FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20426 

OFFICE OF ENERGY PROJECTS 

 

In Reply Refer To: 

OEP/DG2E/Gas 3 

Jordan Cove Energy Project, L.P. 

Docket Nos. CP07-444-000 

Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, L.P. 

Docket No. CP07-441-000 

FERC/EIS-0223F 

TO THE PARTY ADDRESSED: 

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has 

prepared this final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and operation of 

the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and natural gas pipeline facilities, proposed by 

Jordan Cove Energy Project, L.P. (Jordan Cove) and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, L.P. 

(Pacific Connector) in the above-referenced dockets. We1

 call this the Jordan Cove Energy and 

Pacific Connector Pipeline (JCE & PCGP) Project, or simply the Project. The JCE & PCGP 

Project facilities would be located in Coos, Douglas, Jackson, and Klamath Counties, Oregon. 

This final EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA). The United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture Forest Service; U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security Coast Guard; Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the 

U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land 

Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Fish and Wildlife Service; and Douglas County, 

Oregon, are cooperating agencies for the development of this EIS. A cooperating agency has 

jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to potential environmental impacts 

associated with the proposal and is involved in the NEPA analysis. 

Based on the analysis included in the EIS, the FERC staff concludes that the proposed 

action would have limited adverse environmental impacts. However, if the Project is constructed 

and operated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and with implementation of 

Jordan Cove’s and Pacific Connector’s proposed mitigation measures, and the additional 

mitigation measures recommended by staff, environmental impacts would be substantially 

reduced. 

The purpose of the Project is to provide a new import access point for overseas LNG and 

provide a new source of natural gas to markets in the Pacific Northwest, northern Nevada, and 

northern California. LNG is natural gas that has been turned into a liquid state by cooling it to 

about -260 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce its volume for transport in specially designed carriers 

some distance across oceans from its point of origin to the proposed Jordan Cove LNG import 

terminal in Coos Bay. Jordan Cove would off-load and would store the LNG in specially 

 

1

 The pronouns “we,” “us,” or “our” refer to the environmental staff of the FERC’s Office of Energy Projects. 
Docket Nos. CP07-441-000 and CP07-444-000 

 2 

designed tanks at its terminal, vaporize the LNG back into natural gas, and provide up to 1.0 

billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to the region through the Pacific Connector sendout 

pipeline and interconnections with existing pipeline systems. 

 The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects associated with the 

construction and operation of the facilities listed below. Jordan Cove’s import terminal, located 

on the bay side of the North Spit of Coos Bay, at about Channel Mile 7.5 up the existing Coos 

Bay navigation channel, in Coos County, Oregon, would include: 

• access channel between the existing Coos Bay navigation channel and the slip; 

• LNG unloading berth and transfer pipeline; 

• two full-containment LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity 160,000 m3

 (or 1,006,000 

barrels); 

• vapor handling system, and vaporization equipment capable of regasifying the LNG for 

delivery into the natural gas sendout pipeline; 

• piping, ancillary buildings, safety systems, and other support facilities; 

• a natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction facility, with the NGL to be sold to another entity 

and likely transported from the terminal using existing rail lines; 

• 37-megawatt, natural gas-fired, simple-cycle combustion turbine powerplant to provide 

electric power for the LNG terminal; and 

• three disposal areas for the storage of excavated and dredged materials resulting from the 

construction of the access channel and slip. 

Pacific Connector’s proposed natural gas facilities, extending from the Jordan Cove 

terminal southeast across Coos, Douglas, Jackson, and Klamath Counties Oregon, to its terminus 

near Malin, with interconnections with Avista Corporation, Williams Northwest Pipeline 

Corporation (Williams Northwest), Gas Transmission Northwest Corporation, Tuscarora Gas 

Transmission Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, would include: 

• 234-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter welded steel underground interstate natural gas pipeline; 

• natural gas compressor station at Butte Falls, in Jackson County, consisting of two new 

10,310-horsepower (hp) compressor units; 

• four natural gas meter stations, including the Jordan Cove Receipt Meter Station in Coos 

County, Clarks Branch Delivery Meter Station in Douglas County, Shady Cove Delivery 

Meter Station in Jackson County, and the adjoining Tule Lake, Russell Canyon, and Buck 

Butte Meter Stations in Klamath County; 

• gas control communication system, consisting of new radio towers at each meter station 

and the compressor station, use of an existing communication site owned by Williams 

Northwest and leased space on seven other existing communication towers; 

• mainline block valves (MLV) at approximately 16 locations along the Pacific Connector 

pipeline; and 

• five pig2

 launchers and receivers, four co-located with meter stations and the compressor 

station, and the fifth co-located with a MLV. 

 

2

 A “pig” is a tool for cleaning and inspecting the inside of a pipeline. 
Docket Nos. CP07-441-000 and CP07-444-000 

 3 

The final EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is available for 

distribution and public inspection at: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

Public Reference Room 

888 First Street N.E., Room 2A 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-8371 

Volumes 1 and 2 of the final EIS, containing text of the analysis, were printed in hard 

copy. Volume 3, containing the appendices, was produced as .pdf files on a compact disk (CD) 

that can be read by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. A limited number of hard copies and 

CDs of the final EIS are available from the FERC’s Public Reference Room, identified above. 

This final EIS is also available for public viewing on the FERC’s Internet website at 

www.ferc.gov, via the eLibrary link. 

Copies of the final EIS have been mailed to federal, state, and local agencies; elected 

officials; Indian tribes and Native American organizations with an interest in the project area; 

interveners; regional environmental organizations and public interest groups; affected 

landowners; local libraries and newspapers; and other interested parties. Hard copies of volumes 

1 and 2 were mailed to cooperating agencies; other appropriate federal, state, and local 

government agencies who participated in interagency meetings; intervenors; landowners, and 

parties that specifically requested hard copies. All others on the mailing list were sent a single 

CD containing all volumes of the final EIS. 

Additional information about the Project is available from the Commission's Office of 

External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC (3372) or on the FERC Internet website 

(http://www.ferc.gov). Go to Documents and Filings and choose the eLibrary link. Under 

eLibrary, click on “General Search,” and enter the docket number excluding the last three digits 

in the field (e.g., CP07-441). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For 

assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at: FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 

1-866-208-3676, or for TTY call 202-502-8659. The eLibrary link on the FERC Internet website 

also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 

notices, and rulemakings. 

In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called eSubscription that allows 

you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the 

amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 

notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to the documents. To register 

for this service, go to the eSubscription link on the FERC Internet website (http: 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp). 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary