Oregon Pipeline Project Finds Critics Throughout The Pacific Northwest

By Joseph Friedrichs, 3-26-08

A proposed natural gas pipeline in Oregon continues to collect criticism following the release of maps that show clear cutting through 73 miles of public forest land and the pipe itself crossing about 50 waterways.

If approved, the Palomar Gas Transmission project would begin construction in 2010. Building the pipeline would require an estimated 1,000 workers to remove brush and trees and then place the pipe 7 feet under the ground. In total the pipeline would extend 210 miles, running from Oregon’s north coast, over the Cascades and then into the high-desert country in the eastern part of the state.

Critics to the project say the pipeline would harm precious wildlife habitat, spread invasive weeds, take out patches of old-growth forest and open public lands to ATV use. There is also concern about possible spills or pollution from massive tankers that would transport the gas in the Columbia-River basin.

The project would be a partnership between TransCanada’s Gas Transmission Northwest and NW Natural. TransCanada owns more than 36,500 miles of natural gas pipelines in the Pacific Northwest and has operated in Oregon for 45 years, the Oregonian reports.