Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt's constituents get in touch
LNG fight at Capitol gets personal
by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian Monday April 28, 2009
by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian Monday April 28, 2009
The battle over proposed liquefied natural gas terminals and related pipelines has turned personal in Salem, and the heat may increase another notch today when an Oregon House committee considers a property-rights bill that could fast-track state permits for the projects.
The rancor started building two weeks ago, when LNG opponents were frustrated by what they perceived was a blatantly pro-LNG bias in a hearing of the House Sustainability and Economic Development Committee, chaired by Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton. . .
House Bill 3058, scheduled for a hearing in Read's committee, would change the definition of "applicant" when defining who can apply for a wetland removal or fill permit on a piece of land in a large utility project.
As it stands, only a landowner, someone with the landowner's permission, or a utility that has condemned a piece of property in court, can apply for a permit.
Under the new proposed definition of an applicant, a utility or pipeline could apply for the permit before they had the landowner's permission or had condemned the land.
(Houston based) NorthernStar (Natural Gas) has been pushing for such a change since 2007. Company spokesman Chuck Deister said Monday that the bill is simply intended to address an oversight in the law and allow utilities to accelerate their permitting while avoiding the condemnation of land they don't ultimately use. . .
Opponents of the change believe the effect would be far more insidious, giving pipeline companies and utilities the upper hand in negotiations with landowners, reducing settlement costs in condemnation proceedings, and unnecessarily accelerating regulatory approvals for the massive projects. . .
Most worrisome to property owners is an amendment to HB 3058, which says:
"SECTION 3. If the Director of the Department of State Lands issues a permit applied for under ORS 196.815 to a person who proposes a removal or fill activity for construction of a linear utility or transportation corridor (across waterways), and if that person is not a landowner or a person authorized by a landowner to conduct the proposed removal or fill activity on a property, the director shall condition the use of the permit on that property upon receipt of a court order or judgment authorizing the activity." (Download HB 3058 HERE and the amendment HERE.)
Our reading of this amendment is that it creates a legal loophole for utility companies wishing to "fast track" and avoid public comment, oversight and compliance with Oregon land use law.
LNG permitting bill still in play; both sides declare victory
by Janie Har, The Oregonian Tuesday April 28, 2009 http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/04/lng_permitting_bill_still_in_p.html
by Janie Har, The Oregonian Tuesday April 28, 2009 http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/04/lng_permitting_bill_still_in_p.html
. . . On Tuesday, House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone . . . said he doesn't see the bill as pro-LNG, if that's any sign of the proposal's chances. . .
The committee passed the bill out, without a recommendation . . .
