NOAA sustains Oregon objection on Jordan Cove in latest obstacle for LNG project

Washington — Adding a new hurdle for the 7.8 million mt/year Jordan Cove LNG project in Coos Bay, Oregon, and the related 229-mile Pacific Connector Pipeline, the US Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has sustained the state of Oregon's objection to a finding that the project is consistent with the purposes of the Coastal Zone Management Act.

NOAA found that the record was "insufficient to adequately assess the potential nature and extent of crucial adverse coastal effects likely to be caused by the project," according to a Feb. 8 decision by the Commerce Department deputy under secretary for operations. As a result, the agency concluded that the national interest furthered by the project could not be balanced against its adverse coastal effects.

The action follows another recent setback in January for the Pembina Pipeline-backed project when the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found it could not approve an order that would get the project past an Oregon agency's denial of Clean Water Act certification. The companies had asked that the commission find the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality had waived its authority to use the CWA 401 certification for the project.

On a separate regulatory requirement, Oregon's Department of Land Conservation and Development had objected to the project's certification that the project was consistent with the CZMA. The state cited adverse effects to scenic resources, species, critical habitats fisheries and other resources. The developer subsequently appealed, asking NOAA to override the state's objections.

The action also follows Pembina's statement in December that it saw better near-term opportunity growing in Canada than in the US as the timing of its Jordan Cove LNG export project remained uncertain amid commercial and state regulatory challenges. At the time, it said it would spend $25 million in 2021 on continued development on the export terminal and related pipeline, primarily focused on securing state permits.