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FERC report doesn't ease concerns
Monday, May 04, 2009 | 1 comment(s)
MEDFORD (AP) - A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline through southwest Oregon would have limited adverse environmental impacts, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's final environmental impact statement.
That said, Friday's report went on to say limiting those impacts would require Jordan Cove Energy Projects to use its proposed mitigation measures and additional measures to counter damage, a FERC spokeswoman said. The 36-inch-diameter underground pipeline, which would be roughly 234 miles long, would start in Coos Bay and cut through the Upper Rogue corridor, ending in Malin at the southern end of the Klamath Basin.
The report hasn't changed the view of Lesley Adams who oversees the public water program for the Ashland-based Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center.
"At first glance, we have some really significant concerns about water quality and coho salmon impacts," she said of a quick review of the report. "We are also very concerned about the multiple impact on public land. We share the concerns of affected private land owners."
Those concerns included the potential danger of a gas leak to reduced property valuese.
The report means the Pacific Connector Natural Gas Pipeline is a done deal, Celeste Miller of FERC wrote. The commission will either approve it incorporating staff recommendations; call for more hearings or reject it outright, she said.
The project, opposed by many property owners in the region since it first was proposed in 2006, calls for a terminal at Coos Bay where ships carrying liquefied natural gas would unload. The ultra-cold liquid would be heated and turned into a pressurized gas to be pumped via the pipeline to Malin where it would connect to a major existing pipeline.
The proposed pipeline would cross some 70 miles of federal forests. In the 218 bodies of water expected to be crossed, some of them multiple times, the pipeline will traverse six rivers, the Coos, Coquille, South Umpqua, upper Rogue, Klamath and Lost River, according to the report.
The report noted 29 federally listed endangered or threatened species that may be in the project's path. "We conclude that the proposed project would likely adversely affect eight federally listed species," it added.
Adams said she isn't satisfied any of the mitigations measures would substantially reduce those impacts.
"This indicates a flawed national energy policy," she said, adding that she believes there is no need for the projects, given the low demand and adequate domestic supplies of natural gas.
Earlier this year, Oregon Attorney General John Kroger opposed all three of the proposed liquefied natural gas terminals and pipelines in Oregon, maintaining they are bad for landowners, the environment and energy independence.
In July, Jackson County's Board of Commissioners passed a resolution asking the federal government to halt the project until need is proven.
But others have supported the project, noting it will mean jobs and an economic boost for the region.
On the Net:
http://www.ferc.gov
http://www.umpqua-watersheds.org
http://www.pacificconnectorgp.com
That said, Friday's report went on to say limiting those impacts would require Jordan Cove Energy Projects to use its proposed mitigation measures and additional measures to counter damage, a FERC spokeswoman said. The 36-inch-diameter underground pipeline, which would be roughly 234 miles long, would start in Coos Bay and cut through the Upper Rogue corridor, ending in Malin at the southern end of the Klamath Basin.
The report hasn't changed the view of Lesley Adams who oversees the public water program for the Ashland-based Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center.
"At first glance, we have some really significant concerns about water quality and coho salmon impacts," she said of a quick review of the report. "We are also very concerned about the multiple impact on public land. We share the concerns of affected private land owners."
Those concerns included the potential danger of a gas leak to reduced property valuese.
The report means the Pacific Connector Natural Gas Pipeline is a done deal, Celeste Miller of FERC wrote. The commission will either approve it incorporating staff recommendations; call for more hearings or reject it outright, she said.
The project, opposed by many property owners in the region since it first was proposed in 2006, calls for a terminal at Coos Bay where ships carrying liquefied natural gas would unload. The ultra-cold liquid would be heated and turned into a pressurized gas to be pumped via the pipeline to Malin where it would connect to a major existing pipeline.
The proposed pipeline would cross some 70 miles of federal forests. In the 218 bodies of water expected to be crossed, some of them multiple times, the pipeline will traverse six rivers, the Coos, Coquille, South Umpqua, upper Rogue, Klamath and Lost River, according to the report.
The report noted 29 federally listed endangered or threatened species that may be in the project's path. "We conclude that the proposed project would likely adversely affect eight federally listed species," it added.
Adams said she isn't satisfied any of the mitigations measures would substantially reduce those impacts.
"This indicates a flawed national energy policy," she said, adding that she believes there is no need for the projects, given the low demand and adequate domestic supplies of natural gas.
Earlier this year, Oregon Attorney General John Kroger opposed all three of the proposed liquefied natural gas terminals and pipelines in Oregon, maintaining they are bad for landowners, the environment and energy independence.
In July, Jackson County's Board of Commissioners passed a resolution asking the federal government to halt the project until need is proven.
But others have supported the project, noting it will mean jobs and an economic boost for the region.
On the Net:
http://www.ferc.gov
http://www.umpqua-watersheds.org
http://www.pacificconnectorgp.com
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