What's So Bad About LNG?
First in a four-part series
What is LNG?
LNG is natural gas that is extracted from gas fields overseas, supercooled until it is liquefied, and then shipped to terminals in tankers that are 900 feet to 1200 feet long, roughly the size of aircraft carriers. The NorthernStar proposal is for an LNG terminal to be built on 55 acres of a 420-acre site at Bradwood, 20 miles upriver from Astoria. After the LNG is regasified, most of it will go to California via 36"- diameter high-pressure pipelines crossing Oregon.
The proposed Bradwood LNG terminal is expected to receive 3 LNG tankers each week. Offloading a 30-million gallon LNG tanker takes about 24 hours, which means that LNG tankers would either be coming into the Columbia River, offloading LNG, or leaving the Columbia River almost continuously.
"LNG is misleadingly described as a clean fuel.¹ LNG, like oil or coal, is a finite fossil fuel. Burning it emits carbon dioxide and harmful air pollutants, aggravating global warming and causing human health problems."  Environmental Defense Center, EDCnet.org
Each LNG tank at Bradwood would be 262 feet in diameter, and 168 feet in height, according to
the Bradwood Biological Assessment on pages 2-8 and 2-9. Three tanks are planned for in the County application, each with a storage capacity of 160,000 cubic meters. The FERC application and the Biological Assessment only ask for two tanks, although the schematics show a footprint for a third tank. (At 10 feet per story of a typical building, the tank will be about 17 stories high. A typical city block is about 250 feet long.)
Coastal areas of lower population in particular are being targeted (for LNG plants), partly because Congress has clearly stated a preference that these facilities be sited "remotely."
"LNG exporting nations are many of the same that export oil. Russia, Qatar, and Iran hold almost 60% of global gas reserves." -- California Coastal Protection Network
" the prevalent view is that known and likely reserves of readily accessible oil and natural gas will last for a few more decades." -- Jared Diamond, Professor of Geology, U. of Califrnia and prize-winning scientific author, COLLAPSE, 2005
"I think it is no accident that the industry has chosen places like Fall River, which tend to be lower-income, working class communities where they don¹t expect educated local opposition." -- Mayor Ed Lambert, Fall River, Massachusetts, proposed site of an LNG facility
For more information, check these resources:
Area libraries and Knappa High School have the Northern Star application for Bradwood and other documents.
The Sandia National Laboratories Report
"Guidance on Risk Analysis and Safety Implications of a Large LNG Spill Over Water," & "The Risk and Dangers of LNG" (Purchase the DVD from LngDanger.com)
www.fe.doe.gov/programs/oilgas/storage/ ... g_1204.pdf view as HTML
Web Sites
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/lng/gen-info
The 6-page overview of the U.S. Coast Guard Waterway Suitability Report (WRS)
http://www.usco.mil/d13/Portland; links to LNG and the Bradwood Landing project.
track the LNG projects in Oregon at
http://egov.oregon.gov/ENERGY/SITING
U.S. natural gas markets:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/ ... pter3.html
LNG facilities: federal safety standards
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin-multidb.cgi
The Richard Clarke report on risk of terrorist attacks on LNG tankers and facilities
http:/www.riag.state.ri.us
The Coos Bay, Oregon LNG proposal
www.energy.state.or.us/siting/sitehm.htm
Click on Energy Facility Siting, Facilities Under Review, Jordon Cove Energy Project
LNG issues from an industry standpoint
www.energyintel.com click on Natural Gas Week
An LNG conference in Maine
www.clf.org
Information from the Vallejo,CA LNG proposal which was defeated
http://vallejocpr.org/lngarchive
Other Useful Web Sites
http://www.lnglawblog.com
www.edcnet.org/ProgramsPage/LNG
http://citizensagainstlng.googlepages.com/
www.greenfutures.org/projects/LNG
lngwatch.com/race/truth
www.dailyastorian.com
Compiled by Laurie Caplan, June 2007