LNG - Environmental Impact Statements (EISs)
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Jordan Cove Energy Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline Project (Docket Nos. CP07-441-000 and CP07-444-000)
Issued: August 29, 2008
The FERC staff prepared a draft EIS for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal proposed by Jordan Cove Energy Project, LP (Jordan Cove) in Docket No. CP07-444-000, and the associated sendout natural gas pipeline proposed by Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, LP (Pacific Connector) in Docket No. CP07-441-000. Jordan Cove’s LNG terminal would be located on the bay side of the North Spit of Coos Bay, about 7.5 miles up the exiting Coos Bay navigation channel, in Coos County, Oregon. Pacific Connector’s proposed 36-inch-diameter sendout pipeline would extend from Jordan Cove’s LNG terminal about 230 miles southeast across Coos, Douglas, Jackson, and Klamath Counties, Oregon to a terminus near Malin, Oregon where it would interconnect with the existing pipeline systems of Gas Transmission Northwest Corporation, Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The draft EIS was prepared in cooperation with the United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Coast Guard (Coast Guard), U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), U.S. Department of Transportation, and Douglas County, Oregon.
The FERC staff determined that construction and operation of the Project would have limited adverse environmental impacts. However, the implementation of the applicants’ proposed mitigation measures, and additional measures recommended by staff, would substantially reduce the environmental impact of the proposed Project. The primary reasons for the staff’s conclusions that the Project may be environmentally acceptable include:
- The final engineering design for the LNG terminal would incorporate detailed seismic specifications and other measures to mitigate the impacts of earthquakes, and mitigation measures would be implemented along the pipeline route to address landslides and other geological hazards;
- An engineering peer review process is recommended to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations, codes, design specifications, and conditions of the Commission Order;
- Jordan Cove would implement its project-specific Upland Erosion Control and Revegetation Plan (ECRP) and Wetland and Waterbody Construction and Mitigation Procedures, and Pacific Connector would implement its project-specific ECRP, which would minimize impacts on soils, wetlands, and water resources;
- Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector would implement various mitigation plans to compensate for impacts on waterbodies, wetlands, vegetation, and habitats;
- Pacific Connector would continue to consult with the BLM, USFS, and BOR to address impacts and mitigation measures on federal lands managed by these agencies, and would incorporate project-specific design and mitigation measures into Plans of Development for each affected federal land unit;
- Consultations with the COE, Coast Guard, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, and other appropriate agencies and issuance of relevant permits and authorizations would be completed before Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector would be allowed to begin construction;
- The proposed LNG terminal would meet the federal safety regulations regarding the thermal radiation and flammable vapor dispersion exclusion zones, and appropriate safety features would be incorporated into the design and operation of the LNG import terminal and LNG carriers;
- An environmental inspection and mitigation monitoring program would be implemented to ensure compliance with all mitigation measures that become conditions of any FERC authorization; and
- Jordan Cove would have to implement the measures outlined by the Coast Guard in its Waterway Suitability Report issued July 1, 2008.
The FERC Commissioners will take into consideration staff’s recommendations and the final EIS when they make a decision on the Project.
Comments are due by December 4, 2008.
|
 |
 |
|
 |
| |
eFile your Comments
 |
eFile your Comments by December 4, 2008
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
