By Ron Sadler
Gee, what a surprise!
The US Department of Energy just released the results of a study it had commissioned relating to the benefits of exporting LNG. Turns out exporting LNG is the best deal ever. In every scenario, the country gains, and the more gas that is exported, the bigger the benefits.
The Department of Energy is headed by 557 political appointees, many of whom entered the agency through the revolving door that exists between the regulatory agencies and the various lobbying and interest groups back in DC. Thus, the results of the study should come as no surprise.
So now FERC has the technical data for the Jordan Cove project on hand provided by the applicant and the economic data supporting LNG export provided by the DOE study. FERC is currently in the process of gathering the environmental data preparatory to issuing their draft EIS for the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal on Coos Bay sometime next year.
Federal regulations state that we Oregonians are entitled to an EIS that concisely and understandably documents a decision process wherein technical, economic, and environmental considerations are balanced in an objective, rational, and un-biased manner to arrive at a final decision.
I believe FERC’s forthcoming EIS will be a model of compliance with the letter, spirit, and intent of the National Environmental Policy Act. It will certainly not be an arbitrary or capricious attempt at evasion.
But then again, I also believe in Santa Claus.
Didn’t the political appointees of another US agency, NASA, also assure the people of the planet, including those who may experience cyclones, earthquakes, fires, floods, etc. that there will be no catastrophic events in December?
Connect the dots. The majority of rub & tug services performed by Sause happen to be transportation of barges full of fuel up & down the west coast. Hmmm who would be transporting LNG across the bar if Coos Bay was in the business of exporting LNG? I’ll give you a hint… Not Yates!