By ANDREW SELSKY
The Associated Press

SALEM – A Canadian energy company on Wednesday quit plans to build a controversial natural gas pipeline and marine export terminal on the southern Oregon coast after failing to obtain all necessary state permits.

Opponents of the Jordan Cove project, which would have produced the first West Coast liquefied natural gas export terminal in the lower 48 states, rejoiced at the news. The marine export terminal would have been located at Coos Bay, with a 230-mile-long feeder pipeline crossing southern Oregon.

Many landowners, Indian tribes and environmentalists had objected, saying the Pembina Pipeline Corp. project would spoil the environment and contribute to climate change by producing greenhouse gases. In 2019, protesters filled the Oregon State Capitol and occupied the governor’s office until they were hauled away by state police.

“It’s been almost two decades of fighting this project, and it is incredible to hear that all of that work has paid off, and our homes, our waterways, our climate are going to be protected from this project,” said Allie Rosenbluth of Rogue Climate, a southern Oregon-based group advocating for a transition to renewable energy.

Supporters of the project to ship U.S. and Canadian natural gas to Asia said it would create jobs and help the economy. The Coos Bay City Council last year approved dredging part of the bay to increase the width and depth of the shipping channel.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the project in March 2020, while Donald Trump was president. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown threatened to go to court to stop the project if its developers didn’t obtain every permit required from state and local agencies.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality denied a water quality certification for the project, and the Department of State Lands refused to grant another extension to Calgary-based Pembina to file documents in its application for a permit to dredge sediment out of Coos Bay.

Pembina said Wednesday that federal regulators took another look this year, and on Jan. 19, the commission determined Oregon had not waived its certification authority under the Clean Water Act. Furthermore, on Feb. 8, the U.S. Department of Commerce sustained Oregon’s objection under the Coastal Zone Management Act.

Donald Sullivan, manager and associate general counsel of the Jordan Cove Energy Project, told the commission in a notification Wednesday that Pembina has reviewed the prospects for obtaining the permits in the future and “decided not to move forward with the project.”

Sullivan’s notification asked the commission to cancel its permit.

Deb Evans owns land in rural Klamath County that would have been crossed by the pipeline.

“It’s a good day for landowners,” she said.

Evans and her family have been fighting the project for years, fearing the loss of part of their wooded property, where they have a timber mill, to eminent domain.

“We’re super pumped about the news that we got today from our attorneys, and it’s been a long time coming,” she said.

Evans was worried about fire danger increasing as a result of the pipeline, which would have crossed almost a half-mile of their property. She also cited risks to the environment.

The chairman of the Klamath Tribal Council, Don Gentry, said the decision by Pembina to drop the project “is a significant relief for our members who have been so concerned about the impacts.”

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COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — Missed deadlines for permits for the development of a major West Coast liquified natural gas pipeline and export terminal are adding to questions about whether the project will go forward.

Jefferson Public Radio reports the environmental nonprofit Rogue Climate issued a statement saying the Jordan Cove Energy Project backed by Canadian energy company Pembina has missed four land-use permit deadlines this summer, the most recent of which expired Aug. 11.

A Medford attorney who has represented pipeline opponents, Tonia Moro, said it leads them to possibly interpret that they’re moving away from this project altogether.

A spokesperson for the energy company did not respond to a request for comment.

Moro said reapplying for these permits would be a significant step back in the regulatory process.

“By giving up these permits they’re giving up quite an investment into the regulatory process itself,” she says.

In April Pembina said in a federal appeals court filing in Washington, D.C., that it was “pausing” the gas export project as well as the pipeline.

Jordan Cove would be the first such LNG overseas export terminal in the lower 48 states. The proposed 230-mile feeder pipeline would begin in Malin, in southwest Oregon, and end at the city of Coos Bay on the rural Oregon coast, crossing through four southern Oregon counties.

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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — A major West Coast liquified natural gas pipeline and export terminal is officially on pause after state reversals of two of its dredging permits.

Jordan Cove Energy Project manager and associate general counsel, Donald Sullivan, filed a letter last Tuesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission citing a list of state permit denials that prevent the project from moving ahead despite a federal approval from the agency, The Herald and News reported.

Sullivan wrote that the applicants have decided to pause the development of the project while the effect of these decisions is assessed.

Jordan Cove would be the first such LNG overseas export terminal in the lower 48 states. The proposed 230-mile feeder pipeline would begin in Malin, in southwest Oregon, and end at the city of Coos Bay on the rural Oregon coast, crossing through four southern Oregon counties.

The letter also requested that the U.S. regulatory agency withdraw its consultation requests with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service on Jordan Cove’s behalf “to conserve the resources of the Commission and other operating agencies.”

Earlier this month, Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals reversed the project’s permits to dredge in Coos Bay, issued by Coos County and the City of Coos Bay, on grounds that the company had not adequately justified why the coastal areas in question, zoned for conservation use, needed to be converted to vessel navigation zones. The board has either remanded or completely reversed eight of the company’s needed local permits in the past year.

In January, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission upheld Oregon’s denial of a project permit under the Clean Water Act. In February, the Department of Commerce sustained Oregon’s objection to the project under the Coastal Zone Management Act. Sullivan mentioned these setbacks in last week’s letter.

Southern Oregon tribes, environmentalists, many anglers and coastal residents have opposed the pipeline since 2006.

Allie Rosenbluth, campaigns director for Rogue Climate, said the developments are encouraging but that Jordan Cove’s possession of a permit from the federal commission still allows it to seize land under eminent domain, even though it can’t yet begin construction.

The state, area tribes, Rogue Climate and other organizations are challenging the federal approval in court to strip Jordan Cove of its ability to take private land. A judge is expected to make a decision on that in June.

Though the latest developments likely mean that Jordan Cove is all but laid to rest, Rosenbluth said the project’s opponents want it gone completely.

Canadian pipeline company “Pembina (Pipeline) needs to see the writing on the wall and cancel this project for good so that our communities can move on to building jobs in clean energy, energy efficiency, sustainable fisheries and agriculture,” she said.

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COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — Federal authorities on Monday affirmed the state of Oregon’s finding that a proposed major West Coast liquified natural gas pipeline and export terminal is not consistent with its coastal zone management plans.

Jordan Cove‘s Canadian backers, Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp., had appealed the state’s finding to the U.S. Commerce Department. The company hoped the Trump Administration would override the state’s federally delegated authority to determine if projects are consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declined, saying the company had failed to show that the project is consistent with the law. Pembina didn’t immediately respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.

It’s the latest hurdle the $10 billion terminal and pipeline project have encountered. On Jan. 19, federal regulators upheld the state’s earlier decision against granting the project a clean water certification. The state has also denied a necessary dredging permit for the project. Without those approvals, the project, which has been in the works for over 15 years, cannot move forward.

Jordan Cove would be the first such LNG overseas export terminal in the lower 48 states. The proposed 230-mile feeder pipeline would begin in Malin, in southwest Oregon, and end at the city of Coos Bay on the rural Oregon coast.

Project opponents cheered Monday’s decision.

“Pembina’s last-ditch effort to override Oregon’s authority to stop Jordan Cove LNG has failed,” Allie Rosenbluth, campaigns director at Rogue Climate, said in an emailed statement.

Pembina could reapply to the state for both its clean water and coastal zone certifications, although it’s not clear it would get different outcomes.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — 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 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.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has already denied a water quality certification for the Jordan Cove natural gas export project proposed by Pembina, the Canadian energy company. Pembina withdrew its application for a different state permit and said that it awaits a final determination by the federal commission. Its three current members were all appointed by Trump.

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MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A Southern Oregon county board is telling the federal government that a proposed natural gas pipeline violates environmental laws and would provide only short-term economic benefits for the area.

The Mail Tribune reports Jackson County Commissioners Rick Dyer, Colleen Roberts and Bob Strosser said they unanimously oppose the project in a letter sent this month to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is reviewing the project.

They asked the regulatory commission to deny the proposal for a 229-mile underground pipeline that would stretch to a proposed export terminal near Coos Bay.

The Canadian company Pembina hopes to ship Canadian and American natural gas overseas, primarily to Asian markets.

Pembina said in a statement it has received a copy of the commissioners’ comments and look forward to addressing them in upcoming meetings.

“We’re reviewing these along with many other comments of note and look forward to addressing them in upcoming meetings with the Commission,” Pembina said.

Commissioners said Pembina is offering assurances the project won’t harm the environment because it will follow environmental laws — but Pembina is asking for regulations to be changed.

Pembina wants exemptions to federal regulations meant to protect soil, riparian areas, rare species, old-growth forests and productive timberland, according to the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

Pembina has touted the economic benefits of the $9.8 billion construction project, which would generate more than $5.3 million annually in property taxes for Jackson County government, schools, fire departments and other local agencies.

Workers in the trades have spoken out in favor of the project, which they said would provide good-paying jobs with benefits.

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State regulators have denied the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline a needed water quality certificate.

The move announced Monday by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality deals another delay to the 229-mile pipeline project that would connect the Klamath Compressor Station east of Klamath Falls to infrastructure near a seaport terminal at Coos Bay’s North Spit.

The state agency’s decision was made “without prejudice,” meaning the company backing the pipeline, Pembina Pipeline Corp., based in Canada, could rework its application and try again.

A Southern Oregon environmental group fighting the project characterized the water quality certificate denial as a “really big move in the right direction for Oregon.”

“This is a very serious blow to the Jordan Cove LNG project,” said Allie Rosenbluth, campaigns director for Rogue Climate.

Pembina has been pushing the Jordan Cove project for more than a decade, seeing an opportunity to move liquefied natural gas from the interior of the United States to energy-hungry Asian markets via ocean shipping.

Pembina representatives did not reveal their next move.

“Pembina’s management team is working to better understand this decision and its impacts and will communicate updates when appropriate,” spokeswoman Tasha Cadotte stated in an email message.

Cadotte declined to comment beyond the written statement.

The DEQ decision came in response to a deadline set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A recent court decision had called into question an extension of the deadline to Sept. 24, so the state agency kept to the original May 7 deadline to preserve Oregon’s right to review the project’s water quality impacts.

Some observers expect Pembina to rework its application and try again to get DEQ approval. It wouldn’t be the first time the Jordan Cove project team has overcome obstacles.

“They’ve had a lot of things denied, but they come back,” said Hugh Link, director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.

The commission represents the 423 permitted crab boats on the Oregon Coast, and has pushed for safety corridors around any ships that would use Jordan Cove. Crab boats and tankers alike would have to cross the Coos Bay bar at slack high tide.

“We want them to be able to maneuver safely through the Coos Bay bar,” Link said. “When they’re going out or coming in, we don’t want them to have to wait in bad weather.”

The commission has not taken an official position on the project.

Pembina says the $10 billion project would create 6,000 construction jobs at its peak and would generate property tax revenues of $60 million a year to southern Oregon counties and $50 million to the state.

The Port of Coos Bay has backed the project.

“We see it as something that can be really transformative for this area as far as bringing back economic development opportunities,” spokeswoman Margaret Barber said.

Jordan Cove has alarmed environmental groups, who believe the project would become Oregon’s largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions as climate change worsens. The pipeline also threatens coastal rivers and the property rights of some landowners who could face eminent domain, Rosenbluth said.

DEQ’s denial was backed by a 209-page report analyzing the proposal’s effects on water quality. The agency cited concerns about construction of the pipeline and associated roadways affecting water temperature and sediment in streams and wetlands, and the risk of drilling materials entering the Coos Bay estuary.

Pembina proposes to dredge a 22-acre area to connect a slip that would be built to the navigation channel. The 36-inch-diameter pipeline would affect about 4,950 acres during construction and 1,400 acres permanently, according to the agency.

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MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Jackson County commissioners are asking the state to block a proposed natural gas pipeline that would ferry gas over 229 miles of southern Oregon to an export terminal near Coos Bay.

The Mail Tribune reports Wednesday that the Oregon Department of State Lands is considering whether to grant the project a key permit and is taking public comment until Feb. 3.

There is broad opposition to the pipeline in Klamath, Jackson, Douglas and Coos counties.

Pembina Pipeline Corporation, a Canadian company, wants to use the pipeline to export North American natural gas to Asian markets.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is reviewing the project at the national level.

That commission denied a previous iteration of the project in 2016.

It found that potential harms outweighed potential benefits.

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More than a decade after the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas project was first proposed, it’s still in limbo.

The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) has received a for the Coos Bay project. The application is for three main elements: a liquefied natural gas (LNG) slip and access channel, an LNG terminal with a capacity of 320,000 cubic meters and a 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline running 229 miles from Coos Bay to Malin in Southern Oregon. The DSL previously rejected a 2017 application based on project purpose and need, impacts to recreation in the bay, fill dimensions and volumes, and wetland mitigation.

Meanwhile, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is reviewing the project team’s latest application for federal approval. That was submitted in September 2017.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality also is reviewing the project proposal.

DSL has until Dec. 6 to review the most recent removal-fill permit application for completeness. If deemed complete, a 60-day public review and comment period will begin. DSL has tentatively scheduled five public hearings for this purpose:

• Jan. 7 from 5:30-8 p.m. at Klamath Falls Community College, 7390 South Sixth St. in Klamath Falls,
• Jan. 8, in Jackson County, at a time and location TBA,
• Jan. 9, from 5:30-8 p.m. at Seven Feathers Casino, 146 Chief Miwaleta Lane in Canyonville,
• Jan. 10, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Mill Casino, 3201 Tremont Ave. in North Bend, and
• Jan. 15, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Department of State Lands, Land Board Room, 775 Summer St. N.E. in Salem.

Calgary, Alberta-based Pembina Pipeline is the primary investor. The company still anticipates investing somewhere between $8 billion and $10 billion in the project, which was initially proposed for a 240-acre Coos Bay site in 2007.

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