The symbolism could not have been more poignant.

Bay Area residents who showed up to talk to federal officials encountered (first) no federal officials,  and (second) malfunctioning microphones. How better to underscore the federal government’s lack of interest in local opinions?

Monday’s North Bend hearing was scheduled so the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could take testimony about its draft environmental impact statement, covering a liquefied natural gas import terminal and pipeline. Such hearings aren’t intended to be stages for political theater, but they often turn out that way.

This one surely did. The oratory often waxed purple. The audience provided a chorus of hooting and heckling. Competing factions vied for the loudest applause, as if the decision might be based on decibels.

Such displays are the natural outcome of a decision process that freezes out state and local authority. They remind us that the federal energy law needs rewriting to make local voices relevant again.

Everyone at Monday’s meeting was disgusted by the news that FERC staff members were unable to attend. Equally vexing were the microphones that intermittently silenced testimony. Speakers were assured their testimony would be duly recorded, but how much would be audible on tape?

And how much of it matters anyway?

An EIS ostensibly is based on scientific evidence, not political persuasion. Testimony is supposed to focus on the draft document’s scientific merits. Yet neither side seemed to believe in an objective process. If they had, they wouldn’t have worked so hard to win the cheering contest.

 One rousing orator stirred the crowd by suggesting the Founding Fathers would have wanted citizens to vote on the LNG terminal. Actually, that’s a faulty reading of American history. Our founders created a republic, not a democracy. We have agencies such as FERC because consigning this kind of technical decision to local politics would yield bad outcomes.

A nonbinding straw vote might be a useful gauge of public sentiment, but consider this: If each locale’s voters could dictate siting decisions, where could America store toxic waste and criminals? Also, if we held an LNG vote, who would be eligible for a ballot? Anyone living within a mile of the site? Every Coos County resident? Every Oregonian?

What we need is not a local vote, or even a working microphone at a FERC hearing. What we need is the federal government to allow meaningful involvement by our state government. Sufficiently removed from local politics, yet responsive to community needs and concerns, the state is a logical vehicle for rational decision making.

A number of Oregon politicians have argued for amending the 2005 federal energy law, which took away the state’s voice in these decisions. They have a good idea, though accomplishing it in time for the LNG decision seems unlikely.

For now, supporters and opponents exercise their powerlessness by shouting at each other, while the federal government barely pretends to listen.