A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2020
IN BRIEF
Razor clam dig off
in Washington state
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state halted
a four-day razor clam dig that was to begin on
Friday.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife said the
action was in response to Pacifi c County’s health
offi cer advising the closure of beaches to razor clam
digging over concerns about the coronavirus.
State shellfi sh managers had approved a dig after
vetting it with county offi cials and health depart-
ments in Grays Harbor and Pacifi c counties, and
after consultation with state health offi cials.
“WDFW is responsive to the needs of local com-
munities, and we manage razor clams in consulta-
tion with our coastal communities to ensure sustain-
able harvest,” said Larry Phillips, the state’s coastal
region director.
“But, under these circumstances, we need to
include more than sustainable harvest in our deci-
sion-making and do what is the best for the commu-
nity. We understand that the county health depart-
ment is responding to a global pandemic and WDFW
is canceling these digs to support that work and keep
folks healthy.”
Pacifi c County’s order doesn’t ban access to pub-
lic beaches. “However, as a reminder, Pacifi c County
recommends that people at higher risk of serious ill-
ness from COVID-19 stay home as much as possi-
ble,” the county said.
— Chinook Observer
County says only fl ush toilet paper
The Clatsop County Public Works Department
says fl ushing anything besides toilet paper and
bodily waste can clog sewer pipes and create a mess
that can cause a public health hazard.
Wipes, paper towels and napkins cannot be
fl ushed. Offi cials say even wipes coined as “fl ush-
able” can cause backups. They advise people to have
a wastebasket in their bathroom to dispose those
items.
The use of wipes has increased because of con-
cerns about the coronavirus.
Two local measures
qualify for May ballot
Two local measures have qualifi ed for the May
ballot.
The Clatsop County Fair Board is asking voters to
renew a fi ve-year levy with an increase to fund the
growing cost of maintaining the fairgrounds.
The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District
is asking voters to approve a levy to hire a second
commanding offi cer and replace equipment.
Despite postponements due to the coronavirus,
Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno said the May
election is moving forward as planned.
— The Astorian
In Brief
DEATHS
March 18, 2020
Deaths
LAYTON,
Mary
Dolores, 87, of Asto-
ria, died in Astoria.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
THOM, Robert Lee,
78, of Cannon Beach,
died in Cannon Beach.
Caldwell’s Funeral &
Cremation
Arrange-
ment Center of Sea-
side is in charge of the
arrangements.
March 9, 2020
REINIKKA, Allen L.,
74, of Bellingham, Wash-
ington, formerly of Asto-
ria and Seaside, died in
Bellingham. Memorial
to be held at a later date.
Gillies Funeral Home
and Cremation Service
in Lynde n, Washing-
ton, is in charge of the
arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Theft
full of groceries.
On
the
Record
• Thomas
Kenneth
Criminal trespass
Sullivan, 41, of Ilwaco,
Washington, was arrested
Wednesday near Safe-
way in Astoria for theft
in the second degree after
allegedly stealing a cart
• Kristian Erik Wil-
liamson, 60, was arrested
Wednesday on W. Bond
Street in Astoria for crim-
inal trespass in the sec-
ond degree.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
SATURDAY
Warrenton City Commission, 5 p.m., emergency meeting,
City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
TUESDAY
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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Federal regulators approve
Jordan Cove LNG project
Terminal planned
for Coos Bay
By TED SICKINGER
The Oregonian
Federal regulators on
Thursday approved the Jor-
dan Cove liquefi ed natural
gas export terminal in Coos
Bay and the 230-mile Pacifi c
Connector Pipeline, presaging
a battle with Oregon, whose
regulators have declined to
issue the three most signif-
icant state permits for the
facility.
The project’s owner, Cal-
gary-based Pembina Pipeline
Corp., immediately informed
the Oregon Department
of Land Conservation and
Development that it intends
to fi le a federal appeal to that
agency’s decision last month
that the project is inconsis-
tent with state land use laws.
Statute allows the company
to appeal the decision to U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Wil-
bur Ross, and the Trump
administration is a fi rm backer
of energy exports in general,
and the Jordan Cove project
in particular.
The notice of appeal the
company sent to the agency
Thursday may be a decla-
ration of war with the state,
however. Backers of the proj-
ect have been promising
locals for 15 years that they
would comply with state and
local permits, but Pembina is
now signaling that it intends
to preempt the state.
The federal decision and
the notice of appeal immedi-
ately drew fi re from Gov. Kate
Brown and U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, and Brown vowed
the project wouldn’t move
forward without following
state permitting processes.
The Federal Energy Reg-
ulatory Commission voted
2-1 to approve the controver-
sial project, effectively agree-
ing with a staff recommenda-
tion that most of the project’s
impacts could be reduced to
less than signifi cant levels,
and the public need for the
By ASHLEY NERBOVIG
and LUKE WHITTAKER
Chinook Observer
ILWACO, Wash. — One
of the largest creditors of Jes-
sie’s Ilwaco Fish Co. is chal-
lenging the appointment of a
receiver for the troubled sea-
food processor.
Jessie’s fi led for receiver-
ship in late February, short-
changing several fi shermen
owed money by the company.
Pacifi c County Superior
Court Judge Donald Rich-
ter assigned Christopher
Wain, owner of the Bellevue
fi rm, Turnford Restructur-
ing Group, as receiver. Wain
was recommended by Donald
Alber, owner of Alber’s Sea-
food Inc., which bought Jes-
sie’s in 2013.
But GemCap Lending I
LLC, one of Jessie’s larg-
est creditors, opposes Wain’s
appointment and moved to
have him replaced by Revi-
talization Partners, a fi rm out
of Seattle.
GemCap’s motion was
supported by Jessie’s sec-
Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer
Attorney Faye Rasch, right, speaks with Florian Mumford,
owner of the F/V Dream, following a hearing at Pacifi c County
Courthouse in South Bend.
ond-largest creditor, Craft3.
All creditors are allowed
to participate in the vote on
whether to appoint a new
receiver.
The court was looking at
a tentative date next week.
But due to concerns about the
coronavirus, all civil matters
will be postponed through
April.
In April 2017, Jessie’s
borrowed $5 million from
GemCap and pledged all the
company’s assets as collat-
eral. GemCap was not told
Jessie’s would be put into
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a license or permit for this
project unless the U.S. s ecre-
tary of c ommerce overrides
this objection on appeal.”
Even if the commerce sec-
retary decided to overturn the
state’s land use decision, it’s
not clear the project could
obtain a water quality and
dredging permit if the state is
opposed.
Pembina said in a news
release Thursday that the deci-
sion from FERC represents
the most signifi cant step for-
ward for Jordan Cove since
Pembina acquired the project
in 2017 in a merger with its
owner, Veresen Inc.
“We appreciate FERC’s
science-based approach to
their review. The approval
emphasizes yet again that Jor-
dan Cove is environmentally
responsible and is a project
that should be permitted given
a prudent regulatory and legal
process was undertaken,” said
Harry Andersen, Pembina’s
s enior v ice p resident and c hief
l egal o ffi cer.
The company did not
address its diffi culties with
state permits, but emphasized
that it had received approval
from 14 local jurisdictions.
The company already has
a somewhat fractious rela-
tionship with Oregonians.
Its previous attempt to build
a propane export terminal in
Portland ultimately led the
city to adopt a moratorium on
development of all new fos-
sil fuel infrastructure. Public
hearings on its land use per-
mit for the LNG terminal and
Receivership
plan stalled
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facility outweighed any of
those impacts.
Commissioner
Richard
Glick dissented, saying the
decision violated the Natu-
ral Gas Act and the National
Environmental Policy Act
because it did not adequately
consider the project’s green-
house emissions or its impact
on endangered species.
The commission’s chair,
Neil Chatterjee, said Pembina
now needs to obtain all neces-
sary permits from the state.
Oregon’s Department of
Environmental Quality denied
the project’s water quality cer-
tifi cate last year. It did so in
part for procedural reasons
and said Jordan Cove could
reapply. But it also said at the
time that it had “insuffi cient
information to demonstrate
compliance with water qual-
ity standards, and because the
available information shows
that some standards are more
likely than not to be violated.”
In January, the Department
of State Lands rejected an
extension request from Pem-
bina for the project’s dredg-
ing permit, saying it had not
received critical information.
And the Department
of Land Conservation and
Development last month said
the project would have signif-
icant adverse effects on state
lands. The state agency deter-
mined the project was not con-
sistent with the state’s land use
laws and said neither the Fed-
eral Energy Regulatory Com-
mission nor the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers “can grant
pipeline drew tens of thou-
sands of public comments.
And the company’s c hief
e xecutive, Mick Dilger, has
made disparaging remarks to
fi nancial analysts about state
regulators inability to handle
permitting for a large hydro-
carbon project.
Brown issued a statement
Thursday saying she had
long been clear that her posi-
tion has been to ensure the
neutrality and fairness of the
state permitting process. But
she said she was stunned by
FERC’s decision to go for-
ward with a decision at a time
of national emergency.
“As the FERC c hair stated
earlier today, it is now incum-
bent on the company to secure
all state permits. Currently,
this project does not have a
green light from state agen-
cies,” she said . “I want to reit-
erate that I will not stand for
any attempt to ignore Ore-
gon’s authority to protect pub-
lic safety, health and the envi-
ronment,” she said, adding
that she had asked state law-
yers to consider all appropri-
ate legal action to assure state
permitting processes will be
followed.
“Let me be clear to the
concerned citizens of s outh-
west Oregon: until this proj-
ect has received every sin-
gle required permit from state
and local agencies, I will use
every available tool to pre-
vent the company from taking
early action on condemning
private property or clearing
land.”
Jessie’s largest creditors battle
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A rendering of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal in Coos Bay.
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receivership.
An affi davit that Richard
Ellis, co-president of Gem-
Cap, fi led this month gave
insight into Jessie’s fi nances.
In the 10 days prior to fi ling
for receivership, Jessie’s bor-
rowed almost $500,000 from
GemCap, Ellis said. And to
get that money, Jessie’s may
have lied about how much
inventory it had, according to
the affi davit.
At a scheduling hearing
last week to discuss when
to hold a creditors’ meeting
to appoint a new receiver,
Arnold Willig, GemCap’s
attorney, argued GemCap
was the largest creditor of
Jessie’s and it was GemCap’s
right to have a choice in the
receiver.
Willig referred to GemCap
as the “lifeblood” of Jessie’s.
The attorney for Turnford,
Faye Rasch, argued against
the appointment of Revital-
ization Partners. The fi rm
is large with many lawyers
and employees, Rasch said.
Wain’s operation is stream-
lined, with just one receiver
and one lawyer, she said.
And Wain is already work-
ing to sort out the company’s
fi nances. She said replacing
the receiver would drag out
the process.
Florian Mumford, captain
of the F/V Dream, Jim Kary,
owner of F/V The Beach-
comer, and Kary’s nephew,
Ross Kary, sat in the court-
room while the two attorneys
argued.
Referring to GemCap as
the lifeblood of Jessie’s didn’t
sit well with Ross Kary, who
is working to get his uncle the
money he is owed by Jessie’s.
“The fi shermen are the
lifeblood of the company,”
Ross Kary said.
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