FERC has approved almost two more months for the public to comment in Oregon on the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) import-export facility and connecting transmission pipeline, which would be sited along the south-central coast at Coos Bay.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in June began a second environmental review of the proposed project’s 230-mile, 36-inch diameter Pacific Connector pipeline (see Daily GPI, June 8; April 16).

Jordan Cove Project Manager Bob Braddock said the additional time should not hurt the project’s developmental schedule since it doesn’t lengthen the overall FERC process as long as the terminal and pipeline resource reports stay on schedule. “We will have those reports in by the end of October and our applications by the end of December,” Braddock said.

Previously, Jordan Cove and the pipeline backers gained conditional federal approval for importing gas; however, with its backers now also seeking approval for construction of facilities to export up to 1.2 Bcf/d, the project had to be reprocessed. It also needs approvals from the U.S. Department of Energy to export gas to both free trade and non-free trade agreement nations.

FERC set a new comment deadline of Oct. 29 as a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) is hammered out by the staff. The Commission previously set a Sept. 4 deadline for receiving public input for its EIS preparation. However, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) asked for an extension until at least Oct. 4, citing increased complexity of the project.

Public hearings in Oregon are scheduled through next week. Two additional public meetings also are being planned on still-to-be-decided dates and locations. The meetings are to be focused on the project’s scoping process for the pipeline, which would connect with existing interstate gas pipelines at Malin, OR, and the terminal at Coos Bay.

The pipeline is being proposed by subsidiaries of Williams Pacific Connector Gas operator and PG&E Corp., along with a Salt Lake City-based firm. Jordan Cove is a limited partnership of an affiliate of Alberta-based Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP and Energy Projects Development LLC.

Jordan Cove officials have said the terminal facilities would be built by subsidiaries of Calgary-based Veresen U.S. Power Inc.

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