Two articles: (1) Why two members of the Oregon House voted for HB 3058 (now headed to the Oregon Senate) and (2) Why Brad Witt, one of the bill's sponsors, is now facing opposition in his own party for his House seat.
(1) Why we voted for House Bill 3058 by Chris Garrett and Tobias Read, guest opinion Thursday June 04, 2009 http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/why_we_voted_for_house_bill_30.html
One of the more contentious bills of this legislative session arrived on the floor of the Oregon House of Representatives a week ago. House Bill 3058 passed on a 35-24 vote. Democrats were closely divided, with 16 voting in support and 19 against. The bill now heads to the Senate.
HB 3058 was strongly opposed by environmental advocates, who labeled it an "LNG fast-track" bill. That made this a difficult vote. Both of us are committed environmentalists who have enjoyed the support of environmental organizations in our campaigns . . .
HB 3058, on its face, is unrelated to liquefied natural gas. The bill merely allows a third party (i.e., someone other than the landowner) to apply for a fill/removal permit with the Division of State Lands. Under current law, before anyone other than the owner can apply for such a permit, one must either get the landowner's permission or have the government condemn the property through eminent domain.
This law creates a logistical quandary for large-scale infrastructure projects that involve multiple parcels of land and have complex permitting requirements, such as highways, rail lines, pipelines and transmission lines. Under current law, a single holdout landowner can stall a project by preventing even the application for a permit. This creates a perverse incentive for developers to condemn property first -- before they know the final route their project will take, or whether it will even be approved. That does not serve anyone's interests.
. . . This is the important part: Before any construction may begin, the state or developer must acquire the property, have permission from the landowner, or have had the property condemned. The only change HB 3058 makes, in other words, is that a developer does not have to have all the property rights in place before submitting an application. (The bill also contains notice and hearing provisions to ensure that affected landowners have an opportunity to weigh in. . . )
(2) Huhtala to run for Witt's legislative seat Director of Columbia River Business Alliance says Witt’s bill on pipeline pushed him over the edge by Cassandra Profita The Daily Astorian June 9, 2009 http://dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=61607
Controversy in the state Legislature over liquefied natural gas development has prompted Astoria resident Peter Huhtala to seek the Democratic nomination for the Oregon House of Representatives District 31 position.
The seat will be up for grabs next year and is currently held by Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, who recently set LNG opponents aflame with his sponsorship of legislation that would streamline the natural gas pipeline permitting process.
Huhtala, the executive director of the Columbia River Business Alliance, has actively spoken out against LNG both as a citizen and on behalf of the business alliance, which supports renewable energy development. He said he's thought about running for the state Legislature on and off for the past 10 years, and Witt's sponsorship of the controversial House Bill 3058 put him over the edge. . .
Witt has said he will run again for his seat. Huhtala said voters will now have a choice. . .
