Federal officials have concluded the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on Coos Bay is workable.
If Jordan Cove Energy Project builds its LNG terminal on the North Spit and a 234-mile connecting pipeline, it would damage the environment, but most of that could reduced to "less-than-significant" levels.
"If the proposed Project is found to be in the public interest and is constructed and operated in accordance with the recommended mitigation measures, it would be an environmentally acceptable action," the report said.
The project has only one more hurdle at the federal level. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must decide whether to approve it. The five-member panel, with new head Jon Wellinghoff, hasn't set a date to rule on the application, but it is expected to happen within a few months.
The report points to concerns about earthquakes and tsunamis. It recommends design reviews to ensure the project meets FERC Seismic Guidelines and the 2007 Oregon Structural Safety Specialty Code. It said Jordan Cove has designed the terminal so its foundations would be above the run-up height of the worst-case tsunami scenario.
Construction of the terminal is expected to destroy about 50 acres of intertidal and subtidal habitat, while construction of the pipeline would affect about 3,000 acres of forest and woodland, 600 acres of agricultural lands, 500 acres of grasslands and 100 acres of non-riparian vegetation.
It expects the project would adversely affect several animal species, including marbled murrelets, coho salmon, Northern spotted owls and the Lost River sucker, a fish.
The project isn't expected to have a significant adverse impact on commercial fisherman, the report said.
Construction would last about three years, employing about 970 people, with an average of about 470 people working at the site each month. The report said 40 percent of the workers would come from the local area.
Jordan Cove Project Manager Bob Braddock looked today through the report's conclusions and recommendations and hadn't seen anything too surprising.
"No surprises whatsoever, which in itself is a surprise," he said.
He anticipated that FERC would have new requirements.
Local anti-LNG activist Jody McCaffree said she did notice differences from the initial report, and she is disappointed there are some concerns raised by state departments that don't appear to be addressed.
"At least they are admitting there are some negative environmental impacts," she said. "So that's something.
"We feel there are some major impacts, such as pollution and hazard issues, that we don't know how they can address those to be in compliance with the regulations," she added.
Martin Callery, director of communications for the Port of Coos Bay, hadn't seen the report this morning, but he wasn't expecting any surprises.
One complaint from opponents was that the draft EIS didn't give enough consideration to other power-generating alternatives. This final study includes more than 30 pages of alternatives, such as biomass, geothermal as well as proposed natural gas pipelines from the Rocky Mountains and competing LNG terminals in Oregon. It also includes four options for where the terminal could be built, including at the former Weyerhaeuser mill site and at the nearby former Henderson Ranch.
Even with federal approval, the project may not begin soon. Jordan Cove hasn't signed contracts with energy companies to use the facility - and there is the prospect of opponents suing.
