FERC may issue LNG project approval next week
Friday, September 12, 2008 9:52 PM PDT
By Tony Lystra
Printable version
E-mail this articleA federal panel may decide next week whether to issue a license for NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc.’s Columbia River liquefied natural gas terminal.
The five-member Federal Energy Regulation Commission said Friday it will discuss the terminal during its meeting Thursday.
Houston-based NorthernStar wants to build the $600 million terminal at Bradwood Landing and bring LNG tankers 38 miles up the Columbia River. The company also wants to run a 36-mile pipeline across Clatsop, Columbia and Cowlitz counties to ship the vaporized gas to markets.
FERC issued a final environmental impact statement in June, saying the terminal posed “limited” environmental impacts to the region.
Even if FERC approves the license, NorthernStar still must secure several state and federal approvals, including clean air and water permits as well as a Coastal Zone Management Act certificate.
State regulators in Oregon and Washington have accused FERC of glossing over key questions about the project, including whether it would be safe, whether the gas is needed and whether it would cause more environmental damage than FERC has acknowledged.
The state agencies, as well as many federal lawmakers, have asked FERC to delay its decision until those questions are resolved.
FERC’s meeting comes two days after Clatsop County voters are expected to vote on a referendum on the project, brought by the project’s opponents, that could overturn a provision of the Clatsop County commissioners’ approval of the project.
Even as NorthernStar has published advertisements and polled voters about the referendum, the company has said the vote will have no impact on plans for the terminal.
Go Chinooks!!! wrote on Sep 12, 2008 4:53 PM:
Rural Citizen wrote on Sep 12, 2008 5:34 PM:
Kind of like they did to the people of Iraq when they wanted their OIL.
vote them all out. "
trapper wrote on Sep 12, 2008 5:39 PM:
cheney119 wrote on Sep 12, 2008 5:59 PM:
Louie wrote on Sep 12, 2008 6:47 PM:
trapper wrote on Sep 12, 2008 7:00 PM:
gimpy wrote on Sep 12, 2008 7:10 PM:
grams wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:56 PM:
4444 wrote on Sep 13, 2008 4:21 PM:
grams wrote on Sep 13, 2008 6:18 PM:
Did no not understand what I just said? Ask any Republian whose going to lose their land due to eminent domain and you will find out differently. What we need is to STOP catagorizing every single voter by their coice of a party. My best friend is a Democrat, I am a Republican. We both agree on more than we disagree on when it comes to most things and I would never call her "an ingorant sucker" and anyone else who did in my hearing would be picking themselves up off the ground. The last two decades has been a mess on both sides of the isle and this LNG issue happens to be a bipartison issue. A BIPARTISON ISSUE! But the Powers that be love it when they can split us up as Americans. And this Republican is having a hard time deciding who to vote for for our governor in this next election. I may just vote for my best friend! "
Go Chinooks!!! wrote on Sep 15, 2008 5:24 PM:
Past Month's Most Commented Stories