Oregon Public Broadcasting

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden strongly objected Thursday to the plan for a natural gas pipeline through the Mt Hood National Forest.

In a letter to the head of the U.S. Forest Service, the Portland Democrat labeled the proposed Palomar company pipeline’s route as a “freeway-wide clear-cut.”

Last month, the Forest Service agreed to amend its management plan to allow for the pipeline.

Environmentalists cheered Wyden, saying the senator’s letter deals a blow to the pipeline – and to a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River.

Henry Morse is a project manager on the Palomar pipeline. He says it's completely separate from the LNG project.

Henry Morse: “We certainly need to address the Senator’s concerns, but we are confident that we can do that. We’re not surprised that he has reacted to some of his constituents. And we’re also very confident that the Senator understands the need for a way, or a second path, to get natural gas into the Willamette Valley, to serve most of the citizens of Oregon.”

The pipeline would run from east of the Cascades, near Maupin to Mollala and then on to Astoria.

Morse says the pipeline’s path through the Mt. Hood National Forest is needed as an alternative to the current natural gas pipeline that runs through the Columbia River gorge.