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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories City ready to rein in bad dog owners Josephine County scrambles to house juvenile offenders Travel funds would help disabled woman reconnect with her father Get Up & Go: Dec. 22 Shady Cove residents recall the devastation of 1964 flood Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Josephine County scrambles to house juvenile offenders Emergency Services Emergency services Emergency services Police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake Politics and Elections State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change GMO labeling votes recounted under careful watch in Jackson County Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means Education Ruch school class focuses on the natural environment Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU St. Mary's plays host to youth robotics tournament A lesson in giving Environment Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Bird flu discovered in Winston backyard flock Jackson County holds back on enforcing GMO ban for now No fish, no funding for problem dams Most residents speak against gas pipeline State News Questions remain in death of Oklahoma teen Impostor makes off with Salvation Army donations in Corvallis, Albany Faith-healing couple sentenced to 10 years for death of diabetic daughter Uber suspends operations in Portland for 3 months Group challenges timber producer's 'green' label Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting Obituaries Eva Mae Clement Gerald Steve Stebbins Nellie Fay Luther Ernaldo (Al) Gerald Wesley Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable ACCESS receives $50,000 donation from Wells Fargo Sports Latest Stories Schireman, Tornado shoot past Pacers On the rise Gutches, Johnson lead Raiders to eighth at Reno TOC Rally falls short for Oregon Cavs tame Grizzlies as Waiters steps up late Varsity 541 College Sports Gutches, Johnson lead Raiders to eighth at Reno TOC Rally falls short for Oregon OSU’s Andersen details ‘very, very busy’ first week Winston cleared in conduct hearing Quinnipiac holds off Oregon State, 60-52 Pro Sports On the rise Cavs tame Grizzlies as Waiters steps up late Mavs victorious in Rondo debut Chargers rally big to beat 49ers No slowing Blazers in win over Pelicans Community Sports Keeping Fit: Runners need to do more than run to stay in shape RESULTS/STANDINGS LOCAL EVENTS Business Latest Stories Blog: The Holidays Have Arrived Falling gas prices help spur travel at Medford airport Employment in Oregon surpasses pre-recession levels Free lunchtime presentation covers business planning Ride & Drive: 2015 Nissan Juke Nismo Real Estate News Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate More sales, but no change in residential housing median price People In Business People in Business, Dec. 3 Transportation Falling gas prices help spur travel at Medford airport Allegiant Air will resume Medford-Phoenix service May 22 Agriculture K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Southern Oregon wine industry had a robust 2013 Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, Dec. 22 Kathleen Parker: Talk about a wildfire: Is the movie next? Other Views: Kingsley Field jobs are welcome Our View: Be careful when you donate Letters to the Editor, Dec. 21 Editorials Other Views: Kingsley Field jobs are welcome Our View: Be careful when you donate Other Views: Detective's sentence violates public trust Our View: Cheers and jeers Our View: Vaccines benefit everyone, save lives Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Dec. 22 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 21 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 19 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 18 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 17 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Loved one chose death with dignity in Oregon Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Guest Opinion: SOU pool decision short-sighted Guest Opinion: It's time for biologists to let OR-7 go dark Lifestyle Latest stories Health Watch: Small diet changes can make a big difference Family Time: What parents feed baby can have long-term impact Home Help: Home safety tips for a safe and happy winter season Marketta Gregory: What’s in the Bible Community blog: Removing Barriers Is Good Insurance Food Community blog: 'Cookbook Book' digests genre's past 300 years Community blog: Liver pat� an easy nosh for Hanukkah and beyond Local bubbly can ring in the New Year Food for Thought: How to keep your kitchen organized during the holidays Kitchen Call: Shopping for the cook Home and Garden Home Help: Home safety tips for a safe and happy winter season How NOT to install drywall Dear Monty: Siblings dispute inherited real estate Home Help: Create a happy homemade holiday Rogue Valley Christmas light displays Health Health Watch: Small diet changes can make a big difference Community blog: Removing Barriers Is Good Insurance Health Watch: Change up your treadmill workout Community blog: A Dark Night of Healing and Hope Community blog: The Promise of Hope � and Health - Fulfilled Hiking Biking Faith Churches, synagogs host seasonal events Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Milestones and Achievements Fans, friends and family welcome home victorious SOU team at airport Wedding: Boldt-Mahon Order of Elks national office revokes Medford lodge's charter Jackson County's new health building complete, will serve clients in February Ashland celebrates 'Wild' screening with Cheryl Strayed Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Live Music in Local Clubs Celebrate winter solstice with the Bad Film Society Southern Oregon Repertory Singers present 'The Holly and the Ivy' Tomaseen Foley's "A Celtic Christmas" returns to the Craterian Theater Stefan Baumann and Eugene Bennett highlight Third Fridays Theater ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning TMTO presents 'A Christmas Carol: The Musical' Music Live Music in Local Clubs Southern Oregon Repertory Singers present 'The Holly and the Ivy' Tomaseen Foley's "A Celtic Christmas" returns to the Craterian Theater Seattle rock band Smokey Brights plays Howiee's Eight Dollar Mountain and Fruition play Applegate Lodge Community Events Celebrate winter solstice with the Bad Film Society Tomaseen Foley's "A Celtic Christmas" returns to the Craterian Theater Stefan Baumann and Eugene Bennett highlight Third Fridays Dancing People Company celebrates the solstice Dance to the Southern Oregon Jazz Orchestra Dining Coffee shops roll out holiday-inspired drinks Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Ooblies Artisan Waffle Sandwiches Brunch at Loft Brasserie Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Questions remain in death of Oklahoma teen ... City ready to rein in bad dog owners ... Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... Questions remain in death of Oklahoma teen ... City ready to rein in bad dog owners ... Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... JORDAN COVE PROJECT Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Says contaminated soils were not reported to DEQ Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 20, 2014 @ 2:21 pm Posted Dec. 20, 2014 @ 2:21 pm » Social News PORTLAND (AP) — A biologist who worked for a consultant on the liquefied natural gas plant planned for Coos Bay has told federal regulators that engineers ignored and possibly hid contaminated soils issues at the site. The allegations came in comments filed on the Jordan Cove project's environmental analysis, now in draft form, The Oregonian reported Friday. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has concluded that there will be limited environmental impacts from the $7 billion gas-exporting complex, and they can be mitigated. The proposal has drawn protests across Southern Oregon, where a pipeline would carry the natural gas from Klamath County to the port in Coos Bay. The pipeline route includes a long stretch through Jackson County, where it would cross the Rogue River in the vicinity of Shady Cove. The plant project would be on the site of a former Weyerhaeuser paper mill. It would chill and condense natural gas piped from the interior of North America for shipment on vessels bound for Asia. Plans call for dredging about 2.3 million cubic yards for a shipping berth and using the spoils for massive earthen berms to elevate the liquefaction plant and its accompanying power plant out of the tsunami inundation zone. The biologist, Barbara Gimlin, said in her comments the contamination issues weren't disclosed in the analysis, nor reported to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality until she called attention to them. She says she supports the project but resigned in April from the consultant engineering company, SHN Engineers & Geologists, as a matter of professional integrity.  "I was stunned, just flabbergasted to find out that the DEQ hadn't been contacted at all," she told the paper. "It was inexcusable." Gimlin said unidentified contaminated soils and sediment surfaced during excavations in an area that she had repeatedly been told was "clean fill" from previous channel dredging by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She said she learned that archaeologists working on the site avoided work in one area after discovering soil they deemed contaminated, and she met resistance in her company when she asked whether environmental regulators had been informed. Her boss at the company, Steve Donovan, said contamination issues are well understood and a plan is in place to deal with them. "It's not a big deal," he said. Donovan acknowledged the soils were excavated and moved without notifying the Department of Environmental Quality. "I'm not arguing with DEQ that we should have notified them, and in the future we will notify them more promptly," he said. A hydrologist for the state agency, Bill Mason, said it sent Jordan Cove a warning letter after discovering that the contaminated soil had been pushed into a berm, covered and reseeded. Mason said he believes conditions at the site have been fairly well characterized in successive rounds of soil testing, and there will be a rigorously monitored work plan when and if site excavation gets underway. 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