Starting at 5 pm Pacific time and 6 pm Mountain time on Monday evening, February 13, a Northwest coalition of nonprofit organizations, including 350 Deschutes, 350 PDX, Columbia Riverkeeper, Rogue Climate, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT), will host a People’s Hearing on Canadian company TC Energy’s proposal to expand fracked “natural” gas exported through the aging Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) pipeline and compressor stations that span north Idaho, eastern Washington, and central Oregon.  This hybrid town hall, convened online and in-person at the Gardenia Center (400 Church Street in Sandpoint, Idaho) and at the Rogue Climate office (205 North Phoenix Road, Suite G, Phoenix, Oregon), offers participants opportunities to learn about the potential impacts of the GTN Xpress expansion project and to provide testimony recorded and sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the project docket.

Among concerned, regional community members and environmental and climate advocates sharing their insights and stories, the People’s Hearing on GTN Xpress will feature these key speakers:

* U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon

* Audrey Leonard, staff attorney of Columbia Riverkeeper

* Peter McCartney, climate campaigner of Wilderness Committee

* Dr. Annemarie Dooley, physician and board member of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility

* Naghmana Sherazi, activist and board member of Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power and Light

Please RSVP and register to join this virtual conference at bit.ly/peopleshearing_gtn and/or gather at the Gardenia Center or Rogue Climate office and contact WIRT for further information [1].  Timely input from citizens and local elected officials to FERC before its possible decision on this project on Thursday, March 16, is crucial to halting the GTN Xpress fossil fuels onslaught [2].  Along with commenting and/or testifying to FERC, help support this resistance by amplifying a new video recently launched by the grassroots coalition, through social media posts email messages, and other methods [3].  Also reach out to any of the partner groups, if your organization is interested in joining the fight to #StopGTNXpress.  Within the next few days, WIRT will add to this post and send further descriptions of pipeline expansion impacts and issue updates, to assist involvement in this campaign.

[1] Webinar Registration: People’s Hearing to Stop GTN Xpress, Rogue Climate

[2] Stop GTN Xpress: Take Action Now, Rogue Climate

[3] Stop GTN Xpress, January 30, 2023 Rogue Climate