Above photo: By Kevin N. Hume for the Herald and News.
(Portland, OR) A massive natural gas export project aimed at the Oregon coast is on life support after the federal government ruled against it late Friday afternoon, December 9, 2016. The Jordan Cove Energy Project, a $7.6 billion terminal and pipeline plan to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia from Canada and the Rockies, was refused by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The first-ever rejection of federal permits for an LNG export project came in the wake of an 11-year coordinated grassroots campaign against this LNG terminal and pipeline in southern Oregon.
“We’ve been fighting this project for more than a decade,” said Ted Gleichman, a political advisor to the Center for Sustainable Economy. “Thousands of people working together are defeating billions of dirty, dangerous fossil fuel dollars. This is the first victory where FERC ruled in our favor.”
FERC rejected the Canadian developer, Veresen Inc., because of its inability to get guaranteed contracts to sell the fracked gas overseas, though FERC had warned the company for years that this would be critical for their permission to move ahead. That market failure was compounded by Veresen’s dismal record in negotiating easements from hundreds of landowners along the 234-mile pipeline route to Coos Bay, Oregon. FERC objected to unprecedented levels of eminent domain requirements that would hit landowners and local communities if the pipeline and terminal were approved. Ranchers, farmers, and other landholders had pledged to resist the claims of eminent domain on the 234- mile route of Oregon land the pipeline would need to cross. The company can still go to court against FERC, or reapply, but for now the only LNG export plan for the U.S. West Coast has no clear path to completion. “We are going to defeat their Oregon state permits too, then we will work for genuine good jobs in clean energy and rebuilding the clean infrastructure we all need.”