Governor takes on LNG decision

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Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Oregon Attorney General John Kroger on Tuesday filed a challenge with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, saying its approval of a liquefied natural gas terminal near Coos Bay ignores environmental concerns.

“FERC has failed to do its job and conduct the kind of environmental analysis that is required under multiple federal statutes,” Kroger said in a joint news release with Kulongoski.

The federal regulators voted 3-1 on Dec. 17 to approve plans for the Jordan Cove Energy Project, an LNG terminal and pipeline project proposed at Coos Bay.

The project — to be developed by Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP of Calgary, Alberta, and United Kingdom-based Energy Projects Development LLC — would provide up to 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. A 234-mile Pacific Connector pipeline would transport the gas to a spot near Malin in Klamath County.

But Kulongoski and Kroger said FERC is allowing the project to move forward without considering its potential impacts to water quality, coastal resources and endangered species.

In particular, Kroger and Kulongoski said FERC granted the conditional license before receiving state certification that the project met environmental standards, failing to comply with both the Federal Clean Water Act and the Coast Zone Management Act.

“The United States should be striving for energy independence instead of relying on fossil fuels imported from countries like Russia and Iran,” Kroger said. “This takes us in the wrong direction.”

The action Tuesday is considered the state’s last administrative reproach before it brings the case to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

It’s the same approach the state took a year ago when the state fought FERC’S approval of the Bradwood Landing LNG terminal and pipeline project proposed for Clatsop County. The state of Washington, several environmental groups and the National Marine Fisheries Service later joined the appeal.