Bradwood LUBA remand hearing highlights

Appellants: Peter Huhtala, Jack Marincovich, Brett VandenHeuval, Julie Carter

The July 8th county hearing before the County Commissioners concerning the LUBA remand was about BIG and PROTECTION. It was a BIG standing- room-only crowd. Were our rights PROTECTED? Kinda. At the end of a long day, around 4:15 p.m., the Commissioners agreed to NOT vote right then and there - thanks to the leadership of Commissioner DIRK ROHNE.

County Commissioner will deliberate and vote at a special meeting NO public testimony will be taken Thursday, July 16, 6:00 PM Guy Boyington Building, Astoria

HEARING HIGHLIGHTS:

Repeated challenges from the audience about inappropriate and ex parte contacts that Commissioners HAZEN, ROBERTS, and SAMUELSON have been observed having with NorthernStar leaders and other LNG proponents. JEFF HAZEN said he coudn't recall that his testimony in Salem was in favor of HB3058, the LNG pipeline bill sought by NorthernStar, despite numerous people in the audience who were there when he did so. Commissioner SAMUELSON said it's just coincidence and not her fault that she keeps sitting with NorthernStar representatives at social
events. If this weren't such outrageous behavior, their excuses might be amusing. They should know better.

First BIG audience laugh was when the NorthernStar attorney said that Bradwood Landing would bring "a net environmental benefit to the lower Columbia."

BIG shocker: When the redacted testimony of BRETT VANDENHEUVEL, Executive Director of Columbia Riverkeeper, was shown on the big
screens: at least 2/3 of it had been blacked out by the county attorney. (Many pages of other testimony were entirely blacked out, as shown on the county's web site.) The attorney went through all 617 pages of testimony and wrote memos about each document identifying parts that needed to be blacked out. On your dime. Not cheap. Think J. Edgar Hoover, the KGB, and nasty dictatorships around the world.

BIG confusion about the rules: the commissioners kept changing their minds about who had "standing" and would be allowed to speak, and during the hearing flip-flopped a few more times, and finally everyone who had signed up was allowed to testify.

No BIG surprise: the commissioners refused to allow any new evidence, including the BIG significant changes NorthernStar has made in its application, including opting out of a major fish PROTECTION plan. Apparently most of the commissioners don't want to be confused by the facts.

Best BIG build-up: BRETT VANDENHEUVEL, showed how there is no legal way to argue that BIG equals small. He quoted from a series of official decisions that Bradwood Landing would be a BIG project, including statements from Clatsop County land use staff, Oregon's Dept. of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Supreme Court, and, last but not least, the county commissioners' own letter to FERC in December, 2007, in which they say that this project would be of "unprecedented scale." Despite NorthernStar's best efforts to narrowly define BIG only in terms of numbers of acres, the opposing testimony repeatedly reminded commissioners that BIG includes size, scope, and scale of use, development, and impact. Very powerful.

Speakers tried to help the commissioners understand what BIG means: CAROLYN EADY talked about "any reasonable person's standard." Several people recited synonyms, such as mammoth, immense, enormous, huge, colossal, and whopper. SANDRA LEWIS said Bradwood Landing wouldn't be large - it would be "extra-large.'' AMY LEWIS said that even the 4-year olds where she works know the difference between BIG and small. JOYCE HELLER said the discussion of BIG was straight out of "Alice in Wonderland." STEVE BERK said that twisting the public meanings of words to mean their opposites is a practice of totalitarian states and urged the commissioners to not get caught up in Orwellian Newspeak.

Only 2 speakers, both associated with construction unions from Washington, testified in favor of Bradwood Landing.

BIG fabulous reminders about the need to protect fishing grounds and the vulnerability of our fragile salmon. JIM SCHELLER pointed out that salmon runs of 20 million salmon are already down to 1 million. PETER HUHTALA, HOBE KYTR, JACK MARINCOVICH, GEORGIA MARINCOVICH, and others spoke about the venerated fishing tradition on the Columbia and about the livelihoods of our fishermen and the likely impacts of the terminal on all fish, especially salmon. As CHERYL JOHNSON pointed out, this and other related hearings have been scheduled exactly when Columbia River fishermen and women are fishing in Alaska, so they haven't been able to bring their stories and expertise to the commissioners.

The dozens of NO LNGers waving and showing NO LNG signs to passers- by on Commercial before the hearing were a big hit - drivers honked horns and waved back in BIG support all day! Thanks to the determined NO LNGers who missed the hearing and stayed out in the cold to continue to wave NO LNG signs.

The BIG support for our struggle from the NO LNGers outside Clatsop County. Enthusiastic allies from BIG distances also attended, included many who would be affected by the terminal and/or pipelines. They came from Beaverton, Portland, Gales Creek, and Yamhill, Oregon and from Puget Island and Kelso/Longview, Washington. They joined Clatsop folks in demonstrating outside and testifying eloquently.

If their decisions were going to be based on fact and reason and law, the County Commissioners would have to vote 0-5 against the Bradwood application. Will they?Witness their deliberations and voting on Thursday, July 16 at 6 p.m. at 857 Commercial, the Boyington Bldg., Astoria.

BE A WITNESS TO HISTORY

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners will meet to deliberate and likely vote on Bradwood Landing.

Thursday, July 16,6:00 PM
Judge Guy Boyington Building
Astoria

Don't let this important decision go unwitnessed. Please attend.

 

Those Who Opposed
(and their words)

Peter Huhtala
Lori Durheim
Georgia Marincovich
Ted Messing
Jan Mitchell
Roger Rocka
Joyce Heller
Sandra Davis
Carolyn Eady
Gayle Kiser
Laurie Caplan
Marc Auerbach
Don West
Hobe Kytr(oral)
Hobe Kytr(written)
Karin Temple
Christi Payne
LaRee Johnson
Jim Scheller
Carl Dominey
Christopher Paddon
Steve Berk
Frans Eykel
Jean Dominey
Carol Carver
Cheryl Johnson
Josie Peper
Robert Clark
Donna Quinn
Olivia Schmidt
Kathleen Sullivan
Barbara Wilson
Amy Lewis
Christi Payne
Jeremy Lippold
Teresa DeLorenzo
Kerstin Adams
Karen Kenyon
Kitty Paino
Jan Faber
Bobbie Brice
Sue Skinner
Tom Duncan
Carol Newman