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Pipeline permitting bill dies;
sponsor mourns for taxpayers
by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian
Tuesday June 30, 2009, 10:42 PM
by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian
Tuesday June 30, 2009, 10:42 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/06/pipeline_permitting_bill_dies.html
Oregon- While opponents of liquefied natural gas projects were celebrating the demise of a pipeline-permitting bill Monday night, state Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, used her final floor speech of the 2009 session to accuse House Democrats of abandoning taxpayers in a fit of legislative pique related to the controversial projects.
An audibly shaken Walker told Senate President Peter Courtney she was leaving the session "beside myself" because House Democrats declined to bring Senate Bill 977 to a vote.
The bill, sponsored by Walker and passed unanimously by the Senate, would have required companies proposing energy facilities in Oregon -- including LNG terminals and pipelines -- to reimburse state agencies for permitting costs.
Walker said the bill would have saved taxpayers several million dollars. And in a session when taxes were being raised and every lawmaker was looking for budget solutions, the permitting reimbursements would have been an obvious win for taxpayers, she said.
Walker alleged her bill never got a House vote because the Senate had declined to vote on a separate, more controversial pipeline-permitting bill that the House passed earlier in the session.
"I say that's pretty stupid, Mr. President. That's stupid for the taxpayers of Oregon who end up footing the bill" for permitting costs, she said. "Here we are trying to save money for Oregonians. This bill could have saved millions of dollars, and because we wouldn't move a teeny weenie bill for the House, we are out all this money."
The stricter permitting bill, House Bill 3058, became a proxy this session for the battle over whether to site LNG terminals in Oregon. The bill would have allowed companies backing so called linear utility projects to apply for wetland fill permits on property without the landowner's consent.
Backers, including much of the House leadership, said it would accelerate permitting for big utility projects including roads and power lines, and save landowners from needless condemnation proceedings.
Opponents, including landowners, property rights activists and environmental groups, called HB 3058 the pipeline fast track bill and fought a grass-roots battle to kill it in the House, where it passed 35-24.
Calls to House Speaker Dave Hunt and House Majority Leader Mary Nolan for comment were not returned Tuesday.
But Walker finished her two minute speech on a portentous note: "I am very, very disappointed in House Democrats. I will not forget that they have forgotten the taxpayer of the state of Oregon."
-- Ted Sickinger: tedsickinger@...
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