Lapwai, Idaho - Yesterday, NorthernStar Natural Gas (NorthernStar), a Houston,Texas based company, announced that it is suspending the development of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal and pipeline in the Columbia River Estuary at Bradwood Landing, Oregon. Earlier this year the Nez Perce Tribe filed a petition in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to overturn a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that approved the development of this project. The Tribe opposed the project because of the damage it would do to fish and fish habitat. “The Nez Perce Tribe is very pleased that the development of this LNG project is indefinitely on hold,” stated Samuel N. Penney, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee. “This project, approved by FERC, is inconsistent with the federal government’s recognition of the Estuary as an important salmonid nursery and the need for critical restoration there, not further development. Although the Nez Perce Tribe does not oppose clean energy such as natural gas, the Nez Perce Tribe will not support an LNG development in the Columbia River Estuary that would have destroyed important juvenile salmon habitat and killed salmon important to the Nez Perce Tribe,” concluded Penney. NorthernStar’s decision is a welcomed development in what has been a multi-year battle that also included the states of Oregon and Washington, environmental groups and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) “The suspension of NorthernStar’s development of the Bradwood Landing terminal is the appropriate outcome after five years of a difficult and complex process,” said Paul Lumley, executive director of the CRITFC. “Our tribes have maintained that this project was incompatible with Columbia Basin salmon recovery efforts and failed to meet the tests for ecological compatibility. Protecting estuary habitat is a key component to restoring salmon populations.”

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