This Thursday at 1:30, the Coos County Commission will be rehearing a permit they granted Jordan Cove in 2007 that was overturned by Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals. Hopefully, with one new Commissioner (Bob Main) and one that barely survived a recall (Kevin Stufflebean), the County will at least give a fair hearing.
The issues that LUBA sent back to the County for further consideration include:
1) Finding or approving mitigation maps for that area on the North Spit; ( Applicant had used their own maps not the maps approved by the Coos County Estuary Management Plan.
2) Clarifying the Coos Bay Estuary Management Plan (CBEMP) regarding several issues which the county did not apply -CBEMP Policy 25, which concerns “Waste/Storm Water Discharge.” The other policy is CBEMP Policy 48, which concerns “Weak Foundation Soils.”
LUBA declared that it was not an adequate explanation for why other CBEMP Policies that are not specifically mentioned in the special and general conditions could not apply if the substance of those policies warrants application.
3) Having a public process in regard to Protection of Historical, Cultural and Archaeological Sites. LUBA agreed with SOPIP that
The challenged decision fails to comply with CBEMP Policy #18 because it
1) does not resolve the disagreement between JCEP and the Confederated Tribes regarding appropriate measures to protect the site, and
(2) fails to adopt measures necessary to protect the historic, cultural and archaeological values of the site
July 19th, 2009
If once wasn’t enough, last week the U.S. Coast Guard reported once againthat Coos Bay is NOT currently suitable for LNG carriers.
Jordan Cove will have to demonstrate that it can address the concerns (not a given) raised by the Coast Guard if it hopes to win permitting from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The article is here
April 27th, 2009
Geologists now say there is a 10 to 14 percent chance of a major earthquake and tsunami hitting the Oregon Coast within the next 50 years, putting the coast through a disaster like that Hurricane Katrina brought in 2005 to the South.
This would be well in excess of the height of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal on the North Spit, subjecting it and the rest of the community to the dangers of a breach of the facility, whether its spills or ignition. Then there’s the issue of what happens if an LNG tanker is in Port when an earthquake or tsunami hits.
As we wrote here, as currently proposed, the tsunami/earthquake analysis required by FERC isn’t due until after the public comment period has expired.
Article here.
April 25th, 2009
Yes, it’s the title of the classic James Bond movie, but it’s also could be the future of our natural gas markets.
Russia’s Gazprom and Shell Oil announced a deal yesterday that will send LNG from Russia’s far east to LNG terminals on the West Coast of the United States.
Even legendary oilman T.Boone Pickens is mocking Europe’s decision to stay tethered to the unstable Russian political and gas supplies given the recent history of that nation shutting off the spigot.
Let’s be clear: Approving Jordan Cove is a direct assault on our nation’s drive for energy independence. Tankers supplied with Russian natural gas will be delivering energy based on the whims of dictator for life Russian President Vladimir Putin if the LNG terminal is permitted and built.
Article here.
April 10th, 2009
HB 2015–the LNG Public Protection Act–which requires the state of Oregon to conduct a needs assessment prior to issuing any permits for LNG terminals will have a hearing on April 16th at 1:00 p.m. in the House Sustainability and Economic Development Committee.
There will be a limited time to testify, but if you can make it to Salem, a strong showing is always important.
If you can’t make it to Salem, below are the links to the Committee members.
Sustainability and Economic Development Membership:
April 8th, 2009
We received a forwarded copy of embattled County Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean’s first funding solicitation, and (shockingly!) he appeals to a number of the same folks who’ve been the staunchest Jordan Cove/LNG supporters in the county, including one of the members of the Coos Bay Port Commission (you know, the folks who had the ridiculous Jordan Cove ‘pipe dream’ to begin with).
I found it particularly interesting that Stufflebean took such a confrontational approach to recall supporters, calling them a special interest group with no credibility. I guess Kevin didn’t get the memo that over 5,000 registered voters signed recall petitions in the first place.
Kevin’s divisive politics and refusal to listen to his constituents have gotten him into this trouble to begin with. Apparently, he’s going to continue to follow the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney playbook all the way to the May 5th election–deny every mistake and question the motives of those who dare to challenge you.
So remind us Kevin: how’d that work out for W?
April 2nd, 2009
Will Coos County Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean be the second Jordan Cove/LNG supporting County Commissioner to be booted out of office?
Coos County Clerk verified that Citizens for Fair and Open Government (the group supporting the recall) collected 4,747 valid signatures from registered voters–1,000 more than were required–to put the question of Stufflebean’s removal before the voters on May 5th.
It’s clear that the grassroots have spoken loudly and clearly; the signature gatherers collected nearly 5,300 signatures in about 30 days. Now the question is: with their project in jeopardy, will Jordan Cove try to use its financial might to trump the will of the voters?
Stufflebean was one of the Commissioners who ignored public testimony that ran 10-1 against the Jordan Cove LNG project and against his own handpicked hearings examiner who said the LNG project should not have been granted a key county permit.
He riled up another group by conducting a secret midnight meeting on former Commissioner John Griffith’s last day in office in 2008 (after the voters booted him in favor of Bob Main) that cut sizable chunks out of the county roads department, making our highways more dangerous just so he and County Commission ally Nikki Whitty wouldn’t have to face Main’s questions about the cuts.
With unemployment in the County nearing 14 percent (the worst in 30 years), no economic plan to create new jobs and drastic cuts to the Sheriff’s office, Stufflebean better hope that Jordan Cove is willing to pour some serious campaign contributions against this recall to try to save his hide–because with law enforcement, unions, property rights advocates, open government advocates, LNG opponents, environmentalists and public safety advocates all clamoring for his dismissal–he is running out of supporters.
Watch for two things:
1) Jordan Cove’s PR machine and campaign contributions to kick into high gear
2) Stufflebean’s few remaining supporters to try to follow the same strategy that politicians in trouble have used since the advent of democracy–create a straw man. Stufflebean supporters will blame government employees, federal timber payments, environmentalists and anyone else they can throw mud at to distract voters from the truth–in his nearly 2 1/2 years on the Commission, Stufflebean has had no plan to create jobs, made our families and roads less safe and has been unresponsive to his constituents.
Let the campaign begin.
March 28th, 2009
President Obama removed the word “Acting” from Jon Wellinghoff’s name today, making permanent his choice for chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Newsweek just put a giant down arrow next to Jordan Cove for its special LNG edition: Wellinghoff already dissented from the Bradwood Landing decision as a Commission member. Now, as chair of the agency that has the most sway over whether Jordan Cove ever gets permitted, things suddenly look much more bleak for the already beleaguered project.
March 20th, 2009
For those of you who remember The Muppet Show back in the 70’s, there was a character who would shout “Make Up!” back stage just before one of our furry muppet friends would get hit with a powder puff of pancake.
This is aprops of how Jordan Cove’s approach to their EIS process; everytime someone points out one of their misktakes, they yell “make up!” and try to hit it with a dusting of pancake makeup to try to hide the problem.
The latest example is a March 11th letter (below) they sent to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, wherein they ask the Department to stop processing the Air Containment Discharge Permit because now after its become apparent that they will exceed the 250 tons per year threshold, they want a chance to go back and cosmetically change the pollution figures.
Particularly amusing is that, once again, Jordan Cove admits that although their original application stated that they would provide shore power for LNG tankers in port, that they would be forced to turn away many potential LNG vessels that don’t have the capability to plug into it.
“Make up!” they cry. [We] will amend our application and “define facility operational porotocols and modification to burner designs that will ensure that criteria pollutants to not exceed 250TPY, thereby triggering the need for the polution permit.
This should be interesting. One paragraph after admitting they have little or no control over the pollution spewed from the tankers that would visit our port, they spin on a dime and say they’ve suddenly discovered they can lower the pollution for the stationery sources on land, something that’s been on the drawing board for several years.
You might want to buy some stock in eraser companies. I sense they are about to go up.
odeq-letter
March 20th, 2009
You guessed it: the drug dealer is offering some freebies to get a few more folks hooked. Qatari Petroleum International announced yesterday that the country is open to taking a direct stake in new LNG receiving terminals in the U.S., seeking to boost revenue from fuel sales as it completes new facilities to export the gas.
Like mafia tales of old, though, Qatari officials said they would only be interested in investing in terminals where there are no competing LNG cargoes.
Read the story here.
March 12th, 2009
Previous Posts