1000 Friends of Oregon has a new Executive Director. He’s Jason Miner, currently with the Nature Conservancy in Western Massachusetts.
Miner is no stranger to our state. He used to be Conservation Director for Oregon Trout and played a key role in the creation of the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act.
Things are coming together for the debate later this month that will focus on environmental issues in the race for Governor.
David Sarasohn of the Oregonian will be moderator. Four panelists will be asking the questions.
Photo by Chris Phan
The Oregon League of Conservation Voters says it’s endorsing Jeff Cogen as the new chairman of Multnomah County, and Karol Collymore for a seat on the county commission.
In a statement released this morning, OLCV praises Cogan for his efforts on sustainability, the environment, climate change, the local food economy and open spaces. “Jeff understands how clean energy and innovation can create good jobs and a stronger, more fair economy,” says OLCV PAC Board Chair Charlie Burr. “Jeff is a proven leader and environmental champion.”
Cell Towers
Three people from RespectPDX get a chance to tell the Portland City Council how they really feel about a WiMax tower moving into their neighborhood. Colin O’Neill, Eric Winston, and Caitlin Johnson each get a few minutes to address the council during the public speaking time at the beginning of the Wednesday’s meeting. The group has been fighting Clearwire’s plans for a wireless internet antenna at NE 37th and Fremont.
NW Portland Gas Terminals
Oregon DEQ holds a public meeting on renewing air quality permits for three gasoline terminals in Northwest Portland. They are the Chevron facility on NW Front St, and the Kinder Morgan Liquid and Shell Oil terminals on NW St. Helens Road. The terminals need air quality permits because they release air pollution, including benzene and ethyl benzene.
Klamath Water Shortages
Governor Kulongoski heads south Tuesday to Klamath Falls for a meeting about a potentially severe drought in the Klamath Basin. This year is looking a lot like 2001, when there wasn’t enough water in the system for both farmers and salmon. He’ll meet with federal, state and local officials, as well as representatives for farmers and tribes. The Governor could declare a drought emergency, which would provide financial aid to farmers who may not have enough water to irrigate their crops this year.
Starting tomorrow, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters is going to tell us which candidates its endorsing this year.
The names will be released Tuesday and Wednesday on the OLCV home page.
The endorsements cover about 20 state House and Senate races, county commission races for Clackamas, Jackson, Lane, Marion, Multnomah and Washington counties, city council races in Beaverton, Eugene and Portland, plus a race for the Portland area Metro Council.
But, we’re going to have to wait a little while longer for an endorsement in the Governor’s race. There’s a debate on environmental issues among the three top candidates for Governor on March 30th. OLCV is one of the groups sponsoring the debate and will hold off on making an endorsement until afterwards.
I wasn’t able to make it to the DEQ meeting on Bradwood Landing LNG in Astoria this week.
Too bad, because it sounds like it was an interesting event.
So I’ll point you to two stories about what happened. Both say the room was packed, mostly with anti-LNG people. They were supportive of DEQ’s decision not to rush the permitting process. Gary Coppedge with NorthernStar, the company developing Bradwood also spoke for about ten minutes.
Daily Astorian: Knappa LNG meeting heats up
Oregon Sierra Club: Activists Pack Hearing to Tell the DEQ: No Permit for Bradwood Landing LNG
A Greater Sage Grouse. Photo by Terry Steele.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has scheduled a news conference for 10:30am Pacific time Friday, when he’s expected to make an announcement about the status of the greater sage grouse.
This is one of the most highly anticipated environmental decisions ever for Western states.
The greater sage grouse has been in seriously decline for decades. In Oregon, the numbers are off 50% from 2005 to 2008. In Washington, they’re almost entirely gone.
Bradwood Landing LNG
Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality heads to Astoria this evening for a public meeting on the Bradwood Landing LNG project. Could be interesting. DEQ is reviewing Clean Air, Clean Water and other permits that Bradwood needs before it can be built. It will explain that process at the meeting.
A recent letter from DEQ revealed that NorthernStar, the developers of Bradwood, have been putting some pressure on the agency to review and approve the permits by this summer. DEQ doesn’t appear to be in any hurry, just to make the company happy.
