FERC delays Jordan Cove vote amid process issues

(Update: FERC vote postponed)

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A U.S. regulatory agency delayed a vote on a proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline and marine export terminal in Coos Bay. One member said Thursday that greenhouse gas emissions and endangered species should be considered and blasted the decision-making process as “rotten.”

The issues bluntly raised at the meeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington came on top of objections to the Jordan Cove mega-project by Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development.

In a letter released Wednesday, the department said the Jordan Cove Energy Project would have significant adverse effects on the state’s coastal scenic and aesthetic resources, endangered species and critical habitat.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that in a letter Wednesday to backers of Jordan Cove, agency director Jim Rue said that neither FERC nor the Army Corps of Engineers can OK the project unless the U.S. Secretary of Commerce overrides this objection on appeal.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Jordan Cove.