Export terminal and pipeline project open for public comments
COOS BAY, Ore.-- Another chapter in the fight to build a natural gas export terminal and pipeline in Coos Bay has begun.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is now taking public comments on a proposed natural gas export terminal and pipeline that could be built on the south coast and through southern Oregon.
Earlier this week, meetings were held in Coos Bay and Roseburg, and the public still has 30 days to submit written concerns they were unable to express in person at the environmental meetings.
The FERC is supposed to by law take public comments over the environmental concerns and property rights issues from residents living near the proposed construction into account when the FERC writes the environmental impact statement, also known as the EIS.
The EIS is intended to act as mandatory criteria to be met before the project can be approved.
"It's the beginning of the process, and it's really important that if there is serious concerns that you get those in and we still have time to do that," said Jody McCaffree, Citizens Against LNG spokeswoman.
It's not only residents that are voicing concerns, but government agencies are also speaking out about environmental impacts on publically owned lands inhabited by endangered species.
"We work as cooperating agencies with FERC to determine the effects of the project, and so the decision on whether the right of way grant will be given is based on the completion of the EIS," Holly Orr, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman, said.
Some labor unions have also been submitting comments saying that when the economy is struggling, jobs have to come before the environment.
But the EIS hasn't always been as guiding and powerful as it is legally set out to be.
In 2006, when the project originally began as an import terminal, Oregon's Attorney General fought the previous EIS in court saying it was full of corporate influence and not enough citizen input.
Making concerns known in the EIS is something activists for and against the project say it a vital part of the process.
"We wish that they would just say no, but the likelihood is that they'll say OK if you think you can meet these conditions then you can have your permit and unfortunately that is the way permitting is," McCaffree said.
The new EIS is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is now taking public comments on a proposed natural gas export terminal and pipeline that could be built on the south coast and through southern Oregon.
Earlier this week, meetings were held in Coos Bay and Roseburg, and the public still has 30 days to submit written concerns they were unable to express in person at the environmental meetings.
The FERC is supposed to by law take public comments over the environmental concerns and property rights issues from residents living near the proposed construction into account when the FERC writes the environmental impact statement, also known as the EIS.
The EIS is intended to act as mandatory criteria to be met before the project can be approved.
"It's the beginning of the process, and it's really important that if there is serious concerns that you get those in and we still have time to do that," said Jody McCaffree, Citizens Against LNG spokeswoman.
It's not only residents that are voicing concerns, but government agencies are also speaking out about environmental impacts on publically owned lands inhabited by endangered species.
"We work as cooperating agencies with FERC to determine the effects of the project, and so the decision on whether the right of way grant will be given is based on the completion of the EIS," Holly Orr, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman, said.
Some labor unions have also been submitting comments saying that when the economy is struggling, jobs have to come before the environment.
But the EIS hasn't always been as guiding and powerful as it is legally set out to be.
In 2006, when the project originally began as an import terminal, Oregon's Attorney General fought the previous EIS in court saying it was full of corporate influence and not enough citizen input.
Making concerns known in the EIS is something activists for and against the project say it a vital part of the process.
"We wish that they would just say no, but the likelihood is that they'll say OK if you think you can meet these conditions then you can have your permit and unfortunately that is the way permitting is," McCaffree said.
The new EIS is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
