Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Attorney General John Kroger announced Thursday that the State of Oregon will request rehearing of the decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to authorize the Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import facility and associated Pacific Connector pipeline.
"Today's decision by FERC does not address Oregon's very real concerns about the environmental impact of the pipeline associated with the proposed LNG facility," said Kulongoski. "The information guiding this decision is woefully inadequate to license a project with such profound potential impacts on the lives of Oregonians and we will appeal to FERC to ensure the people of Oregon's concerns are fully addressed."
The Governor and Attorney General's concerns include the unresolved issues around the Energy Policy Act of 2005, specifically the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (CWA). Oregon maintains that FERC should not issue any license for the LNG facility or associated pipeline until those approvals have been obtained.
As with the Bradwood Landing LNG facility, the request for rehearing filed by the Governor and the Attorney General will exhaust the administrative options before Oregon appeals FERC's decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The state expects to file its request for reconsideration with FERC by January 19, 2010.
