PORTLAND — Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development says a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal in Coos Bay would have significant adverse effects on the state’s coastal scenic and aesthetic resources, endangered species and critical habitat.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that in a letter Wednesday to backers of the Jordan Cove Energy Project, agency director Jim Rue said that neither the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nor the Army Corps of Engineers “can grant a license or permit for this project unless the U.S. Secretary of Commerce overrides this objection on appeal.
The decision on one of the key state permits for the project is a rebuke that comes just before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is scheduled to issue a final environmental analysis on the project, approving or denying its primary federal license. The Trump Administration is a supporter of energy export projects in general, and Jordan Cove in particular.
The proposed natural gas terminal and a 230-mile (370-kilometer) feeder pipeline would permit shipment of natural gas from the United States and Canada to Asia and would be the West Coast’s first liquefied natural gas export terminal.
