For Immediate Release, May 6, 2019
Contact: |
Jared Margolis, (802) 310-4054, jmargolis@biologicaldiversity.org |
Oregon Denies Key Permit for Proposed Jordan Cove Natural Gas Project
SALEM, Ore.— The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality today issued a resounding denial of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG project and the Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline, which have faced fierce opposition from a grassroots coalition for more than a decade. The denial effectively stops the project from moving forward.
“This is a huge victory for clean water and healthy ecosystems in Oregon, and it will help protect our climate from dangerous fossil fuel projects,” said Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The state has taken a strong stand against this dirty project and made clear that we won’t sacrifice our environment for corporate profit.”
State officials denied the Clean Water Act Section 401 permit because the massive LNG export terminal and pipeline could not demonstrate that it would meet Oregon’s water quality standards. The agency released 200 pages of detailed findings about how the project does not meet standards intended to protect people and species from toxic discharges, increased sediment and acidity.
“The state water quality standards are intended to protect people and species from harm, and it’s clear Jordan Cove would cause incredible damage to Oregon’s waterways,” Margolis said. “This project should never have been proposed, and Oregon must continue to move away from dirty fossil fuel projects like Jordan Cove.”
Other permit requests for the project are still outstanding, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The comment period on the DEIS is open until July 5. Hearings are expected to take place across southern Oregon in late June.
However, the project cannot be built without the 401 Clean Water Act permit that the Department of Environmental Quality has denied. That means DEQ’s denial could be a fatal blow to the project.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.