Amongst the charges Stufflebean hurled in an, as yet unreleased, email to Clark Walworth are accusations both Andy Jackson and Larry Van Elsberg mishandled their responsibilities during the construction of a natural gas pipeline. The $51M pipeline, now leased by NW Natural, was sold to the County electorate who approved a $27M bond on the basis of job creation by local officials and FONSI. More than 2,900 jobs were anticipated to be gained over the subsequent ten years.

In the end, unfortunately, the FONSI laced dreams, despite the support of all the commissioners, Whitty, Ross and Griffith, didn’t pan out, The pipeline, under the administration of the commissioners, found the Army Corps of Engineers levying the largest fine ever in Oregon, $570,000 against Coos County for environmental degradation, amongst other things. Alas, nary a job in sight.

Of the accusations hurled by Stufflebean, he charges Van Elsberg with not stopping the project for road permit violations. Van Elsberg, who unlike Stufflebean was intimately involved during this time, tells another side of that story. Namely, he points a finger or two at both Griffith and Ross claiming they attempted to intervene between Van Elsberg and his environmental compliance officer, Paul Slater. Ross, the road department liaison at the time, called Van Elsberg at home one night and told him Slater was interfering with pipeline contractor Mastec’s progress. Griffith, according to Van Elsberg, intimated or outright stated< at a time when Mastec was going to be drilling under a creek, that Slater should be reassigned to another location that day.

Stufflebean has also accused Sheriff Andy Jackson of not reporting stream fracking on the part of Mastec to the Department of Environmental Quality. Jackson, again because The World mysteriously refuses to release a copy of the accusations, doesn't understand what the commissioner could be referring to. Sheriffs rarely have authority over non criminal issues like environmental quality. Van Elsberg says he has no recollection of ever working with the Sheriffs Department regarding the pipeline.

Opening the pipeline history will actually be a good thing for the people of Coos County. Whitty, who was the main 'go to' person between the road department and the pipeline advisers generally passed the problem back to the advisers managing the project. The advisers, out of Colorado, eventually bailed out on the County and wouldn't even release inspection reports. In essence, the road department was operating on its own with no competent guidance.

Van Elsberg is accused by Stufflebean of not shutting down the project for permit violations. Van Elsberg states he was not about to shut down a $51M voter approved project without the consent of the commissioners.

From the moment the commissioners accepted the lowest bid and ignored other bidding options the project was on a path to failure and the promised jobs have yet to be seen.

For some great photos of the pipeline disaster check here