Pipeline threatens old-growth forests
By Amy Harwood
Joining groups such as Columbia Riverkeeper, Willamette Riverkeeper, Friends of Living Oregon Waters and Sierra Club of Oregon, as well as several local citizen groups made up of affected landowners, Bark adds more than a decade of experience monitoring and stopping destructive activities in the forests of Mount Hood. Palomar, a subsidiary of Northwest Natural and TransCanada has proposed a pipeline route to connect an existing pipeline in eastern Oregon to the proposed Bradwood Landing LNG terminal on the Columbia River. The pipeline crosses over steep slopes and will require a permanent clearcut as well as miles of new road building, adding to the 4,000 miles of crumbling roads already threatening Mount Hood’s forests. As climate change impacts the acceleration of melting glaciers and snowpack, issues of sedimentation and landslide, exacerbated by increased infrastructure, have become a major risk to the public. On May 9, Oregon’s Department of Energy (ODOE) submitted a report to Gov. Ted Kulongoski that concludes that while Oregon will need increased supplies of natural gas to meet the state’s energy needs, the need for foreign imports is unnecessary. Originally, the increased need for natural gas in Oregon was going to be supplied by Rocky Mountain sources. The report also concludes that the potential for gas from the Rocky Mountains could provide less expensive gas and produce significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions than the three LNG facilities proposed in Oregon. The report is in response to the governor’s direction in a letter on February 14, which requested that ODOE conduct an analysis on the need for and costs, both financial and environmental, of an LNG facility in Oregon. The request came after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) made it clear it would not take the time to perform a natural gas needs assessment or take a comprehensive approach in its process to site energy projects. “This report raises serious questions about whether LNG is the only source to serve an increased demand for natural gas and whether LNG terminals are in the public’s best interest both economically and environmentally,” Kulongoski said. “Because of substantial changes in the proposed action by Bradwood Landing, and significant new information relevant to the environmental concerns related to the proposed project, Oregon has the right under federal law to have our concerns addressed before any final federal determination is completed.” Home to a third of all Oregonians’ drinking water, years of agency mismanagement has left parts of Mount Hood’s remaining intact ecosystems at significant risk. “No American should ever have to be asked to risk their access to clean drinking water,” says Bark’s Program Director, Amy Harwood, “Especially not for foreign energy sources and corporate profit. This is an integral local response to the future of global energy stability.” Much in part to the election coverage, domestic and alternative energy supply issues are making news nearly every day. Although public outcry is beginning to have a considerable impact on the political direction for this specific project and could end the proposal before it is brought to court, the issue of using public lands for energy needs is not going away. Currently, a proposal for other energy corridors throughout the western United States on federal public lands crossing over eleven states is going through review. As infrastructure is needed for a changing energy supply, the issue of if and how the national forest system plays into the risks and needs analysis will become not only relevant, but pivotal to the success of some of the proposed solutions. Harwood asks, “If it wasn’t a pipeline, but a corridor for wind turbines or another truly renewable energy source, how would that shift the discussion? At what point is the use of our public lands to supply the energy industry not worth the risks to our ecosystems?” To begin their efforts, Bark has been promoting Hike the Pipe, an upcoming event to raise awareness of the threats to Oregon’s old-growth forests, scenic rivers, and hiking trails by the proposed pipeline connecting to LNG terminals on the coast. A group of Bark-trained “groundtruthers” will be surveying the proposed route, including crossing several major creek and riverways. An invitation for all to hike has been extended to the public for the weekend of June 14-15, halfway along the 40-mile route. Attendees will follow the pipeline route past the popular recreation area, Timothy Lake. On Saturday evening Bark will host a BBQ-style dinner and campfire with family-friendly entertainment to encourage dialogue about the pipeline, as well as sharing stories from the route. Amy Harwood is the Program Director at Bark. She can be reached at amy@bark-out.org. |
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