Will Senator Starr Protect the Public from LNG?

I've already made the point on this blog that Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) represents one of the biggest threats to sustainable living in Washington County. So it's great news that one of our county representatives in the Oregon State Legislature - Rep Chuck Riley, is one of the chief sponsors of the LNG Public Protection Act (HB 2015). The Act, if passed into law, would not ban LNG in Oregon; however, it would give state agencies much more authority to say no to LNG if they determine that LNG development is not needed in Oregon, or that it is not consistent with the state's goals for reducing global warming pollutants. For a complete summary of the LNG Public Protection Act, please see here.

Representative Riley is already working to protect his district from irresponsible fossil fuel development. Now, however, we need to get the rest of Washington County's legislative delegation on the same page. In particular, State Senator Bruce Starr, who represents the cities of Forest Grove, Cornelius, and Hillsboro in the state legislature, could be a swing vote on this issue. In 2007, Senator Starr supported passage of Oregon's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. This year, however, not much has been heard from him on the issue of LNG versus clean, renewable energy. In fact, the preliminary investigations of myself and other suggest that the LNG Public Protection Act is not yet a big issue in Starr's office. When I called up his office to urge Starr to support the Act, I had to explain to the legislative assistant who answered the phone what this bill would even mean for Oregon. This doesn't mean Senator Starr doesn't care about protecting his constituents - it simply means that we need to let him know how important the LNG Public Protection Act will be to the people of Washington County, and to Oregon's clean energy future.

If you live in Senator Starr's district, you can help educate him about the LNG Public Protection Act. Please call his office, and urge Senator Starr to clear the way for clean energy in Oregon by supporting the LNG Public Protection Act.

You can reach Senator Starr's office at 503-986-1715

Then, once you've called Senator Starr, please let me know in a reply to this blog post so I can keep track of the total number of calls to his office!

-Nick Engelfried