Bradwood LNG opponents take case to commissioners once again

Ask for more, opponents of the proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving plant told Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday.

County officials are negotiating with Bradwood Landing's parent company, an agreement to provide maritime security for LNG tankers headed to the proposed terminal.

Three weeks ago, the NorthernStar negotiator told Sheriff Dan Bardsley the company would withdraw from negotiations, but the following week, the company asked to resume negotiations, and Bardsley and Commissioner Lisa Marsyla met during the past week with the negotiator.

The company wants the sheriff's office to have an additional seven or eight deputies who would man patrol boats to escort loaded tankers enroute to the plant. NorthernStar has offered to pay the salaries of the officers, but Bardsley has told the company he wants more to cover related costs, and that, he has said, has been a sticking point in the negotiations.

"It is time for the commissioners to up the ante and to make NorthernStar pay for having tried to push the bill on the taxpayers of Wahkiakum County" George Exum, president of Wahkiakum Friends of the River, a group opposing the proposed plant, commented. "If you decide to pursue this contract, it should be a net benefit to the county."

Exum added that at another LNG site on the Atlantic Coast, local government negotiated an agreement that funded a community development fund with no restrictions; that paid all fire and emergency services costs and upgrades, impact fees for landowners, and money for a school district, recreational center and assisted living facility.

Exum also strongly recommended the county engage a consultant to perform an economic impact study of what might happen if the plant were built. Also, NorthernStar should compensate county officials for the time they spend preparing for negotiations or other Bradwood Landing related activities.

Kristen Lee, who with her husband, own residences in Portland and on Puget Island supported Exum's comments and added others.

She commented that people have supported the proposed plant because it will add jobs to the local economy, but those jobs, she said, would be few and not highly paid.

She started to criticize Marsyla for a lack of commitment to the community, but commission Chair Blair Brady stopped her and said comments shouldn't be personal.

Brady noted that the sheriff, not the commissioners, are conducting the negotiations. Marsyla is an observer for the board. Bardsley commented that his department has lost four officers to budget cuts in the past two years, and he would like to restore those jobs. However, he is committed to making sure any county security operations wouldn't fall on the taxpayer, he said.

Cathlamet resident Jim Reed, a retired oil industry executive who has sited LNG plants, suggested Bardsley and the commissioners be very careful in considering what the county's true costs would be.

Adding people to the payroll means more personnel issues and costs and less efficient operation, he said. Contingency costs could run high.

"I would be ballparking something in the order of a 10 percent, at minimum, to 20 percent, probably a good number, in excess of direct costs," he said. "I know that a 30 percent premium has hit me in some of my operations in the international oil business."

After the comments, Brady summarized the commission's plans: Marsyla will continue to serve as the board's liaison to negotiations. Any proposed agreement will be reviewed by an attorney specializing in maritime law.

The board will hold one or more public meetings on the plan before voting on it.

Marsyla added that her role as liaison doesn't mean she supports the proposed plant.

"I don't want it in my back yard," she said. "As a commissioner, I don't have a say on the plant; that's the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the states of Oregon and Washington.

"I, therefore, have to pay attention to what is good for our agreement. If Bradwood Landing comes in, I want the jobs."

Cathlamet resident George Wehrfritz, town mayor, said he was pleased to hear the debate and discussion.

Young people are going to leave the community to find good jobs, he said, but if the community can develop into an attractive area, many of those young people will want to move back and bring highly paying jobs with them.

Many won't want to move to a highly industrialized area.

"We wouldn't have moved here if LNG had been there in 2002," he said. "We don't want to trade short term jobs for lost opportunity in the long term.

Others in the audience said jobs would be good for the local economy.

Richard Erickson, Little Cape Horn resident and retired executive director of the Lower Columbia Economic Development Council, said the area needs jobs for young people that can support families.

He added that people buy Island waterfront property across from the paper mill at Wauna and don't mind its noise, lights and smell.

"We need to negotiate for our future," he said. "We don't want to look back and say we missed an opportunity.

Cathlamet resident Jennifer Hanigan said her family's title business depends on the real estate market, and times have been tough the past year.

"I agree with people's concerns, but we can't close our minds to any opportunity for jobs," she said. "I would leave this community not because of LNG but because of the economy."

Commissioner Dan Cothren said the community should welcome economic opportunities.

"I've seen different opportunities get passed by," he said. "I agree totally with what Lisa said.