Groups support Oregon natural gas project
Western States and Tribal Nations and Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) officials recently participated in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hearing, offering support for the Jordan Cove Natural Gas Project.
The hearing served as part of the FERC’s process of soliciting public comments on its Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the project, which includes a 229-mile connector pipeline from near Malin, Oregon, to a planned natural gas liquefaction plant in Coos Bay, Oregon.
“We can argue about global warming and climate change, but the facts are pollution is real,” Bart Haslem, county commissioner for Uintah County, Utah, said. “There is no arguing that. It knows no boundaries and doesn’t stop at state, county, or country lines. It becomes a world problem. We have natural gas that is stranded and not used, so it is being flared or vented to no benefit. We could be shipping this gas to other countries to replace other dirtier sources of energy and receive the benefits to our economies and environment.”
The goal is to export cleaner-burning natural gas produced in basins spanning Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and the Ute Tribal Nation, including the Piceance, Uintah and Green River basins, to Asian markets presently using dirtier fuel sources to meet energy needs.
“The Jordan Cove project is a great economic driver for our northwest Colorado communities and will help stabilize our economies from fluctuations in the oil and gas market for over 20 years,” Rose Pugliese, county commissioner for Mesa County, Colo., said. “It also helps us to then continue to diversify our economies and make our counties fiscally stronger.”
