Clatsop County is joining the State of Oregon in urging federal officials to ensure a liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for Bradwood comply with local and state land-use laws.
The state’s departments of Environmental Quality, Energy, and Land Conservation and Development are responding today to a motion by NorthernStar Energy LLC and Bradwood Landing LLC requesting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission set deadlines for local and state agencies to process the site’s permit applications. The county is also filing a response outlining its position and joining the state’s response.
"Bradwood is attempting to utilize the federal process to bypass the local land-use planning process," said E. Andrew Jordan, Clatsop County legal counsel. "I believe that Clatsop County has a legal basis to expect Bradwood to engage in the local land-use process."
NorthernStar and Bradwood Landing continually ignore land-use and environmental issues raised by the county, Jordan said. The request for a federal scheduling order is an attempt to avoid addressing the issues as required by the Coastal Zone Management Act and other federal acts.
Several aspects of the proposed LNG terminal conflict with the county’s existing land-use and zoning laws. The scale of the proposed project is much larger than permitted under the county’s comprehensive land-use plan, which calls for small- to medium-sized water-dependent industrial development at this site.
Jordan also refuted developers’ characterizations of informal discussions with the county as "meaningful," and said the county has not agreed to an advisory process as the developers claimed in their motion to FERC. At the very least, the request for a federal scheduling order is premature since the developers have not filed any applications with the county, he added.
Clatsop County has not taken a stand for or against the Bradwood project, County Administrator Scott Derickson said. "Our arguments are limited to ensuring that the same process is followed that any other citizen would have to follow to address land-use and environmental issues in our community, and that the public is involved."