FERC Friday issued a favorable final environmental review of Bradwood Landing LLC’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Pacific Northwest and NorthernStar Energy LLC’s associated pipeline project.

“We conclude that construction and operation of the Bradwood Landing Project would have limited adverse environmental impacts,” said the staffs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other cooperating agencies, including the the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) on the LNG and related pipeline project [CP06-365, CP06-366]. The FEIS puts the Bradwood Landing project one step away from receiving agency authorization to proceed.

The staff of FERC said it believes that, with the implementation of NorthernStar’s proposed mitigation measures, as well as the additional 110 FERC staff-recommended measures, the environmental impact of the LNG terminal project would be substantially reduced. The FEIS came only day after NorthernStar submitted a 3,700-page biological assessment of its proposed facility site.

NorthernStar included what it characterized as “the largest private-sector commitment ever to improve the Lower Columbia River watershed health” in its salmon enhancement program. “Bradwood is committed to sustainable development and a lasting legacy of environmental excellence,” said NorthernStar CEO William “Si” Garrett.

Taking credit for proposing what he called “long-term, comprehensive” mitigation measures, Garrett said he hopes to start construction next year and be operational in 2013 with the promise that the LNG project will create jobs, pay all needed safety and security upgrades on the Columbia River and “provide a net ecological benefit for the Lower Columbia River.”

Garrett called the plans “a new model for sustainable development and corporate responsibility.”

The proposed terminal would be located on a 40-acre site at the former townsite of Bradwood in Clatsop County, OR, which is about 38 miles up the Columbia River — the main economic artery for the Pacific Northwest (see NGI, Aug. 21, 2007). The project, which would provide up to 1.3 Bcf of natural gas to the region, has become a politically charged issue in Oregon and Washington, with state legislators and landowners opposing it.

Last month, the Oregon Department of Energy called on FERC to reissue the draft environmental impact statement that was released last August (see NGI, June 2). The Oregon department argued that Rocky Mountain supplies would be readily available at a lower cost and with greater reliability than LNG imports. NorthernStar, in a counter-filing at the agency, charged that many of the Oregon agency’s claims were incorrect.

The Bradwood Landing project calls for the construction of a single ship berth capable of receiving and unloading LNG tankers with capacities ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 cubic meters; two 160,000 cubic meter storage tanks; a 36.3-mile, high-pressure pipeline in Clatsop and Columbia counties, OR, and Cowlitz County, WA; and associated pipeline support facilities.

The sendout pipe would extend from the proposed terminal to an interconnect with Williams’ Northwest Pipeline system north of Kelso, WA. Between the terminal project and the terminus of the Northwest system, the sendout pipeline would tie in with Northwest Natural Gas Co.’s pipeline system, Georgia Pacific’s Wauna paper mill and Portland General Electric’s Beaver Power Plant.

Jordan Cove Energy Project LP last Tuesday asked FERC to issue a draft environmental impact statement by the end of July so that construction of its proposed West Coast LNG terminal can be completed in time to attract long-term Pacific Rim supplies (see related story).

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