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Ore. senator calls for probe into Jordan Cove over alleged abusive practices

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Ore. senator calls for probe into Jordan Cove over alleged abusive practices

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged the federal government to look into the alleged abusive methods used by Canada's Pembina Pipeline Corp. in obtaining the rights to build its proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal in southern Oregon.

In an Aug. 21 letter to U.S. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd, Wyden called for an investigation into whether the developer has been trying to force elderly landowners to sign easement agreements for the company's planned LNG pipeline, which runs through Coos, Douglas, Jackson and Klamath counties in Oregon.

Wyden included documents from landowners containing "concerns alleging Pembina is using possibly abusive business practices towards landowners opposed to the Jordan Cove LNG project," the senator wrote in the letter. "These landowners include seniors and widows, and grievances include alleged trespassing, harassment and intimidation."

Paul Vogel, a spokesman for the Jordan Cove project, denied the accusations in an emailed statement to the Courthouse News Service, calling them "patently false."

"Neither Jordan Cove nor its parent corporation, Pembina, conducts business in this manner," Vogel said in a statement reported by Courthouse News Service Aug. 27. "That's why we have voluntary easement agreements with 75% of the private landowners along the pipeline route, for 82% of the private landowner and timber company miles."

The Jordan Cove project, which Pembina inherited when it acquired Veresen Inc. in 2017, has faced hurdles at the federal, state and local levels. The developer is currently pursuing a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the second time after the first application was rejected in 2016. It expects a final FERC decision on its current application by January 2020.

At the state level, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in May denied Jordan Cove a water quality certification, saying the project had not shown it would be in compliance with key standards. The department, however, allowed Jordan Cove to reapply for the permit.

Pembina said in a conference call earlier in August that it is working on a path forward for the project, and that commercial discussions with prospective customers were continuing.