HB 3058 has been opposed by Stop Idaho Power because of the possibility that utility companies could use locationally dependent segments across waterways to force the routing of corridors across private property. Two stories about how HB 3058 stalled and died, with the help of our state senator. . .
(1) LNG ‘fast-track’ bill stalled in Oregon Senate Proponents back off as budget becomes a priority By Nicholas Bellos The Forest Grove News-Times, Jun 24, 2009 http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=124583207297357700
A bill that would effectively streamline liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in Oregon has met a roadblock in the state senate: time.
As the state legislative session winds down to a June 30 adjournment, lawmakers' attention has shifted to more pressing matters, namely, the budget. . .
The bill would allow developers to “pursue condemnation with the permit in their hand. It takes away a lot of the leverage (from landowners).”
That's a problem said Dan Serres, spokesman for Columbia Riverkeeper, a non-profit that has led the charge among environmentalists against LNG projects in Oregon.
Serres agreed with Riley that HB 3058 creates a larger issue of landowners' rights: “It tips the scales in favor of LNG companies over private landowners who have gone to great lengths to protect their land.”
. . . Serres believed that thousands of Oregonians would be affected if natural gas companies were to be more easily able to develop land: “People don't need that fiasco.”
(2) In the Oregon legislature, LNG is a dirty word Three bills dealing with natural gas projects fail to get votes By Christian Gaston The Forest Grove News-Times, Jun 30, 2009
http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124643245494380100
As the Oregon legislative session wrapped up this week, a flurry of bills reached the floor for last-minute votes.
Notably absent from the action were a pair of bills that would change the state’s regulatory rules regarding liquefied natural gas terminals and pipelines.
Both House Bill 3058, dubbed a “fast track” for Liquified Natural Gas projects by its detractors, and a bill that would require LNG developers to reimburse the state for planning costs failed to get a vote in the final hours of the 2009 session. . .
While House Republicans largely supported HB 3058, things got a bit strange in the Senate.
Dan Serres, spokesman for Columbia Riverkeeper, an environmental nonprofit that’s rallied property owners against LNG projects, said the anti-LNG lobby found an ally in John Day Republican Ted Ferrioli.
Ferrioli’s perch on the Senate Rules Committee allowed him to influence whether the bill got a vote.
“I think his opposition was one of the things that kept the bill from passing,” Serres said.
Serres added that the death of HB 3058 was a boon for the anti-LNG cause.
“It really would have changed the landscape for people,” Serres said. . .
