COOS BAY, Ore. – A permit crucial to the construction of a natural gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas depot on the Oregon Coast has been withdrawn.
The proposed Jordan Cove Pipeline would extend from Malin to Coos Bay, where natural gas would then be liquefied at the Jordan Cove LNG terminal.
Oregon State law requires anyone removing or filling certain amounts of material in Oregon waters obtain a permit. In order for the Jordan Cove Project to continue, they would need to have a “removal-fill” permit approved by the Oregon Department of State Lands.
Jordan Cove submitted a removal-fill application, but the decision was delayed due to questions around technical issues and the sheer volume of public comments regarding the project.
According to a letter from the Department of State Lands, Jordan Cove requested an extension for their permit application on January 16, 2020. However, the state denied an extension and said they’d make a decision on January 31, 2020.
The Department of State Lands cited a number of issues with the application process, including Jordan Cove’s alleged “piece-meal” fashion of addressing environmental issues.
On January 24, 2020, the state said the Jordan Cove project withdrew its application for the removal-fill permit. The Department of State Lands stated a new application may be submitted for the project to receive further consideration.
Jordan Cove issued the following statement regarding the withdrawal:
On January 23, 2020, the Jordan Cove Project formally withdrew its application for its removal-fill permit originally filed with the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) on November 3, 2017.
Jordan Cove reached this decision after DSL Director Vickie Walker notified the Project on January 21, that Jordan Cove’s request for an extension on the agency’s permit decision date from January 31, 2020 to March 31, 2020 was denied.
Jordan Cove had notified Director Walker that we are not able to meet DSL’s requirements by the January 31 decision date due to additional, recently required information by other state agencies. These recent requirements from other agencies are impossible to finalize prior to DSL’s January 31, 2020 decision date. DSL asserted they now require those filings to complete their removal-fill application, so an extension was necessary to comply with these new information requests, but was not granted.
Having received all local land use permits, the next major milestone in Jordan Cove’s regulatory process will be the final determination by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on February 13, 2020, at which time we will determine our path forward.
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