Published: February 11, 2021 |

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For the second time this year, the federal government has refused to overrule the state of Oregon regarding a state-level decision against the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas project.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through a decision signed by a U.S. Department of Commerce official this week, declined to override a February 2020 decision by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development determining the project hasn’t demonstrated it would comply with Oregon Coastal Management Program.

The $10 billion Jordan Cove project would be located in Coos Bay, Oregon, and is being pursued by Canada-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. It would produce up to 7.8 million metric tons per year of LNG for export overseas, particularly to Asia. It includes a 229-mile pipeline in Oregon that would connect it to existing pipelines tapping gas from producing basins in Canada and the Rocky Mountains, including western Colorado’s Piceance Basin, where the project is backed by the local gas development industry and its supporters.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the project last year, conditional on it obtaining other approvals. However, in January, FERC stood by a 2019 decision by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality denying Jordan Cove’s application for a Section 401 Water Quality Certification, which is required for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue permits.

This week’s NOAA decision pertains to the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. That law lets states with federally approved coastal management programs review proposed activities requiring a federal license or permit if the activity would affect any land or water use or natural resource in a state’s coastal zone. An objection by a state can prevent the issuance of a federal license or permit.

The state objected to the Jordan Cove project based on concerns about things such as expected significant impacts on threatened and endangered species, fisheries resources, and commercial and recreational fishing and boating. The Jordan Cove project asked NOAA to overrule the state by finding that the project is consistent with the objectives or purposes of the Coastal Zone Management Act. However, NOAA found that there is a lack of adequate evidence for it to uphold Jordan Cove’s appeal when it comes to impacts to endangered and threatened species, and to cultural and historic resources, and cumulative effects such as those related to widening and deepening a navigation channel in Coos Bay.

Jordan Cove also has struggled to get an approval from the state Department of Lands for a permit covering removal and filling of materials in waters. After that agency indicated it planned to proceed with issuing a decision last year despite lacking critical information from the company, the company withdrew its application for the permit.

“The science and data continues to show that using Rockies natural gas to displace coal energy from China will have a positive net benefit to climate change globally. We need to allow for export projects such as Jordan Cove to have a path to approval instead of national environmental lobbies dictating highly regulated energy projects’ successes or failures,” said Chelsie Miera, executive director of the West Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association.

Source: The Daily Sentinel

About Pembina
Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a leading transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America’s energy industry for more than 65 years. Pembina owns an integrated system of pipelines that transport various hydrocarbon liquids and natural gas products produced primarily in western Canada. The Company also owns gas gathering and processing facilities; an oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure and logistics business; is growing an export terminals business; and is currently developing a petrochemical facility to convert propane into polypropylene. Pembina’s integrated assets and commercial operations along the majority of the hydrocarbon value chain allow it to offer a full spectrum of midstream and marketing services to the energy sector. Pembina is committed to identifying additional opportunities to connect hydrocarbon production to new demand locations through the development of infrastructure that would extend Pembina’s service offering even further along the hydrocarbon value chain. These new developments will contribute to ensuring that hydrocarbons produced in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the other basins where Pembina operates can reach the highest value markets throughout the world.

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