The single dissenting vote came from Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff who said reasonable alternatives to the Bradwood project would “serve the projected energy needs of the Pacific Northwest in a more efficient, more reliable, and environmentally preferable manner.”

“We’re concerned about the problems that will arise from Bradwood Landing project and the substantial harm to threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead, as well as other fish species that pass through the Lower Columbia River and unto the Snake River Basin,” said Brooklyn Baptiste, member of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee.

“This is a giant step backwards from federal, state and tribal efforts in the Columbia River basin on salmon recovery,” said N. Kathryn Brigham, chairwoman of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “The tribes, states, and federal government have worked extremely hard to protect and restore this precious resource. The Bradwood LNG project would be a large-scale industrial development that will have lasting, permanent negative effects on the surrounding fish habitat and the region’s restoration efforts.”

Science has unequivocally demonstrated that the estuary plays a vital role in the lifecycle of the Columbia basin salmon, providing a nursery area for rearing and critical migration corridor to prepare anadromous fish for successful entry into the ocean.

“CRITFC and the tribes support alternative energy projects, including natural gas projects, that add diversity to the region, but the Bradwood proposal poses unacceptable risks to the basin tribes’ treaty resources and places too many risks on the river and salmon for far too little benefit to the region,” said Brigham.