Oregon Pipeline And Export Terminal Project Abandoned

COOS BAY, OR —The Canadian energy company Pembina Pipeline Corp. on Wednesday revealed it was abandoning the controversial Jordan Cove project, which would have created a 230-mile natural gas pipeline across southern Oregon and a marine export terminal at Coos Bay. The company said it was unable to obtain the necessary state permits to move forward.

Donald Sullivan, manager and associate general counsel of the project, told the The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a brief that the company reviewed the prospects for obtaining the permits in the future and "decided not to move forward with the project," according to the Associated Press.

The commission had approved the project in March 2020, but Sullivan asked the commission to cancel its permit.

Opponents of the project, which would have created the first liquefied natural gas export terminal on the West Coast in the lower 48 states, celebrated the news.

"When we organize we win! After nearly two decades of fighting Jordan Cove LNG and the Pacific Connector pipeline, the company has finally pulled the plug," Rogue Climate, a southern Oregon-based group advocating for a transition to renewable energy, wrote on Twitter. "Thank you to EVERYONE who has been a part of this fight!"

Many landowners, Indian tribes and environmentalists had objected to the project, saying it would hurt the environment and contribute to global warming by producing greenhouse gases, according to the AP.

Though supporters of the project, which would have shipped U.S. and Canadian natural gas to Asia, said it would create jobs and help the economy.

In 2019, protesters of the project filled the Oregon State Capitol and occupied the governor's office until they were hauled away by state police.

After the Federal Regulatory Commission approved the project, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown threatened to go to court to stop the project if it didn't obtain every permit required from state and local agencies.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality denied a water quality certification for the project, and the Department of State Lands refused to grant another extension to Pembina to file documents in its application for a permit to dredge sediment out of Coos Bay, AP reported.

Finally, on Wednesday, Pembina pulled the plug on the project.

Deb Evans, who lives in rural Klamath County and said the pipeline would have crossed her land, called it a "good day for landowners."

According to AP, Evans and her family have been fighting the project for years, fearing their wooded property, which includes a timber mill, might have been taken by the government through eminent domain.

"We're super pumped about the news that we got today from our attorneys, and it's been a long time coming," Evans said.