Evidently the Port has a citizen advisory committee too! According to an advertisement in The World the Port has had a five person technical advisory committee since 1991 and are now expanding the number to ten. The Port seeks three people with experience or education in ecological and environmental areas four year terms and two ‘at large’ slots with two year terms.

The advertisement indicates that the committee has the authority to set its own procedures for calling and holding meetings, there is no mention of providing public notice of said meetings. As we have learned lately ORS 192.610 to ORS 192.690 clearly states that advisory panels of this nature must comply with all open meetings law which includes proper notice of the meetings, availability of the materials being used and the minutes of these meetings must be made available.

Perhaps this committee has not met recently or I have simply missed any reference to the meetings or the recommendations made by the committee but one thing is certain, this committee must conduct itself in the same transparent fashion as the newly formed bureaucratic boondoggle county advisory committees. Minutes of past meetings of this committee must be made available to the public.

UPDATE A reader has provided me with a brief history of the Port Technical Advisory Committee

“Back in 1990/91, The Port was working to site the Japanese Daishowa pulp mill near Jordan Cove on Coos Bay. This attempt energized the formation of a very active and effective citizens group working to oppose the effort.

This group was very professional and well funded, and contained a lot of legal, medical, and environmental expertise. I provided a couple of public informational briefings under their sponsorship.

Not only did this group shoot down the pulp mill proposal, It initiated a process that saw an ordinance passed that required THE PORT OF COOS BAY to set up and use, under specific conditions, a Technical Advisory Committee.”

I wonder if this committee was convened to discuss the proposed Jordan Cove LNG Terminal or if move to use the Port as a coal export terminal has spurred the need to reconvene this group.

UPDATE From the Port of Coos Bay – the document links to itself claiming that Ordinance 129 is attached, however, it is not.
Oregon International Port of Coos Bay Ordinance No. 129
Port Ordinance No. 129 was adopted as an initiative measure with the title “Air and Water Limits on Future Transfers of Port Lands” by voters in the Port District on November 5, 1990, and amended and adopted February 6, 1991, by the Port’s Board of Commissioners. In essence Ordinance No. 129 states that “unless approved by vote of the people at a general or special election, the Port shall not hereafter lease, sell or transfer any of its property for a proposed
industrial use which would be…”
• a single point source discharger of waste water… in excess of 2 million gallons per
day… or which would use or divert in excess of 2 million gallons of fresh water per day…
• an air pollution source… which discharges or releases into the air one ton of total
reduced sulfides per year…
• an air pollution source which releases into the air toxic chemicals in excess of state
or federal standards…
The full text of Ordinance No. 129 is attached to this document and is also available at www.portofcoosbay.com/ord129.pdf.
Additionally the Board of Commissioners established “a citizens committee to advise the Port on actions which the Port should take for breach of provisions in leases, deeds or transfer agreements relating to compliance with federal, state or local environmental laws and regulations.”