Take Action Now to Stop the LNG Bill
Cascadian, 08.01.2010 13:58
Take Action Now to Stop the LNG Fast Track Bill!
Work Session for "LC 85" Scheduled for Next Week
In the last Oregon legislative session we worked hard to successfully defeat House Bill 3058, the LNG Fast-track bill. That bill that would have undermined property rights and threatened natural resources by allowing pipeline and utility companies to get permits to fill wetlands on private lands without landowner permission, thereby hastening the permitting process for LNG-related pipelines. Now, Senator Metsger is proposing the same bill for the February Special Session and we need to tell our elected leaders that this is not acceptable!
Details on what is proposed:
Senator Metsger is proposing this bill to change the definition of “applicant” for wetland fill permits. That change would allow agents other than a landowner or person working on the landowner's behalf to apply for permits to develop on private property. The bill appears to be intended to facilitate public roadways, but it is not limited to public projects and would in fact allow anyone to apply for and receive a permit on private land without the landowner's permission. This bill would be more acceptable if it only affected public projects like roads. By including private projects it fast-tracks LNG.
The passage of this bill would provide Oregon LNG, NorthernStar, Palomar and the Pacific Connector Pipeline a shortcut in the permitting process, further threatening landowners already facing eminent domain for these speculative energy projects. The bill is currently listed under the title "LC 85" and will be considered during a work session next week in the Senate Business and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, January 13th @ 1pm in Hearing Room F at the Oregon State Capitol. If you are available to attend that work session, please plan to come to Salem on the 13th and wear your no-LNG buttons and T-shirts.
What you can do:
Please contact the legislators listed below and your own State Senator and Representative to voice your opposition to this bill. We must impress upon the legislature that this is a controversial bill that shouldn't be considered in a special session designed to remedy the budget crisis in Oregon. We also need to tell them that it is wrong to treat private LNG speculation in the same manner as public projects like roads and sewer lines. Contacting the legislators below is absolutely critical to our success in defeating this bill again.
When you contact these decision makers, tell them:
1) You oppose any bill that would fast-track the permitting process for LNG-related pipelines.
2) LC 85 would be a controversial bill that did not pass in the 2009 session, as HB 3058, and shouldn't be considered during the special session.
3) At the very least, Senator Metsger's transportation bill, LC 85, needs to be amended to exclude projects by private corporations. If the permitting for public roadways needs to be facilitated, it can be done without also facilitating private projects as well. It is unacceptable for the state legislature to facilitate the degradation of property rights for the sake of speculative private projects, particularly ones like LNG that the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Oregon Dept. of Energy, and many others have clearly shown we don’t need......not now or in the future.
Important legislators to contact:
-Senate President Peter Courtney, District 11, D: 503-986-1600,
sen.petercourtney@state.or.us
-Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin, District 19, D: 503-986-1719,
sen.richarddevlin@state.or.us
-Senator Brian Boquist, District 12, R: 503-986-1712,
sen.brianboquist@state.or.us
-Senator Ted Ferrioli, District 30, R: 503-986-1950 or 541-490-6528,
sen.tedferrioli@state.or.us
-Senator Metsger, District 26, D: 503-986-1726,
sen.rickmetsger@state.or.us
-Senator George, District 13, R: 503-986-1713,
sen.larrygeorge@state.or.us
-Senator Schrader, District 20, D: 503-986-1720,
sen.marthaschrader@state.or.us
-Senator Starr, District 15, R: 503-986-1715,
sen.brucestarr@state.or.us
-Senator Verger, District 5, D: 503-986-1705,
sen.joanneverger@state.or.us
-Your own State Senator and Representative: To find out who your own legislators are, you can find out by visiting 
http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/home.htm and entering your physical address. Then send them a message too!
Sample Email:
Dear Senator,
I am writing to express my opposition to an LNG fast-track bill that would damage property rights and threaten natural resources in Oregon. The bill’s concept number is LC 85, and would allow private companies to apply for wetland fill permits on private property prior to gaining control of that land and without landowner permission. While proponents of the bill are saying that the bill would aid transportation, the bill is overly broad and would also apply to speculative LNG projects. The bill should not apply to private projects like LNG pipelines which threaten to harm farms, forests, and our resources to send gas to California.
This is essentially the same HB 3058 bill that was stopped in the 2009 session and is a controversial bill that should not be considered in a special legislative session called to resolve the budget crisis in Oregon. If this bill is deemed necessary by the legislature for the sake of facilitating public roadways in Oregon, then the bill should be amended to exclude private projects. It is an affront to property rights to allow out-of-state privately-owned companies to receive permits to develop on private property without the landowner's permission.
Please stop any legislation like LC 85 from moving forward and eroding private property rights in Oregon. Like 3058, this type of legislation is a wrong-headed approach to LNG siting that undermines the rights of Oregonians and harms our natural resources.
Thank you,
YOUR NAME & ADDRESS
Please take action before January 13th to ensure that the committee considering this bill understands that Oregonians oppose LC 85. Your email and/or phone call to these elected leaders will help protect the natural resources of our state and the thousands of landowners in Oregon facing condemnation of their land for the sake of corporate profit.
Thank you!
