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Governor: 'Incomplete and flawed'

That’s Kulongoski’s verdict on federal environmental review of Bradwood LNG

The Daily Astorian
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

"Incomplete and flawed."

That's how Gov. Ted Kulongoski described the federal environmental review of the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at Bradwood Landing.

In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released Tuesday, the governor listed his concerns about the Bradwood project, proposed for a site 20 miles east of Astoria on the Columbia River.

Kulongoski criticized the lack of federal analysis on whether the gas from the Bradwood LNG terminal is needed, inadequate data on the impacts to air and water quality and sketchy mitigation plans for other environmental damage from the project.

He also noted that the feds did not adequately address state emergency response requirements nor did they detail financial assurances to retire the LNG facility and restore the site.

"As governor of the state of Oregon, I do not support a statewide, categorical exclusion of LNG terminals from Oregon," he wrote. "Locating an LNG import terminal in Oregon, however, must be supported by a comprehensive review of all potential impacts of the facility in Oregon. That is the function of the Bradwood Landing (Draft Environmental Impact Statement). ... the Bradwood Landing DEIS is incomplete and flawed in a number of respects."

Joe Desmond, vice president of external relations for Bradwood project developer NorthernStar Natural Gas Co., said his company can resolve the governor's concerns before FERC makes a final licensing decision.

"We appreciate the governor's interest in our project and LNG, and take his comments seriously," Desmond said. "Based on our earlier review of the draft agency comments, we are confident we can address all of the issues and look forward to working with the state agencies through the permitting process.'

Kulongoski's comments to federal authorities came just five days after the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners voted to approve local land-use requests for the proposed terminal. The county board also voted 3-2 Thursday not to wait for the final state agency comments on the DEIS before making its land-use decision.

Concerns from the governor and six state agencies were sent to FERC, the federal agency with siting authority over LNG developments, in response to the 600-page DEIS, an all-encompassing review of impacts from the Bradwood Landing project that will ultimately be used by a five-member board to approve or deny an LNG license.

Kulongoski argued in his letter to FERC that the board should not base a final licensing decision on the DEIS, as it doesn't give the full picture of the project's impacts.

"Many conclusions in the DEIS are founded on assertions or promises, not sound science, comprehensive analysis and empirical facts," Kulongoski wrote. "The Commission should not make a decision to license this LNG terminal on the inadequate environmental record currently before the Commission."

The cities of Astoria and Warrenton have also weighed in with concerns about the DEIS. Monday night, Astoria leaders warned that the project still had not made any significant progress on an agreement defining who will pay for the additional safety and public protection resources in local jurisdictions.

Monday is the deadline for all public input on FERC's 600-page DEIS. FERC will incorporate public comments into a final EIS, which will be released before the licensing decision.

Clatsop County has yet to voice an opinion on the DEIS, though three staff members at the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce have prepared comments on behalf of the county. The county commission is scheduled to hold a teleconference meeting at 9 a.m. Friday to review the CREST comments before forwarding them on to FERC.

Local opponents of the Bradwood project said the governor's comments added crucial weight to their concerns about the inadequacy of the DEIS. Now they're hoping the state's concerns will be heard and addressed at the federal level.

"What the governor thinks is very important to this entire process," said Astoria resident Peter Huhtala, an opponent of the Bradwood project. "He's the political leader of our state, and for him to stand up for the health and welfare of our citizens is job one. FERC should take what the governor has to say very seriously, or they're not doing their job."

In his letter, Gov. Kulongoski told FERC that Oregon has its own experts who had already begun a review of the Bradwood project when the Energy Policy Act of 2005 granted siting authority to FERC. His letter was appended by dozens of pages of detailed comments from six state agencies.

The governor pointed out that while it is true that the federal government has the ultimate authority over LNG terminals, the state does retain authority over LNG terminals in the areas of water quality, air quality and coastal zone management.

The concerns the state agencies listed in their comments represent "hurdles" that would prevent state approval of key air and water quality permits required before the Bradwood project can begin construction, Kulongoski said.

There are three LNG terminals proposed in Oregon. One is at Bradwood Landing, one is in Warrenton on the Skipanon Peninsula and one is at Coos Bay. Little news has been announced in recent months of two others proposed on the Columbia River.

By CASSANDRA PROFITA

LInk to the article

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