Oregon LNG's Opponents Renew Call For Pipeline Emergency Response Plan

This week, opponents of the proposed Oregon LNG terminal and pipeline renewed their request for Clatsop County to require an emergency response plan before Clatsop County Commissioners vote on the proposed project. In the wake of the San Bruno pipeline explosion and fire, Clatsop residents are alarmed that Clatsop County commissioners are considering approving the project next week without having any details about emergency response along the pipeline route.

Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper, explained the decision facing the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. The Board cannot in good conscience approve the largest pipeline ever constructed in Clatsop County without reviewing an Emergency Response Plan. The proposed Oregon LNG pipeline is larger, would have higher pressure, and would lack the odorization of the San Bruno PG&E pipeline. Given what happened in San Bruno, and the revelation that most agencies don?t even have copies of these plans, the Board needs to ask tough questions about the safety of this proposal.

On Tuesday, Columbia Riverkeeper and partners submitted a blunt five-page letter that detailed the omissions in Oregon LNG's proposal for protecting public safety.

Laurie Caplan, a Clatsop resident who appealed the project along with local group Columbia-Pacific Common Sense, stated, It makes no sense to propose a pipeline with over 19 miles between block valves. It's unsafe, and it's an insult to the residents of our County. We are asking the Commissioners to step in and not allow Oregon LNG to rush ahead with this unneeded pipeline project by cutting corners."

Added Caplan, "The valve for the San Bruno pipeline was less than a mile away from that explosion and fire. It's hard to imagine what would happen if Oregon LNG's pipeline erupted, and we shouldn't wait to ask for answers until after the decision is made."