With the Bradwood Landing LNG project in suspension and the LNG project in Coos Bay on the ropes attention turns to the Lower Columbia's first LNG project. Oregon LNG is entering the public arena with the consideration of a consolidated land use application for the pipeline necessary to carry the natural gas the Warrenton project will provide.
A public hearing will take place Thursday, May 27 on the consolidated land-use application from Oregon LNG for a proposed natural gas pipeline.
The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. at the Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria, before Hearings Officer Peter Livingston.
Oregon LNG/Oregon Pipeline LLC has applied to Clatsop County to install 41 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline serving its proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at the Skipanon Peninsula in Warrenton.
The pipeline route runs in a generally southeasterly direction from Warrenton. The proposed pipeline is 121 miles long overall and would connect to a natural gas hub in Molalla. The terminal project itself is within the city limits of Warrenton and is not part of the pipeline land-use application.
The proposed pipeline route through Clatsop County crosses seven different zoning designations and three special overlay zones. Natural gas pipelines are allowed in those zones as outright permitted uses or conditional uses.
The entire application and accompanying documents are available on the Clatsop County website, www.co.clatsop.or.us. The application file can also be viewed at the Transportation and Development Services office, 800 Exchange St., Suite 100 during normal business hours.
The planning office will accept written testimony on the application until 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 26. Comments may be faxed to (503) 338-3666, emailed to comdev@co.clatsop.or.us or mailed to the Clatsop County Transportation and Development Services Department, 800 Exchange St., Suite 100, Astoria OR 97103.
The proposed terminal itself falls under Warrenton's planning responsibilities. On another front, tonight the Port of Astoria may complete it's settlement with Oregon LNG over the sublease for the Skipanon site that could include an additional 5+ acres of land owned by the Port.
And here we go again and again, starting a hearing with outstanding information on yet another Energy Speculator in our midst, in Warrenton, dealing with the same Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Let's hope all have learned the hard lessons from Bradwood Landing/NSNG but, it appears OLNG is already behind the eight ball.
ReplyDeleteFEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC
OFFICE OF ENERGY PROJECTS
In Reply Refer To:
OEP/DPC/CB-2
Oregon LNG
Oregon Pipeline Company, LLC
Docket Nos. CP09-6-000
CP09-7-000
§ 375.308(x)(3)
May 14, 2010
Mr. Peter Hansen
Mr. Mohammed S. Alrai
Oregon LNG
8100 NE Parkway Drive
Suite 165
Vancouver, Washington 98662
Dear Mr. Mr. Hansen and Mr. Alrai:
In your July 28, 2009 response to a staff data request, Oregon Pipeline Company,
LLC (Oregon Pipeline) through Oregon LNG, indicated that it would hold a thirty-day
open season following issuance of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Oregon
LNG further stated it would provide the results of the open season to the Commission for
inclusion in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. As you are aware, it is the
Commission’s policy that all new interstate pipeline construction be preceded by a nondiscriminatory,
non-preferential open season process to, among other things, garner
critical information needed to assess market interest in the project, as well as capacity and
design requirements, and pipeline route and delivery lateral options. This critical
information could affect project design and route specifications, which in turn, could
require significant project changes.
Considering the uncertainty of the outcome of the environmental analysis, the fact
that you have not attempted to garner the critical project information that you would
obtain through holding an open season, and the passage of over a year and a half since the
filing of the application, we must reassess whether Commission staff’s continued efforts
and analysis are appropriate under these circumstances.
20100514-3004 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 05/14/2010
2
If Oregon Pipeline (and Oregon LNG) desires the Commission staff to continue its
current review, then within 20 days of the date of this letter Oregon Pipeline must provide
its schedule for conducting open season(s) for this project in the near term or sufficient
justification as to why it does not need to conduct them in the near term. We note that in
the alternative, Oregon Pipeline (and Oregon LNG) may withdraw its application now
and reapply at a latter time without prejudice.
Sincerely,
Jeff Wright
Director
Office of Energy Projects
cc: All Parties
Public files - Docket Nos. CP09-7-000 et al.
Lisa M. Tonery
Tania S. Perez
Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
666 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10103
Yes, I saw this as well elsewhere. Doesn't the public hearing signal the openning of the comment period..at least here?
ReplyDeleteThere may be some confusion here between open comment periods and FERC imposed open seasons.Open seasons are held whenever a pipeline is built to allow gas producers and shippers to identify each other, demonstrate interest in the pipeline and reach agreement with regulators on costs, tariffs and other considerations. There was quite a bit of controversy over this 2005 rule when it went into effect particularly over the proposed Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.
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