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Klamath County Democrats
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Read the KCD Resolution on the proposed
Liquified Natural Gas pipeline.
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For Immediate Release December 8, 2008
For More Information 866-211-7335

KULONGOSKI : LNG Report Incomplete and Flawed

Governor Ted Kulongoski and a host of state agencies offered up in excess of 100-pages of questions and concerns about the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal and California pipeline. In a pointed letter that prefaced the comments, Kulongoski called the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) prepared by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) “incomplete and flawed in a number of respects.” His letter echoed many of the same concerns brought up by community groups who also filed comments to the DEIS.

Among the details of Kulongoski’s concerns are:

  • Given a surplus of domestic natural gas in the U.S, the need for foreign LNG has not been established and the alternative analysis is inadequate.
  • The potential danger of siting a hazardous LNG terminal next to the Southwest Oregon airport.
  • Lack of detailed mitigation efforts like a tsunami study, which the Governor called “deeply troubling.”
  • The proposed project would pollute the air and water, and endanger wildlife habitat in the Coos, Coquille, Umpqua Rogue and Klamath watersheds.
  • Safety and security impacts to the local communities were not adequately assessed, while the company did not detail how it would take financial or legal responsibility for the Emergency Response necessary to operate the proposed hazardous facility,
  • Lack of clear plan for Jordan Cove to meet state greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans.
  • Inadequate financial protections for the State in the event of Jordan Cove filing bankruptcy or abandoning the facility.

Kulongoski also criticized the FERC for denying the State’s request for an extension of the public comment period to “allow the applicants to submit complete information and the mitigation plans called for in the DEIS;” and once again requested delaying the Final Environmental Impact Statement until “the terminal design and pipeline route are finalized, mitigation plans with metrics are written, and emergency response protocols can be defined, and after interested parties have had an opportunity to comment on the efficacy of those plans.”

The Governor also reminded the agency that the State has jurisdiction over some of the permits required for an LNG terminal including water and air quality, coastal zone management and state lands permits, and that an incomplete DEIS could “present hurdles to the ultimate approval of the project by various state agencies.”

Read the Governor’s letter and state agency comments at
www.NoCaliforniaPipeline.com/nopipeblog.