FERC Judge McCartney will be holding Town Halls to uncover facts about Oregon LNG’s treatment of landowners and the FERC process.

Senator Wyden requested an investigation of Oregon LNG’s recent behavior. FERC Chairman Wellinghoff ordered the Town Halls to give citizens “an opportunity to express their views and concerns over Oregon Pipeline’s conduct with landowners during the environmental review process.” Seems reasonable.

Oregon LNG is now demanding that FERC cancel the Town Hall hearings. They don’t want FERC to hear our concerns. In a motion to FERC submitted Feb. 5, Oregon LNG stated, the “Town Hall fact finding should not proceed.” What’s so bad about reviewing the facts? What are they afraid of? Oregon LNG doesn’t like it. They say that community complaints are: “unsubstantiated” and “there are no constraints on the parties’ behavior, or mechanisms to ensure that the comments received are truthful, ground in fact and context, and relevant.

To make matters worse, these comments would be made in a forum whose very nature is hostile to Oregon LNG.” During Oregon LNG’s last visit to Gales Creek during a FERC site tour, Oregon LNG collected data (GPS coordinates) on Anne Berblinger’s farm, even after Anne provided them directions in writing that expressly prohibited collecting data on her farm.

Oregon LNG’s letter to FERC states “the ‘GPS incident’ was trivial in nature and brief in duration.” Violating the access agreement is not trivial. Seems that Oregon LNG considers Town Hall hearings in our communities - places like Woodburn, Forest Grove or Astoria - as “hostile.” FERC is making the right choice by going into communities to hear legitimate concerns about Oregon LNG.