Flotilla of boats protest at the site of the Bradwood Landing site, August 2007. Click photo to enlarge.

There are 4 LNG terminal currently proposed for the Columbia River Estuary. Two of these are near the City of Astoria, which is at the mouth of the River; the others are located upstream near the town of Bradwood. The companies involved include Oregon LNG, which took over a failed Calpine attempt at the mouth of the Columbia River. Calpine had proposed their project soon after one in Eureka, California failed due to citizen opposition.

Other companies proposing LNG terminals along the Columbia include Northern Star Natural Gas, Port Westward LNG, and Tansy Point LNG. Any one of these projects would have a negative impact on the region's economy and safety. In order to move the gas to market, they would require a 3-foot diameter high pressure natural gas pipeline through the Columbia River region. As a pipeline coming from any of these terminals would have a high-risk blast zone of 800 feet or more, it would put hundreds of families at risk.

According to the developers, pipelines would operate at 900 psi or greater carrying non-odorized gas through farms, woodlots, and small Oregon towns. LNG terminal and pipeline construction near the Columbia would require massive river dredging that would damage and would involve extensive disturbance and filling of wetland habitat. This would degrade key salmon rearing grounds and fishing areas that have been used for generations. Massive LNG tankers would suck up literally billions of gallons of Columbia River water to use as ballast water, potentially killing many thousands of juvenile salmon.

In addition, the buffer zones around these projects would put a damper on the fishing and recreational boating industry in the Columbia's estuary, as every time an LNG tanker came through it would require a 1,500 exclusion zone. This could potentially shut down the Columbia to one-way ship traffic according to a public summary of the Coast Guard's Waterway Suitability Analysis for the area. While Northern Star claims its facility would provide 65 jobs averaging $60,000 per year, this $3.9 million in personal income pales in comparison to the $100 million in personal income generated in just Clatsop County from the fishing industry. Additional economic impact would be felt by the thriving tourism industry, which would have to overcome the stigma of being home to high-risk LNG terminals.

Bradwood Landing LNG is the project that is farthest ahead in the permitting process. The basic facts of the project are below.

Location: In Bradwood, Oregon, on the southern shore of the Columbia River, approximately 38 miles from the Pacific shoreline.
Owner: Northern Star Natural Gas.
Peak Natural Gas production Capacity: 1.5 bcf/day Tentative
LNG sources: Unknown.
Storage Capacity: 160,000 Cubic meters per tank, three tanks.
Delivery of gas to market: Approximately 35 miles of new 36-inch pipeline to connect with existing William Northwest Pipeline system.
Located within the 3 mile "burn zone": Astoria, Oregon. Smaller communities of Brownsmead, Cathlamet, Clifton, and Skamacawa. Very close (within 1/2 mile) of Puget Island, WA where many people live.
Other notes: While seeking a right-of-way through condemnation or agreement by owners to run a pipeline through their land, Northern Star have provided no plan to compensate landowners for the decrease in property value caused by the pipeline. Already, pipeline surveyors have threatened to condemn the land of residents who did not agree to let them on private property. Northern Star has promised to paint the holding tanks in camouflage so they will blend in with nearby trees.

Learn more:

Columbia River Keeper

Wakhiakum Friends of the River

Columbia Rivervision