2007 Convergence for Climate Action at proposed Bradwood LNG site. The weeklong event, organized by Rising Tide with local communities was a critical moment for movement building.
By Nick Engelfried & Monica Vaughan.
After a five yearlong organizing effort by a diverse and passionate coalition of Oregonians and Southern Washingtonians, the grassroots No LNG coalition triumphed over Bradwood LNG.
Monday afternoon, the fight for the Pacific Northwest’s clean energy future achieved a long-awaited major milestone: the backer of the proposed Bradwood Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal announced suspension of their application for the project. This renders Bradwood LNG essentially dead. In a part of the country where there are new coal plants proposed (and where such projects are unlikely to be proposed anytime soon) LNG represents the cutting edge of the fossil fuel industry’s expansion. Bradwood LNG’s defeat is a victory that should send a warning to fossil fuel projects across the region.
At word of the news, community members wept with joy and phones rang continuously to share the news. At a press conference, coalition members reflected on the complex and significant meaning of such a victory over the fossil fuel industry. As community leader and dedicated volunteer Cheryl Johnson put it, “They have money, but we have heart. In the end, heart always wins”.
It would be impossible to do justice in a single blog post to the groundswell of grassroots activism that led to this clean energy victory. Throughout the past several years, environmentalists and land-rights activists across Oregon have rallied in opposition to proposed LNG terminals and pipelines – not just Bradwood LNG, but two other import terminals and the network of LNG pipelines that would connect import centers to existing pipelines, sending gas shipped in from Russia, Peru, or the Middle East down to the California market.
Students meet with farmer on 150 year old family farm threatened by pipeline development as part of the second Bike the Pipe event.
Oregon farmers have challenged the LNG industry’s attempts to seize private land; Columbia Riverkeeper and the Nez Pierce tribe fought a fierce legal battle, college students have heavily lobbied state representatives and organized bike-ride protests, Rising Tide organized acts of civil disobedience and other movement-building actions, and hundreds of Oregonians have rallied multiple times at the capitol to demand a future free of LNG.
Now we’re clearly winning, but the fight’s not yet over. Oregon still faces two other proposed LNG terminals and their associated pipelines. One terminal would be located on the Columbia River, and the other at Coos Bay. The remarkable coalition that defeated Bradwood will continue to fight these remaining LNG projects.
Later this month, the NO LNG coalition will be leveraging the power of this victory at the Rally at the NW Natural Shareholder Meeting (backer of the Palomar pipeline) to demand an end to LNG investments once and for all.
And speaking of investments, it seems Bradwood LNG didn’t make such a good one for the project’s backer, Texas-based NorthernStar Natural Gas. Shortly after Bradwood’s suspension became official, NorthernStar announced it is filing for bankruptcy. The company reportedly threw away around $100 million on the Bradwood LNG Terminal, and another proposed LNG terminal in California (which recently died a much-deserved death as well). The company’s hedge-fund investment gone bankrupt, has left a trail of unpaid debt across the state. Leaving unpaid bills to lawyers, consultants, and even an unpaid $186,000 bill owed to Clatsop County.
Though market factors also contributed to Bradwood’s demise, grassroots activism in Oregon can truly be said to have sent this multi-million dollar project packing. The opening of new reserves of natural gas in North America during the last few years helped put the nails in Bradwood’s coffin. But, without organized grassroots opposition, the terminal likely would have begun construction years ago.
This week, grassroots activism in Oregon triumphed over one of the most well funded industrial projects in this state’s history. Let’s hope this marks the beginning of the end for Northwest LNG.
We hope this is a victory can resonate with and inspire all grassroots movements against fossil fuel infrastructure!
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