Lawmakers and activists petition Oregon AG to investigate NW Natural

About two dozen environmental organizations and eight elected officials have sent a public letter to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum calling for her to follow up on misleading and false information put out by NW Natural about the health impacts of gas stoves. The methane-based fossil fuel has been increasingly linked to health problems, particularly asthma in children, and cities in Oregon have attempted to ban new gas hookups in new construction.

Calls for greater oversight increased after an expert testified at a 2022 Multnomah County hearing on the issue, without disclosing that she was hired by NW Natural. The company has drawn criticism over its spending to send ratepayers promotional material.
Now Rep. Mark Gamba, along with several of his colleagues in the Oregon House and Lane County elected officials, are asking for an investigation into the regional energy company.  They said that NW Natural’s behavior “regarding the air quality risks of its product and service is deeply unconscionable to our constituents, organizations and members, detrimental to public health, and deleterious to the public’s interest in an honest conversation about which energy mix best achieves our [s]tate’s climate and environmental goals.” 

Rep. Mark Gamba (D-Milwaukie) joins us in the studio to tell us more about what the group hopes to achieve with the letter and how it fits into his legislative priorities as a new state lawmaker.