Residents concerned about the LNG facilities were quick to organize after Calpine Corp.’s announcement late last year.
Community groups RiverVision and People For Responsible Prosperity formed within a month of the lease agreement with the Port of Astoria. Columbia County residents formed Save Our Columbia River in response to the Port Westward project, while Wahkiakum Friends of the River is primarily concerned with the Bradwood Landing site.
“We are a grassroots organization of people who feel passionately about the river. We are families and individuals who are working at the kitchen table on the evenings and the weekends,” said Cheryl Johnson, a member of RiverVision’s executive committee.
“It’s overwhelming that we are going up against companies that have people on the payroll whose full-time job is to come into our community and advocate for this.”
Opponents feel that LNG is a far too heavy industry for the region, will decrease property values and quality of life and will interfere with river traffic, said Rose Priven, spokeswoman for People for Responsible Prosperity.
RiverVision recently opened a resource center and office on 13th Street in Astoria between Duane and Exchange streets, and is in the process of becoming a not-for-profit organization.
Group members are also helping organize a talk by LNG expert Jerry Havens, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Arkansas, who will talk about the safety risks associated with an LNG spill on water. He’ll speak at 7 p.m. Monday at the Performing Arts Center.
“We are interested in scientific facts, not scare tactics, to help community leaders understand the realities of LNG,” Johnson said in a invitation to the event.
