A coalition of environmental groups is asking FERC for a new hearing on the Jordan Cove LNG and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline. It’s the first step is what’s likely to become a long, hard fought battle over the projects.
FERC approved the licenses about a month ago. But the coalition says FERC needs to reconsider the decision and rewrite the Environmental Impact Statement.
Here are the main points of their request.
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Photo from U.S. Forest Service.
A coalition of Oregon and Western environmental groups is suing to block the construction of a new road for OHVs in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Called the Riley Ranch Access Project, this new route would allow off road vehicles into an area of the dunes where they’ve never been allowed before.
“The Oregon Dunes already contain thousands of acres open to ORVs,” says Noah Greenwald, with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Creating a new road in the roadless area is not necessary or in the public interest.”
A coalition of environmental groups is holding two meetings starting this weekend to talk about what’s going on with the Jordan Cove LNG project. It’s been almost seven months since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued its final Environmental Impact Statement, so a ruling on the project could come soon.
Recently I wrote about a letter campaign to pressure FERC into making a decision this week. But FERC put it off for at least another month.
In addition to the proposed LNG plant near Coos Bay, the plan also includes the Pacific Connector Pipeline. This 234 mile pipeline crosses Coos, Douglas, and Jackson counties and into Klamath County near the town of Malin. It will connect the LNG plant to the interstate gas pipeline system.
The groups sponsoring the meetings are Citizens Against LNG, Columbia Riverkeeper, Rogue Riverkeeper and Umpqua Watersheds.
Here are the details:
Sunday, November 22
Monday, November 23
For more information on both events:
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
Or call 541-488-5789
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Autumn Time And The Fishing Is Easy
Many of the lakes in Central Oregon have been closed for the season, but the fishing is still good in the area’s river. Trout are especially hungry as they put on weight for the winter, and water levels are low enough to make it easier to hook them. From the Bend Bulletin.
FROM WEDNESDAY:
Lack Of Water Hurts Eastern Oregon’s Economy
If groundwater restrictions were lifted, it would mean an economic boom to Eastern Oregon. One study estimates that by giving farms full access to groundwater, it would add $340 million to the local economy and add 2,000 jobs. From the Hermiston Herald.
Looking At Biomass In Tillamook County
Public officials and businesses got together this week to consider a biomass plant for Tillamook County. The meeting was for information only and so far, no real plans have come forward. But one county commissioner says it’s only a matter of time before one is built. From the Tillamook Headlight Herald.
Protecting The Wilderness Of Douglas County
Hudson Spivey with Umpqua Watersheds writes about the need and benefits of wilderness areas in a guest column for the Roseburg News Review. His group is leading a conference on expanding wilderness areas this weekend.
Off Roaders May Get More Access In Southern Oregon
Officials with the Fremont-Winema National Forest are reconsidering how much access they’ll give off road vehicles. The proposed travel management plan calls for letting off roaders use about 6,800 miles of roads and trails. But now they’re thinking of expanding that. From the Klamath Falls Herald and News.
When Interior Secretary Salazar killed the Bush logging plan for Western Oregon, he probably wasn’t thinking about liquefied natural gas.
But his decision has given environmental groups a new angle to attack a proposed LNG plant and pipeline in Southern Oregon, possibly delaying or killing the project.
In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a coalition of environmental groups says FERC needs to redo the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that gave a tentative green light to the Jordan Cove LNG Plant and Pacific Connector Pipeline.
Why? The group argues that the EIS relies heavily on the Bush logging plan, officially known as the Western Oregon Plan Revision, or WOPR. But now that WOPR is dead, tougher protections from the Clinton administration are in place. The group says FERC needs to reconsider the EIS and see if it can be changed to meet the Clinton standards. Failure to do so, it says, would violate federal environmental laws.
Clinton-era protections for the Northern Spotted Owl could change or block plans for an LNG Plant and pipeline in Southern Oregon.
How does the change in logging plans affect the LNG plant and pipeline? For starters, the group says it means “significantly” more acreage of land in the area revert back to protected old growth forest.
And then there’s the issue of the Northern Spotted Owl. When it killed WOPR, the Obama Administration also said it could no longer support the Bush plan to protect the Spotted Owl. The coalition says that greatly increases the amount of land in the area that’s protected as Spotted Owl critical habitat, and another reason the EIS for Jordan Cove has be to reconsidered.
So far, FERC has not responded to the letter. But it appears the environmental groups may be making a case to fight FERC in court unless changes are made.
The letter was written by the Western Environmental Law Center on behalf of several groups, including:
The proposed Jordan Cove LNG plant would be located near Coos Bay, Ore. At a cost of $500 million, it would deliver about a billion cubic feet of natural gas to the interstate pipeline system. It would do so through the Pacific Connector Pipeline, which runs more than 230 miles across Coos, Douglas, Jackson and Klamath counties.
