States, feds, counties all will have say in LNG's OK, FERC says

States, feds, counties all will have say in LNG's OK, FERC says

By Tony Lystra - The Daily News.com - Longview, Washington

So who has the authority to approve NorthernStar's liquefied natural gas terminal, anyway? Is it the feds?
The counties?
The state agencies?

The answer, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is all of the above.
NorthernStar Natural Gas's plan to build its LNG import terminal on the Columbia River has triggered a complex array of local and federal laws and processes. FERC, Clatsop and Cowltiz counties, as well as state agencies in Oregon and Washington all are expected to consider permits for the project.

But there has been some confusion about whether FERC will respect the rulings of local agencies.

This week, Clatsop County sent a letter to FERC, asking the agency to clarify its authority in considering the terminal.

County Administrator Scott Derickson wrote that the county's officials were surprised to hear testimony during an Oct. 22 meeting that FERC might be able to "overrule" the county's authority in considering 27 changes in land-use policy to make way for the terminal.

"Does FERC have the authority to invalidate, waive or modify local land-use regulations or local conditions?" the letter asked.

Derickson said in an interview Friday that he could not recall who had made the allegation during the October meeting, but he said county officials are worried that FERC might preempt the county's decisions.

"It is a question about whether local communities are going to have a meaningful opportunity to engage in the siting of energy facilities that can impact their community," he said.
NorthernStar Natural Gas, of Houston, plans to bring LNG carriers 38 miles up the river to Bradwood, Ore., which is in Clatsop County. It would store the superchilled gas in two large tanks across from Puget Island, then revaporize the fuel and pump it to market via a new pipeline crossing Clatsop, Columbia and Cowlitz counties.

NorthernStar spokesman Joe Desmond said in a statement Friday that FERC is "reluctant to preempt local bodies."

"In general, FERC defers to applicants who voluntarily agree to land-use and other conditions," Desmond said.

Paul Friedman, a FERC environmental project manager who is working on the proposal, said the Natural Gas Act and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 give FERC "total authority" to site onshore LNG facilities. In most cases, FERC, he said, can override the decisions made by counties in Washington and Oregon.

However, there are several ways local jurisdictions can exercise their authority in the matter, Friedman said.

FERC cannot override another federal law in considering a terminal, he said, and there are several federal laws the terminal must meet in order to be approved.

The state of Oregon has been charged with ensuring that NorthernStar's facilities meet the requirements of the Coastal Zone Management Act, or CZMA. And the state, Friedman said, will look to land-use decisions made by the Clatsop County commissioners in determining whether the terminal meets the act's standards.

If Oregon denied a certificate under the CZMA, NorthernStar could appeal to the U.S. Department of Commerce, not FERC, said Tamara Young-Allen, a FERC spokeswoman.
In addition, the state of Washington has the power under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act to determine whether the terminal and pipeline would be destructive to the state's waterways. Cowlitz County's decisions on whether the terminal and pipeline meet the Washington State Environmental Policy Act will influence whether the state Department of Ecology issues a clean water permit for the facilities.

NorthernStar must also get a clean water permit from the state of Oregon, Friedman said, and for that permit to be issued, Clatsop County will have to issue a so-called "land-use compatibility statement."

"So states do hold some trump cards," Friedman said.

Cowlitz County is expected to consider whether the terminal and its accompanying pipeline meet the requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA. Cowlitz County is also expected to consider shoreline and pipeline permits for the project.

Mike Wojtowicz, the director of the county's building and planning department, said there's no question who really has the authority in Cowlitz County's case: FERC.

"They got it," he said. "My understanding is that both federal law and caselaw render the county's permits moot."

Friedman confirmed that if Cowlitz County denied NorthernStar's permits, the project could still be built per FERC's authority.

So why bother approving permits in Cowlitz County?

"It's a voluntary thing, but we think they should do it," Friedman said of the local process. "It's one way of proving to us that you're going to reduce environmental damage by following local procedures."