The U.S. District Court ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to release a list of people affected by a proposed gas pipeline. Two environmental groups had requested the list under the Freedom of Information Act. -DB
The Daily Astorian
July 28,2009
The U.S. District Court in Portland has ruled in favor of Columbia Riverkeeper and Willamette Riverkeeper in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit regarding the Palomar pipeline.
The Court ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to produce a list of landowners affected by the proposed pipeline.
In response to the request by the Riverkeeper groups, FERC had initially denied that a list of landowners existed.
FERC subsequently acknowledged a list, but refused to release the names. Friday’s decision orders FERC to release an unredacted list.
The case was argued by attorney Brenna Bell for Willamette Riverkeeper and by Columbia Riverkeeper executive director Brett VandenHeuvel.
Over the past several years, some landowners along proposed pipeline routes have failed to receive notice of public hearings and have urged FERC to be more transparent and responsive.
Paul Dryden, a Woodburn-area landowner, received no notice about a key public hearing. He attended anyway, only to find that the pipeline had been rerouted through his farm.
“It is just incredibly frustrating to try and deal with these pipeline projects without having basic information before comment periods come up,” he said.
“There are thousands of people in Oregon affected by these projects, and many of them are still in the dark about what has been proposed. We hope that this is a step in the direction of making FERC change its approach.”
Copyright 2009 East Oregonian Publishing Co.