MARCH 2008: AROUND THE STATE
Governor fights federal control of LNG
SALEM
In February, the scrap over liquefied natural gas terminals in
Oregon jumped from being a heated topic on the coast to a major
talking point in state politics.
In a strongly worded letter to the chairman of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Gov. Ted Kulongoski insisted that
FERC stop its review of the state’s three proposed LNG
terminals until the agency considered every alternative for
supplying natural gas to the region.
He wrote that he was concerned the agency’s approach to
licensing had “created a crises of confidence with
Oregonians.” Kulongoski will ask Oregon’s
congressional delegation to work to appeal portions of Energy
Policy Act of 2005, which gave the federal government exclusive
authority in approving LNG terminals. NorthernStar Natural Gas,
the company behind a proposed terminal on the Columbia River
near Astoria, defended the permitting
process.
ABRAHAM HYATT
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