Challenging FERC's Approval of Jordan Cove LNG
On May 27th, we joined with Rogue Climate and eleven other community and environmental organizations to challenge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) conditional approval of the Jordan Cove LNG project. Last week, a group of impacted landowners along the pipeline route filed their own challenge to the project.
With two denials from the state of Oregon, Jordan Cove LNG should never have made it this far. Today, we’re challenging FERC’s conditional approval of this harmful project that has already shown it can’t meet state standards that protect clean water and the health of our communities.
What is our legal challenge of FERC’s conditional approval for Jordan Cove LNG?
Even in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, efforts from Pembina (the Canadian corporation behind the project) to move the Jordan Cove LNG project forward haven’t slowed down.
On March 19th, just as our communities were beginning to deal with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, FERC issued a conditional approval under the Natural Gas Act for the Jordan Cove LNG project. This approval is contingent upon the project qualifying for critical permits from the state of Oregon. Three of those permits have already been denied or withdrawn.
In response, the Klamath tribes, impacted landowners, and more than 25 public interest organizations (including Rogue Riverkeeper) filed a rehearing request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) conditional approval of the project on April 20th. The state of Oregon also filed a request arguing that FERC improperly issued a conditional approval despite multiple failures of Pembina to acquire state approvals.
On May 21st, FERC announced that it would deny all requests for rehearing for the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal. The State of Oregon, multiple Tribal governments, landowners impacted by eminent domain, fishers and crabbers, and environmental groups had all requested FERC revisit its ruling on the widely-opposed project.
On May 27th, Rogue Riverkeeper joined community and environmental advocates to challenge FERC’s conditional approval in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. We will argue that FERC failed to consider critical information about the proposed facility and that it is not in the public interest.
What does this mean for the Jordan Cove LNG project?
Check out coverage of our lawsuit on NewsWatch 12.
With you behind us, we will continue fighting for the Rogue and the health of our communities by challenging FERC’s conditional approval. We don’t know exactly what lies ahead, but we do know that with your support, we’ll keep fighting this project until it’s stopped once and for all.
At the same time, we will work to uphold the existing permit denials from the state of Oregon. The state of Oregon retains all of its strong authority under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Coastal Zone Management Act to deny permits for this project, which consistently fails to meet state standards. Without these required approvals from the state, Jordan Cove LNG has no viable path forward. Governor Kate Brown has also pledged to use Oregon’s legal resources to defend the State’s authority to protect public safety, health, and the environment.
What can you do to help stop the Jordan Cove LNG project?
Here are three things you can do today that will help push back on Jordan Cove LNG and stop this project! Share these with a friend and help stand up against this harmful project.
Ask your legislators to stand up to the Trump administration's efforts to gut public health and environmental protections under the Clean Water Act. The Trump Environmental Protection Agency is set to issue a new rule that would significantly weaken state and tribal authority under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. If this rule is implemented, it will become much easier for Pembina to reapply and possibly get approval for a Section 401 permit that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality denied last May.
Add your voice and ask the Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to challenge any federal overrides of state denials for Jordan Cove LNG! Pembina is also challenging the state of Oregon’s denial of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) permit for the project by requesting that the U.S. Secretary of Commerce override the state’s denial. It is critical that the state hears your support for challenging any federal overrides of state denials.
Donate what you can to support our efforts to challenge FERC’s decision and continue to uphold strong denials from the state of Oregon. We can’t do this without your support. Any amount you can donate helps to support our efforts to challenge federal approvals and uphold state denials in the courts.
