LNG may hurt our River.

See earlier filing by U.S. Department of Interior on the FERC eLibrary.

7/8/2008 11:26:00 AM

Park service warns LNG may hurt river National Park Service criticizes FERC for faulty environmental review, seeks new report By CASSANDRA PROFITA The Daily Astorian The National Park Service is criticizing fellow officials at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a faulty environmental review of the Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas project. Willie Taylor, director of environmental policy and compliance for the park service, has challenged FERC's finding that the Bradwood project would not damage the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which includes much of the lower Columbia River. In a letter sent last week, he accused federal energy regulators of consulting the wrong authority in their review of Bradwood's impacts to recreational activities on the Columbia River, and he asked FERC to supplement its work with another, more comprehensive study. "The project will significantly impact recreational users of the Columbia River by limiting or reducing access to the river," Taylor wrote, noting the required 500-yard safety and security zones surrounding LNG tankers during transit and similar zones around the moored vessels will hinder recreation. "(The environmental review) should clearly note that reducing or limiting recreational opportunities on the waterway could negatively impact the local economy in the future." Taylor complained that FERC ignored 11 miles of the Bradwood pipeline route in its cultural resources survey and incorrectly deferred to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office on impacts to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail without consulting the National Park Service. "While SHPO oversees cultural, historical and archeological resources, it does not oversee natural, recreational or interpretive resources of the trail, which is under the purview of NPS," Taylor wrote. "Oregon SHPO is not the appropriate authority to determine recreational impacts on the Columbia River." With Taylor's letter, the park service joins the growing ranks of officials asking FERC to delay the Bradwood Landing licensing decision. Taylor asked FERC to wait for two key approvals - from the state of Oregon and the National Marine Fisheries Service - before giving Bradwood project developer NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. the license to build an LNG terminal and pipeline 20 miles east of Astoria on the Columbia River. Gov. Ted Kulongoski and U.S. Rep. David Wu have also asked FERC to supplement its environmental analysis of the Bradwood project in light of a state energy department report questioning the need for LNG in Oregon. Kulongoski and Wu, D-Ore., also noted numerous aspects of the project have changed since FERC's first environmental review was completed. But like the requests from Kulongoski and Wu, the park service requests will be treated as any other comments would be in the licensing process overseen by FERC. Tamara Young-Allen, a spokeswoman for FERC, said the park service doesn't have any special authority at this stage of the LNG licensing process. The five-member FERC commission in charge of approving LNG licenses can order a supplemental environmental impact statement to be completed before it votes on the Bradwood project, she said, but it doesn't have to. Joe Desmond, vice president of external relations for NorthernStar, said that a supplemental review won't be necessary because all the issues raised by the park service have already been addressed by FERC in its environmental reviews. Desmond said FERC's existing environmental reviews incorporate previous comments from the National Park Service. "There are no new issues being raised here," he said. The FERC board can decide to issue a conditional license to Bradwood before the National Marine Fisheries Service weighs in on the project's impacts to endangered species. Taylor's request that FERC wait for the NMFS determination before making a decision on Bradwood could set the project back several months if granted. Taylor also asked FERC to wait for Oregon's ruling on the project's compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act, which isn't expected until September. Desmond said Taylor's requests are already conditions listed in FERC's final environmental impact statement, so FERC can issue a license to Bradwood on the condition that they be completed before the project is built. The timing of FERC's licensing decision could be a determining factor in which of three companies wins the race to site LNG terminals in Oregon. The terminals are designed to receive imported natural gas liquid from ships and vaporize it for pipeline distribution. Oregon LNG has proposed a terminal on Warrenton's Skipanon Peninsula and a third terminal is proposed in Coos Bay, but experts say there's probably only enough business for one terminal to be built in the state.