Jordan Cove project suffers setback ZACK DEMARS The World
NORTH BEND — The Jordan Cove project has hit another roadblock. On Tuesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission declined to allow the project to proceed without the blessing of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality. “The order finds that Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector never requested certification with respect to the Commission authorizations for the Jordan Cove Energy Project and that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality could not have waived its authority to issue certification for a request it never received,” FERC staff wrote in a
summary of the order. That means Pembina, the company behind the project which proposes to build the West Coast’s first liquefied natural gas terminal, will have to continue seeking water quality certification from state regulators before the project can be built and operated on Coos Bay. In March, the same federal commission gave the project a controversial green light to advance — but only on the condition that the company succeeded in acquiring several state and local permits first. Some of those permits — including the water quality permit in question — had already been denied. Before Tuesday’s meeting, Pembina asked the commission to rule
the state had waived its authority to certify the project’s water quality compliance, one of the conditions of FERC’s March approval. But the FERC’s five members, made up of three Republicans and two Democrats, unanimously declined to do so. The company has yet to reapply for the water quality permit, according to a DEQ spokesperson. Two other permit applications — for a renewed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for a proposed wastewater treatment system and an Air Contaminant Discharge Permit — are still pending before the agency. Tuesday's decision comes on the heels of several other setbacks for the project.
Earlier this month, the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals invalidated a permit issued by the City of North Bend, ruling the city erred in how it classified the company’s plans to drill beneath the Coos Bay Estuary. In December, the same board found permits issued by Coos County didn’t properly take into account the project’s proposed wastewater facility and the use of the bay’s public navigation channel. Both of those decisions, unless appealed in court by the company, mean the permit applications must return to city and county leaders for further review. Reaction from a handful of community leaders, residents and environmental activists was sup-
portive of the commission’s decision, which was originally expected later in the month but came instead on the last full day of the Trump Administration. “Today’s unanimous FERC decision shows that when our communities come together and speak out, we win! Thousands of southern Oregonians have raised their voices to stop this project for years and will continue to until the threat of Jordan Cove LNG is gone for good,” wrote Hannah Sohl, executive director of Rogue Climate, in a press release. “Now we must focus on creating good, local jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency in Oregon.” Please see LNG, Page A3
President Biden calls for unity
David Rupkalvis, The World
Mayor Jessica Engelke rings a bell while surrounded by members of the North Bend Fire Department during a ceremony honoring those who have died or suffered due to COVID-19.
North Bend honors victims of pandemic DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
NORTH BEND - Hours after the U.S. announced it had surpassed 400,000 deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday, Mayor Jessica Engelke solemnly rang a bell to honor those impacted by the virus. Engelke joined a nationwide remembrance of those lost to COVID-19 and those suffering because of the ongoing pandemic. She explained that as part of Pres. Joe Biden’s inauguration, he asked communities to pause at 2:30 p.m. local time and ring bells. Engelke said North Bend City Administrator David Milliron decided to get the city involved as a way of honoring the victims of the virus while making a symbolic gesture of moving forward as a country.
“This kind of starts the beginning of the inauguration ceremony with the remembrance of the COVID victims,” Engelke said. “I think it’s neat the new administration is starting new by remember the COVID victims.” Engelke said COVID has hit every community in the nation, including North Bend. She said her husband’s coworker lost his wife to COVID. “These are people, they are friends, they are coworkers,” Engelke said. “We’re at a point where everyone in our community knows someone who has been impacted in some way.” Engelke said joining in the nationwide ceremony was not about politics, but was instead a way to show solidarity in fighting against the pandemic.
John Gunther, The World
Coos County Commissioner Melissa Cribbins, left, Coos Bay Mayor Joe Benetti and North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke pose for photos after taking part in a joint ceremony honoring victims of the COVID-19 pandemic Please see Ceremony, Page A3 Tuesday night. North Bend's city vehicles are lit up
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” and summoning American resilience and unity to confront the deeply divided nation's historic confluence of crises. Denouncing a national “uncivil war,” Biden took the oath Wednesday at a U.S. Capitol that had been battered by an insurrectionist siege just two weeks earlier. Then, taking his place in the White House Oval Office, he plunged into a stack of executive actions that began to undo the heart of his polarizing predecessor 's agenda on matters from the deadly pandemic to climate change. At the Capitol, with America's tradition of peaceful transfers of power never appearing more fragile, the ceremony unfolded within a circle of security forces evocative of a war zone and devoid of crowds because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, Biden gazed out on a cold Washington morning dotted with snow flurries to see over 200,000 American flags planted on the National Mall to symbolize those who could not attend in person. “The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed," Biden declared in his speech. "This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve.” History was made at his side, as Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president. The former U.S. senator from California is also the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency and the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in the U.S. government. Biden never mentioned his predecessor, who defied tradition and left town ahead of the ceremony, but his speech was an implicit rebuke of Donald Trump. The new president denounced “lies told for power and for profit” and was blunt about the challenges ahead. Please see Biden, Page A7