Utility Board and Oregon Department of Energy have both found a lack of need for LNG in Oregon and have indicated that LNG-related pipeline development will increase utility costs for customers in the Pacific Northwest.
• Palomar threatens the livelihoods of landowners and farmers along its entire route, all 220 miles. Landowners in Clatsop, Columbia, Washington, Yamhill, Marion, Clackamas and Wasco Counties are facing Eminent Domain on their land for this proposal. If you are an impacted landowner provide a personal statement about the impact to your land.
• You can read the story NW Natural unveils joint venture on Palomar here and post a comment on their story on the web.

Send your Letter to:

The Oregonian:  letters@news.oregonian.com

The Daily Astorian:  editor@dailyastorian.com

Eugene Register-Guard: rgletters@registerguard.cop

Eugene Weekly: editor@eugeneweekly.com

The Forest Grove News Times: click here to submit LTE to Forest Grove News Times

The Molalla Pioneer: click here for to submit LTE to Molalla Pioneer

The Statesman Journal: click here to submit LTE to Statesman Journal

And any other newspaper that serves your area.

Thanks for taking action! With our relentless opposition and activism this pipeline will be stopped!

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently requested an update from Palomar to find out what they’ve been up to since announcing the indefinite delay of their project earlier this year.  How did Palomar respond? Here it is in a nutshell:

• The Bradwood LNG terminal project is bankrupt and they can’t sell their assets to pay us back the $17 million they owe.  But, we’ve managed to get out of our contract with bankrupt Bradwood, so we are happy that we can now seek other suppliers for our pipe.
• Because we are having all kinds of problems getting permits to develop this illegal project, we are spending most of our time trying to convince decision-makers by lobbying them to make it easier on us.
• We appreciate the patience of FERC as we try to salvage the Palomar Pipeline and ensure that energy consumers continue to rely on the burning of fossil fuels for their energy use.
• Click here to read the letter yourself.

This leaves several un-answered questions for the Hey NW Natural campaign. Questions like:

• How will Palomar recover the $17 million owed to them by Bradwood? Will that expense fall on NW Natural customers and shareholders?
• If NW Natural appreciates the patience of FERC sitting on their hands and wasting tax dollars, how do they feel about the hundreds of landowners on the pipeline route waiting to find out if their land will be condemned for this project?
• If NW Natural is talking with decision makers about easing the permitting process, are they also making financial contributions to these politicians?

With your help we can make sure that NW Natural knows that we won’t stand for the destruction of Mt. Hood National Forest, the devastation of our rural farmlands, the damaging of our beautiful rivers or the arrogance of a company that expects LNG-impacted communities to wait patiently while they politically maneuver their way into a better position.

Take action today!

Rudy Marchesi, Owner and Operator of Montinore Vineyard

Rudy Marchesi is the owner and operator of Montinore Estate Vineyard in Forest Grove and a long-time member of the anti-LNG movement.His biodynamic family-run vineyard is on the route of the Palomar Pipeline, threateninghis family’s livelihood with economic and safety concerns. Recently, we caught up with Rudy and asked him about his experience as a pipeline-impacted landowner and his thoughts on Liquefied Natural Gas development in Oregon. Check out what he had to say:

How has the Palomar Pipeline proposal impacted your life?
The proposal hasn’t impacted my life in a negative way yet.   I have very much enjoyed joining with neighbors in working to stop this ill conceived project.  If the project does goes through it will cost my business close to $750,000 in lost revenue over the next ten years.  This would be a very significant impact on our farm business.  We would also have to live with the knowledge that a dangerous gas pipeline is under our farm.  The Palomar engineers showed me where they

Rudy walking the vineyard

wanted to place the line at a depth of 3 feet.  This is the same area where we ruptured an 8 inch irrigation line buried at a four feet depth two years ago doing normal maintenance on our vineyard trellis.  I shudder to think of the devastation and loss of life that would have occurred if we had ruptured a gas line.  The recent explosion in San Bruno California is a reminder of just how dangerous these pipelines are.

Why do you oppose LNG development in Oregon?

The proposed Palomar line would be dangerous in many ways.  It would negatively impact the fisheries of the Columbia at the docking station on the River.  ”Floating bombs” in the form of gas tankers would be on the river on a regular basis disrupting normal river traffic due to the constraints of sailing one of these vessels on inland waters.  The Port of Portland is already struggling without adding this problem.
The proposed route of the Palomar line crosses over the coastal range passing through some areas of unstable soils and crosses streams that regularly flood.  We all know the power of floods and landslides and this has not been adequately addressed.  The route also passes by homes and schools and does not conform to Oregon law in the placement of utility lines.

Sheep "mowing" the vineyard grounds

When was the moment you knew you wanted to get involved in fighting LNG?

I knew I wanted to stop these pipelines when I realized that the people behind these projects were trying to shove them down our throats, at our expense, under the banner of national energy security when in fact they are just one more speculative “get rich quick” energy scheme, much the same as the Enron disaster.  They can’t possibly expect us to believe that they want to bring in imported gas when we have a century’s worth of reserves in North America that cost less than most of the natural gas from the rest of the producing regions.  I believe that if they succeed in building these pipelines it won’t be long before they ask to use them to export American gas to foreign markets at a big profit.  This does not provide our country with energy security.  It just lines the pockets of a few Wall Street investors.