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THANK YOU OPB for this timely and heartfelt topic.  Continued thanks and respect to Senator Wyden, for reinforcing his original opposition to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  

A minor correction to OPB's online summary, Senators Wyden and Merkley are not seeking 'more authority', but simply the ability to revert back to our state's authority, legal technicalities aside. 

• The statewide agencies in Oregon had a very stringent siting process for energy facilities until this was usurped by FERC.  
• Further, FERC stated that the states retain the final say under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act.  This was clearly demonstrated by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in a recent letter to the applicant of the proposed LNG terminal at Bradwood, OR.

THE SECOND POINT is private property rights and eminent domain.  During the Energy Policy testimony in 2005, Alan Greenspan testified with regard to the need for LNG to be expanded in the energy mix of the US. 

Reading Mr. Greenspan's "The Age of Turbulence", one theme was very disturbing, his stance on property rights.  "Experience leads me to consider state-enforced property rights as the key growth-enhancing institution…Do I own a parcel of land outright, or are there so many easements that it is of little value to me?  Or, most important, if governments at their discretion can seize my property, how valuable are my property rights?…Under constant fear of expropriation, what effort will I put forward to improve my property?  And what price can I set for it if I choose to sell it?"

Hundreds of property owners in Oregon and Washington have been living under fear of expropriation as a result of the proposed LNG terminals and hundreds of miles of associated pipelines.  

The current data notes there is an abundance of domestic natural gas for the foreseeable future.  Mr. Greenspan's former views have helped shape the financial market, as well as this aspect of energy policy; does he have any ideas how this current dilemma might be resolved?  Would the Senators from Oregon consider approaching Mr. Greenspan to seek a 'win-win' solution?

Gloria G. MacKenzie

Conservation Committee

Willapa Hills Audubon Society

posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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Yes, it is very appropriate.  I applaud Mr. Kroger for his stance.  He is in essence reaffirming what Governor Kulongoski, former Attorney General Hardy Myers, and other Oregon State agencies have asserted in the lawsuit brought before the 9th Circuit Court against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

The  basic State objections to the proposed Bradwood LNG terminal are:

1)  An inadequate Environmental Impact Statement,

2)  No proper needs assessment was made,

3)  FERC's usurping of state's rights,

4)  and the enormous expense to the State of Oregon to review all three proposed projects.

Gloria

posted 3 years ago
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