Street roots., March 31, 2017, Page 9, Image 9

Street Roots • March 31 -April 6, 2017
REBEL CITIES, from page 8
Pipeline. Veresen Inc. plans to spend $30
million in 2017 to promote the project while
lobbying the White House, and stands
opposed by a local coalition of
environmentalists, tribal governments, and
property owners opposed to eminent
domain.
If voters approve the measure, Coos
County would become the nation’s first to
block an LNG export terminal - disrupting
the commercial flow of fracked gas from the
business end of the pipeline.
The fracked gas for the project would
come from the Colorado Rockies, where
many community members are rooting for
the measure.
“When the bottom really fell out for
domestic gas pricing, a lot of communities
here in Colorado were hoping the
economics would reduce the drilling,” says
Chris Wilmeng of Lafayette, Colo. “The
price here is in a glut. They want to export
this stuff, and Jordan Cove does exactly that.
“There’s wells next to high schools, in
residential neighborhoods, hospitals,”
Wilmeng said. “I mean the long and the
short of it is that the industry does not see
these communities. They see their shale.”
Wilmeng is a member of the Colorado
Community Rights Network - an
organization that supports communities and
environmental initiatives against extractive
industries. The network is linked to the
Oregon Community Rights Network, which
backs the Coos County initiative and four
others on issues that range from aerial
pesticide spraying in Lincoln County to
genetically modified seeds in Benton
County. One of these initiatives in Columbia
County seeks to block the transport of coal
and oil trains, as well as the expansion of
fossil fuel power generation.
Colorado, with its own bountiful mix of
nature and resources, has been on the front
line in the local control debate for many
years.
In 2014 a judge found that state laws
facilitating gas extraction pre-empt local
fracking bans in places like Fort Collins and
News
Longmont, rendering them null and void.
The Community Rights Network responded
by appealing to the Colorado Supreme
Court, and pushing a statewide amendment
that ultimately failed to get the required
signatures. After that, said Wilmeng, “the oil
and gas industry ran their own ballot
initiative to make it substantially harder to
get on the ballot. People were severely
misinformed about that, and it passed.” In
2016 the Supreme Court ruled again on the
local fracking bans, again invalidating the
ban.
n Oregon the same centralizing process
appears to be in motion - during this
year’s legislative session Rep. Cliff Bentz
(D-Ontario) introduced HB 2480, which
would take the ability to regulate fossil fuel
infrastructure away from local governments
and declare such decisions to be “vested
solely in the Legislative Assembly.” The bill
states it was introduced at the request of
Pac/West - the same corporate lobbying
group behind Coloradans for Responsible
Energy Development, which Pac/West
created in 2013 to “shift public opinion in
favor of energy development,” according to
its website.
Pac/West is headquartered in Wilsonville,
Ore., with a second office Denver, Colo.
“The American Lung Association gave
our air an “F” here in Colorado,” said
Wilmeng, “and it’s widely attributed to oil
and gas. It’s an extremely short-sighted
industry. And it’s really the same with
Jordan Cove. It’s industry that’s gonna need
to see it’s end here, shortly.”
Other bills are working their way through
the Oregon Legislature that could impose
new regulations on fossil fuel transports.
One would prohibit the construction,
extension or use of a wharf for receipt and
discharge of crude oil.
Back in Coos County, Mary Geddry of the
Coos Commons Protection Council is proud
to say her local measure has Veresen
worried.
“The fact that they’re scared enough to
I
Page 9
policy was designed to survive appeal, and
form a political action committee and run a
push poll shows that they’re nervous.
can be re-written if it does not.
Nationwide oil and gas publications say the
“I think the way the city defined health
community rights movement is the largest
and safety made it a very strong policy, and
threat to their industry,” she said.
to the extent that it affected interstate
In Columbia County, another community
commerce it did so in a very reasonable way
group is gathering the required 1,800
- especially when you add in the seismic
signatures to put their own Sustainable
issues in this area.”
Energy Future
Caleb says that
ordinance on the
Portland can likely
ballot. If passed, this
shut down new fossil
measure would block
fuel infrastructure
the transportation of
regardless of the
"T h e fa c t th a t th e y 're scared
oil trains and coal
specific reasoning
e n o u g h to fo rm a p o litic a l ac­
trains through
that comes out of
Columbia County, and tio n c o m m itte e a n d r u n a p u sh
LUBA - largely due
would also prohibit a
p o ll shows th a t th e y 're n e r­
to the strength of the
proposed methanol
vo u s. N a tio n w id e o il a n d gas
local movement. “I
plant there, according
p u b lic a tio n s say th e c o m m u n i­ think the community
to spokesperson
ty r ig h ts m o v e m e n t is th e la r g ­ has embraced that
Brady Preheim.
this is where we’re
est th re a t to th e ir in d u s tr y ."
Similar laws in
Oregon have been
- MARY GEDDRY going, and if it’s not
C O O S C O M M O N S P R O T E C T IO N C O U N C IL this particular form of
pulled after receiving
health and safety
pre-filing challenges.
policy, it’s going to be
One was an effort to
another one that
block Jordan Cove
LNG in Douglas
promotes health and
County.
safety along with the
If a measure succeeds and is later
decline of the fossil fuel industry.”
challenged, it falls to the local government
Mary Geddry in Coos County said that
to defend it in court. This has created
the new Republican administration is forcing
trouble in Colorado when city officials are
localities to embrace self-government.
hostile to a measure, a problem identified by
Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly
Wilmeng when their local fracking bans have agreed. “I know that these are conversations
gone to court. That situation appears to be
going on at every level of government: city,
mirrored in Coos County, where local
county, state, as well as our national
officials are largely pro-LNG.
delegation. They’re all thinking about how
Stacey McLaughlin, a supporter of the
we can kind of steel ourselves against the
measure in Douglas County. She said the
effects of this administration. I think it
timber industry has created a “company
makes sense to let cities decide what they’re
town” mentality across Oregon.
going to do,” she said.
“They say ‘what we have is natural
“What we’re being asked to do is to really
resources, so we have to utilize them to
figure out where we’re going to draw the
grow the economy,” McLaughlin said.
line in the sand and say enough, no more,”
But even if parts of this new batch of laws
said Wilmeng. It’s a harsh place in history to
are struck down, it will be difficult to
live in, it’s scary. Unfortunately given the
challenge the political reality that shaped
scientific fact about climate change, it’s a
them.
question we’re all going to have to step up
Nick Caleb, a legal fellow at the Center
to.”
for Sustainable Economy, said Portland’s
ACROSS
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Fermentation agent
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
4.
Have a bite
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Tree fluid
Cake ingredient
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Three-ply cookie
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H ook's henchm an
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G round grain
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The gift of
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Tease o r ridicule
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Francis o r Kevin?
down
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Affirm ative!
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Type of fritter
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Analyze o r try
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Cake ingredient
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Tres
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Deal
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Potter's practice
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Nosh!
Late rapper; a bbr.
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