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ENLARGE
Sen. Ron Wyden
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday rejected Sen. Ron Wyden’s request for a 45-day extension to the public comment period on the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas terminal in Coos Bay.
The LNG terminal was jointly proposed in early 2006 with the 230-mile long Pacific Connector pipeline, which would transmit 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day across southwest Oregon and Douglas County to a main conduit tie-in in Malin.
Sen. Wyden’s office did not respond Wednesday to FERC’s rejection. But by Thursday morning issued his response: "I am disappointed, but not surprised, that FERC is not receptive to allowing more time for the public, as well as state and local officials and federal agencies, to review this complex issue and respond."
But the Douglas County-based Oregon Citizens Against The Pipeline said that FERC allows project applicants to withhold too much information during formulation of environmental impact statements, thus keeping the public unaware of later conclusions.
“This means the project proponents can provide that information at the very end of the comment period, thereby effectively preventing members of the public from having detailed substantive input,” Diane Phillips, director of the Oregon Citizens Against The Pipeline, wrote in an e-mail.
Construction of the Pacific Connector is contingent on FERC’s certification of Jordan Cove. The LNG terminal would regasify tanker shipments of cooled and compressed natural gas for transmission.
In a written response to Wyden, FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said the 90-day commenting period on Jordan Cove is twice as long as the typical 45-day commenting periods the federal agency commonly grants and is also longer than required by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act.
“We believe that the 90-day comment period provides ample opportunity for public review,” Kelliher said. “However, please be assured that we will continue to accept late comments on the draft EIS and will make every effort to include them in the final EIS.”
The deadline for commenting on the draft environmental impact statement is Dec. 4. It was issued by FERC Aug. 29 and can be viewed at www.ferc.gov under “What’s New” and “More Headlines.”
In his Oct. 3 letter to Kelliher, Wyden wrote that the public has limited time and in some cases no opportunity to review information required by the National Environmental Policy Act. He cited an airspace review for flights in and out of North Bend’s airport, the effect of a tsunami or earthquake, and thermal effects to Coos Bay created by the terminal as information missing from the draft statement.
Kelliher wrote that more information will be required from the project applicants before FERC’s staff will issue a final environmental impact statement, but that enough detail was already made available for the staff to make a recommendation to the agency’s commission based on the projects’ feasibility, safety and environmental impacts.
Kelliher also noted that the draft statement was issued after the public was given an extensive 28-month review, numerous opportunities to give input, seven public meetings in Oregon and four on-site visits. He added that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended the Natural Gas Act to give authority to the commission for ensuring “expeditious completion of all such proceedings” for natural gas projects.
Kelliher also refuted Wyden’s claim that FERC is using the environmental impact statement process to “avoid other legal requirements.” The commission, he further wrote, does not have to delay environmental review until all mitigation is finalized and all federal and state permits are complete.
However, Kelliher wrote that permits required by the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, which is administered by the state of Oregon, are required for construction.
• You can reach Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson@newsreview.info.
The LNG terminal was jointly proposed in early 2006 with the 230-mile long Pacific Connector pipeline, which would transmit 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day across southwest Oregon and Douglas County to a main conduit tie-in in Malin.
Sen. Wyden’s office did not respond Wednesday to FERC’s rejection. But by Thursday morning issued his response: "I am disappointed, but not surprised, that FERC is not receptive to allowing more time for the public, as well as state and local officials and federal agencies, to review this complex issue and respond."
But the Douglas County-based Oregon Citizens Against The Pipeline said that FERC allows project applicants to withhold too much information during formulation of environmental impact statements, thus keeping the public unaware of later conclusions.
“This means the project proponents can provide that information at the very end of the comment period, thereby effectively preventing members of the public from having detailed substantive input,” Diane Phillips, director of the Oregon Citizens Against The Pipeline, wrote in an e-mail.
Construction of the Pacific Connector is contingent on FERC’s certification of Jordan Cove. The LNG terminal would regasify tanker shipments of cooled and compressed natural gas for transmission.
In a written response to Wyden, FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said the 90-day commenting period on Jordan Cove is twice as long as the typical 45-day commenting periods the federal agency commonly grants and is also longer than required by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act.
“We believe that the 90-day comment period provides ample opportunity for public review,” Kelliher said. “However, please be assured that we will continue to accept late comments on the draft EIS and will make every effort to include them in the final EIS.”
The deadline for commenting on the draft environmental impact statement is Dec. 4. It was issued by FERC Aug. 29 and can be viewed at www.ferc.gov under “What’s New” and “More Headlines.”
In his Oct. 3 letter to Kelliher, Wyden wrote that the public has limited time and in some cases no opportunity to review information required by the National Environmental Policy Act. He cited an airspace review for flights in and out of North Bend’s airport, the effect of a tsunami or earthquake, and thermal effects to Coos Bay created by the terminal as information missing from the draft statement.
Kelliher wrote that more information will be required from the project applicants before FERC’s staff will issue a final environmental impact statement, but that enough detail was already made available for the staff to make a recommendation to the agency’s commission based on the projects’ feasibility, safety and environmental impacts.
Kelliher also noted that the draft statement was issued after the public was given an extensive 28-month review, numerous opportunities to give input, seven public meetings in Oregon and four on-site visits. He added that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended the Natural Gas Act to give authority to the commission for ensuring “expeditious completion of all such proceedings” for natural gas projects.
Kelliher also refuted Wyden’s claim that FERC is using the environmental impact statement process to “avoid other legal requirements.” The commission, he further wrote, does not have to delay environmental review until all mitigation is finalized and all federal and state permits are complete.
However, Kelliher wrote that permits required by the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, which is administered by the state of Oregon, are required for construction.
• You can reach Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson@newsreview.info.
