Final Environmental Impact Statements - Jordan Cove Liquefied National Gas and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline Project

Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Jordan Cove Liquefied National Gas (LNG) Terminal and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline Project (Docket Nos. CP07-444-000 and CP07-441-000, respectively)
Issued: May 1, 2009

The FERC staff prepared a final EIS for the LNG import terminal proposed by Jordan Cove Energy Project, LP (Jordan Cove), and the associated sendout natural gas pipeline proposed by Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, LP (Pacific Connector). Jordan Cove's LNG terminal would be located on the bay side of the North Spit of Coos Bay, about 7.5 miles up the exiting Coos Bay navigation channel, in Coos County, Oregon. Pacific Connector's proposed 36-inch-diameter sendout pipeline would extend from Jordan Cove's LNG terminal about 234 miles southeast across Coos, Douglas, Jackson, and Klamath Counties, Oregon to a terminus near Malin, Oregon where it would interconnect with the existing pipeline systems of Gas Transmission Northwest Corporation, Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

The final EIS was prepared in cooperation with the United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Coast Guard (Coast Guard), U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Department of Transportation, and Douglas County, Oregon.

We conclude that construction and operation of the JCE & PCGP Project would result in some adverse environmental impacts. However, most of these impacts would be reduced to less-than-significant levels with the implementation of the applicants' proposed mitigation measures and the additional measures we recommend in the final EIS. The primary reasons for our decision are:

  • The final engineering design for the LNG terminal would incorporate detailed seismic specifications and other measures to mitigate the impacts of earthquakes, and mitigation measures would be implemented along the pipeline route to address landslides and other geological hazards;
  • An engineering peer review process is recommended to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations, codes, design specifications, and conditions of the Commission Order;
  • Jordan Cove would implement its project-specific Upland Erosion Control and Revegetation Plan and Wetland and Waterbody Construction and Mitigation Procedures, and Pacific Connector would implement its project-specific Erosion Control and Revegetation Plan that would minimize impacts on soils, waterbodies, wetlands, and vegetation;
  • Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector would implement various mitigation plans to compensate for impacts on waterbodies, wetlands, vegetation, and habitats;
  • Pacific Connector would continue to consult with the BLM, USFS, and BOR to address impacts and mitigation measures on federal lands managed by these agencies, and would incorporate project-specific design and mitigation measures into Plans of Development for each affected federal land unit;
  • Completion of consultations with the COE, Coast Guard, FWS, National Marine Fisheries Service, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, and other appropriate agencies and issuance of relevant permits and authorizations would be completed before Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector would be allowed to begin construction;
  • The proposed LNG terminal would meet the federal safety regulations regarding the thermal radiation and flammable vapor dispersion exclusion zones, and appropriate safety features would be incorporated into the design and operation of the LNG import terminal and LNG carriers;
  • An environmental inspection and mitigation monitoring program would be implemented to ensure compliance with all mitigation measures that become conditions of any FERC authorization; and
  • Jordan Cove would have to implement the risk mitigation measures recommended by the Coast Guard in its Waterway Suitability Report issued July 1, 2008.

The Commissioners will take into consideration the staff's recommendations and the final EIS when they make a decision on the Project.  

This page was last updated on May 21, 2020