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LNG company will refile for Oregon pipeline The porposed natural gas pipline would snake through Haynes Inlet on the left and under Coos Bay including the oyster beds in the foreground. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Thursday Dec 15, 2016 at 4:12 PM Dec 16, 2016 at 9:39 AM Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune @VickieAldous The company behind a proposed natural gas pipeline and export facility in southwestern Oregon announced today it plans to file a new application for the project with the federal government. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied the pipeline project in March, saying benefits were outweighed by negative impacts to landowners along the 232-mile route of the 3-foot diameter pipeline. FERC reaffirmed the denial last week. "While the decision was a disappointment, it's also an opportunity," said Betsy Spomer, chief executive officer of Jordan Cove LNG. From Malin, near the California border, the Pacific Connector Pipeline would tie into a vast network of natural gas pipelines in the western United States and Canada. The new pipeline would cut through Jackson County on its way to a proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export facility north of Coos Bay. Spomer said a new project design calls for eliminating a separate power plant near Coos Bay, and the company is working harder to get voluntary agreements from landowners for the pipeline to cross their land. Jordan Cove LNG this week withdrew its application with the Energy Facility Siting Council for the separate power plant. For the pipeline, 30 percent of the route would cross federal land, 30 percent would cross commercial timber land and 40 percent would cross private property. The company has voluntary agreements with 40 percent of affected private property owners to use their land, Spomer said. She said the company hopes to have agreements with 50 percent of private landowners soon. However, Bob Barker said many landowners remain adamantly opposed to the pipeline. His land near Shady Cove is on the pipeline's proposed route. The pipeline would also travel under the Rogue River near Shady Cove. "I don't want my property torn up. I don't want a 36-inch diameter, high-pressure gas pipeline going through my property. I don't want them drilling under the Rogue River," he said. "It's our land. We worked hard for it. It's not right for a Canadian corporation — Veresen — to have the right of eminent domain to export primarily Canadian natural gas to the Pacific Rim." Based in Canada, Veresen is the developer of the proposed pipeline and export facility. Project opponents have raised concerns the pipeline could pollute the Rogue River and other waterways. Spomer said the pipeline would carry natural gas from Canada, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah to a liquefaction facility near Coos Bay. Liquefying the natural gas significantly reduces its volume for shipping to Asian markets, where it's turned back to gas. While new plans call for eliminating a separate power plant facility, natural gas would still be burned to produce power for the liquefaction facility. However, the power would be produced on site, Spomer said. The change will increase efficiency and cut back on power generation by one-sixth, she said. As originally designed, the power plant near Coos Bay would have been one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gas in Oregon. It would have had a 420 megawatt capacity — enough to power 400,000 homes, according to an analysis by The Oregonian. Spomer said nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, which cause acid rain, would no longer be emitted with the changes. However, carbon dioxide emissions would not be significantly reduced. Carbon dioxide has to be removed from the natural gas before it is liquefied, and that carbon dioxide would be vented into the air. Both the processing of the gas and the powering of turbines for electricity would cause carbon dioxide emissions, she said. "We're still going to be a big emitter. There's no way around that," Spomer said. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. The existing electricity grid doesn't have enough capacity to bring sufficient outside power to Jordan Cove, which is why power must be generated there, she said. While groups concerned about climate change have opposed the project, Spomer said increased use of natural gas benefits the whole planet. "All the natural gas we export to Asia will be in lieu of coal-powered generation," she said. "We're exporting clean energy to the world." Spomer said the export project is not likely to drive up natural gas prices in North America because of vast natural gas resources here. "We do not think there will be an appreciable run-up of North American gas prices," she said. The company said it remains committed to providing natural gas to Southern Oregon homes and businesses through a local pipeline network. Spomer said Jordan Cove LNG will propose moving worker housing to lessen traffic on the highway near Coos Bay. Its new plans also call for a less invasive use of land, which will better protect Native American artifacts. — Reach staff reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous.