Hi, Gail

Your article is informative, however, it does not inform the public of the procedural defects in the LNG siting process that have occurred to date. Instead, it throws gasoline on the “us vs. them” fires burning in our area. Specifically: “In his role as the state’s guardian of environmental and consumer interests, Kroger has been at odds with the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, which has welcomed the Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector projects as aids to the area’s economic development”.

The Jordan Cove project requires a pemit from FERC. Prior to issuing the permit, FERC, as a federal agency, is legally required to conform to the spirit and letter of NEPA. In this case, documentation of the process to date shows it to be a gross violation of NEPA. This reality forms the basis for the Attorney General’s motion. It is not a matter of Salem burearcrats being against the economic needs of Coos County. The surest and quickest way to bring the Jordan Cove project to fruition would be to fully comply with NEPA. Failure to do so condemns the project to failure on procedural grounds without even having to get into the substantive issues..

NEPA failure by FERC is attested to by the US Fish and Wildlife Service”s refusal to issue a required Biological Assessment because of a failure by Jordan Cove proponents to furnish required data and information and analytical procedures.

The BLM is without a viable land-use plan, largely because of NEPA failings of its own, and will not be able to address the impacts of the proposed pipeline crossing federal lands before June of 2013 at the earliest.

The public needs to be informed that gross procedural deficiencies and purposeful misrepresentations are what prompted the Attorney General’s action, not a desire to squelch economic opportunities in the Coos Bay area.

Ron Sadler