Despite NorthernStar Natural Gas Co.’s claims to the contrary, the city of Warrenton is not satisfied that safety concerns have been adequately addressed for the liquefied natural gas facility the company proposes to build at Bradwood Landing, 20 miles east of Astoria.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Warrenton City Commission unanimously approved a written response to be sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The vote was 3-0, with Mayor Gil Gramson and Commissioner Dick Hellberg absent. The response addresses a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and a proposed Emergency Response Plan (ERP) that NorthernStar has filed with FERC.

The letter, written for the city by attorney Diane Phillips, says Warrenton will not agree to the “take-it-or-leave it” approach put forward by NorthernStar.

Pointing out that Warrenton has very limited funding resources available for public safety services, the letter says “Warrenton categorically rejects and disputes any claim or characterization that the Proposed Emergency Response Plan and proposed cost-sharing agreements are acceptable to Warrenton or are otherwise fair and reasonable.”

It further states that NorthernStar “presented City officials with proposed agreements, which were legally objectionable, including, among other things, a requirement that Warrenton “agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless” NorthernStar for death or injury arising from services provided under the agreement. That proposal is “totally unacceptable,” the letter states.

Northern Star cannot go forward with construction until its Emergency Response Plan is approved by the affected governmental entities, including Astoria, Warrenton and Knappa.

In other action, FERC isn’t the only federal agency Warrenton has been dealing with. Just as city leaders thought everything was finally on track for the city’s dikes to be certified capable of withstanding a “hundred-year flood,” an 11th-hour change of heart by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers put the issue back to square one.

At Tuesday’s meeting, City Manager Bob Maxfield told the City Commission the Corps decided its own rules prevent it from carrying out the certification, which is necessary to protect property owners from having to purchase expensive flood insurance. However, Maxfield said the certification can probably be done by the engineering firm HLB Otak before new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps go into effect this fall. The new maps designate certain areas of the city as within the flood zone that previously were considered outside of it.

Mayor pro tem Mark Kujala noted that the city had been working with the Corps for six months, but “there was no hint they couldn’t do it until about two weeks ago.” He called it a frustrating situation that the two federal agencies – FEMA and the Corps – can’t agree on a dike certification process, but said he is glad the city is moving forward with the help of HLB Otak. An item that would have approved an agreement with the Corps for levee certification was pulled from Tuesday’s agenda.

“We’re not dead in the water yet. We’re still moving ahead to get it done,” Maxfield said. And he said both the city of Warrenton and Clatsop County are appealing FEMA’s flood maps and plan to support each other’s efforts. On a 3-0 vote, the Commission unanimously approved sending letters to FEMA appealing the flood insurance rate maps.

During the time for comments from commissioners, Frank Orrell said he would like to see an ordinance passed that would require city tax dollars to be spent on citizens, not on illegal aliens, and that would impose fines on businesses that hire illegal aliens.

The Warrenton Commission meeting began with a moment of silence to remember John Williams and Dan Andriesian, two well-respected community members who died recently. Andriesian, a Warrenton dentist and charter boat captain, was involved in city activities for many years. Williams was the mayor of Cannon Beach.