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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020
IN BRIEF
RV catches fi re in Seaside
Authorities are investigating a fi re that destroyed
an RV and garage Thursday afternoon in Seaside.
Offi cials say the RV was parked in front of a vacant
home on S. Columbia Street. Firefi ghters were able
to keep the fi re contained to the RV and garage of the
home.
Offi cials say people who may have been occupy-
ing the home at the time of the fi re impeded fi refi ght-
ers by going back into the garage while fi refi ghters
were working to put the fi re out.
Crash closed one lane
of Highway 101
One lane of U.S. Highway 101 closed for about
an hour Thursday evening due to a crash near Glen-
wood Village.
Police say a driver traveling in the southbound lane
turned left into another vehicle.
Both vehicles were towed from the scene and inju-
ries were reported.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Nursing assistant loses license
over medications
The state Board of Nursing revoked the license of
a Clatsop County nursing assistant found to be steal-
ing pain medication meant for patients.
The state alleged that Sarah Merrill, formerly a
resident care coordinator at Avamere by the Sea in
Seaside, was taking narcotics home from her work-
place. She received her certifi cation in 2009 and was
reported to the board late last year.
Merrill, who did not request a hearing, can apply in
three years to have her certifi cation reinstated.
PROPELLED
From left, Molly, Logan and
Leah Dugan climb the 13-
ton propeller outside the
Columbia River Maritime
Museum at sunset Thursday.
Highway 30 lane closure
could begin Monday
Contractors could begin nighttime closures of one
lane of U.S. Highway 30 at 30th Street in Astoria as
early as Monday.
Construction will likely begin next week on a
stormwater treatment vault for city maintenance
shops that will encroach onto one lane of traffi c. The
contractor is allowed to close one lane of the highway
between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Construction is anticipated to last two weeks. Busi-
nesses within the project area will remain open during
construction.
Peace tree coming
to Cartwright Park
SEASIDE — A symbol of peace.
That’s how Seaside’s landscaper Pam Fleming and
members of the city’s Tree Board see a small gingko
tree headed to Cartwright Park.
The city was one of 24 Oregon communities to
successfully apply to participate in the state peace tree
planting, marking the 75th anniversary of the end of
World War II.
“It’s very symbolic,” Vineeta Lower, a Tree Board
member who is running for state House, said on a tour
of the park.
Space and irrigation were the qualifi ers that
brought the tree to Cartwright Park, with fi elds, play
equipment and a boat ramp, Fleming said.
The seedling ginkgo and Asian persimmon trees
were grown from seed collected from trees that sur-
vived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and brought
to Oregon by Medford resident Hideko Tamu-
ra-Snider, who survived the 1945 bombing.
— The Astorian
In Brief
DEATHS
Feb. 19, 2020
Death
ASHLEY, Charles Edward, 71, of Seaside, died in
Portland. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation Arrange-
ment Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Human Services Advisory Council, 4 to
5:30 p.m., 800 Exchange St., Room 430.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Astoria Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Andrew Selsky/AP Photo
Demonstrators against a proposed liquid-natural gas pipeline and export terminal in Oregon fi lled the governor’s offi ce in
Salem last year.
Jordon Cove decision delayed
Energy commission
raised concerns
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
SALEM — A U.S. regu-
latory agency on Thursday
delayed a vote on a pro-
posed natural gas pipeline
and marine export terminal
in Oregon, with one mem-
ber saying greenhouse gas
emissions and endangered
species should be consid-
ered and blasting the deci-
sion-making process as
“rotten.”
The
issues
bluntly
raised at the meeting of
the Federal Energy Regu-
latory Commission came
on top of objections to the
mega-project by Oregon’s
Department of Land Con-
servation and Develop-
ment. In a letter released
late Wednesday, the depart-
ment said the Jordan Cove
Energy Project would
harm the environment and
had failed to obtain neces-
sary permits and to provide
information requested by
the department.
“Coastal effects anal-
yses show that the proj-
ect will negatively impact
Oregon’s coastal scenic
and aesthetic resources, a
variety of endangered and
threatened species, critical
habitat and ecosystem ser-
vices, fi sheries resources,
commercial and recre-
ational fi shing and boating,
and commercial shipping
and transportation, among
other sectors,” the depart-
ment said in the letter to a
Jordan Cove offi cial.
The proposed natural
gas terminal and 230-mile
pipeline would permit ship-
ment of natural gas from the
United States and Canada to
Asia and would be the West
Coast’s fi rst liquefi ed natu-
ral gas export terminal. The
Trump administration sup-
ports energy export proj-
ects and in particular Jordan
Cove, a project of Pembina,
a Canadian company. It
has proposed streamlining
approval of gas pipelines
and other energy projects
by limiting states’ certifi -
cation authorities under the
U.S. Clean Water Act.
The three members of the
federal commission were
all appointed by President
Donald Trump. U.S. Sen.
Ron Wyden, an Oregon
Democrat, urged Trump
saying it ignores environ-
mental impacts.
“We really don’t con-
sider or include those envi-
ronmental impacts in our
decision-making process,”
Glick said at the meeting.
“Something’s really rotten
with that.”
Glick also said Ore-
gon’s goal to limit green-
house gas emission should
be considered because a
pipeline across southern
Oregon and an export ter-
minal on Coos Bay would
produce around 15% of the
14 million metric ton limit
Oregon wants to reach by
the year 2050.
‘WE REALLY DON’T
CONSIDER OR INCLUDE
THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
IN OUR DECISION-MAKING
PROCESS. SOMETHING’S
REALLY ROTTEN WITH THAT.’
Richard Glick | commissioner at the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
last month to appoint a full
and bipartisan fi ve-member
commission before a ruling
is made on Jordan Cove.
Otherwise, a decision could
be interpreted as politically
motivated, he said.
While the commission
delayed the issue Thursday,
member Bernard McNamee
said he was giving it an ini-
tial “nay” until he could
study Wednesday’s deci-
sion by the Oregon agency.
Commissioner
Richard
Glick had harsh words for
the way the panel operates,
“This is going to really
make it diffi cult for Ore-
gon to reach its standards,”
Glick said. He pointed out
that the project is expected
to have signifi cant impacts
on 20 threatened or endan-
gered species, among other
negative effects.
The Natural Gas Act
requires public-interest ben-
efi ts to be weighed against
adverse impacts, Glick said.
“We’re not doing that
in this particular case, and
that’s why I think this com-
mission has earned its rep-
utation for being a rub-
ber stamp for these types
of pipeline and LNG proj-
ects,” Glick said.
After Glick and McNa-
mee spoke, commission
chairman Neil Chatterjee
said he was disappointed
there was no fi nal vote on
the project, but he respected
the other commissioners’
need for more time. He
said the application remains
pending.
Jordan Cove spokesman
Paul Vogel said company
offi cials are reviewing the
letter from the state land
conservation
department
and look forward to a fi nal
decision by the federal reg-
ulatory commission.
Opponents of the proj-
ect, including the group
Rogue Climate, applauded
the actions by McNamee
and Glick.
“Tens of thousands of
people across the region
have spoken out against this
Jordan Cove LNG for over
a decade,” said Allie Rosen-
bluth of Rogue Climate.
“It’s time to put an end to
Jordan Cove LNG for good
this time so our communi-
ties can focus on creating
local jobs in clean energy
instead.”
The Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
has already denied a water
quality certifi cation for the
proposed project. Pembina
withdrew its application for
another state permit, saying
it would await a decision by
the commission.
State Sen. Jeff Golden,
a Democrat, recently told
demonstrators opposed to
Jordan Cove that he expects
the battle to go to the courts
if the Trump administra-
tion tries to ram the proj-
ect through despite a lack of
state permits.