NorthernStar says construction of Oregon LNG terminal to begin

BRADWOOD, Ore. - NorthernStar Natural Gas says it is nearing the end of the long federal and state approval process for its liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River and could begin construction by the end of this year.
The Houston company said it has begun consulting with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the impacts the Bradwood, Ore., terminal would pose to endangered species. NMFS is expected to rule in a Biological Opinion expected between March and May whether the risks are acceptable.
In a statement, NorthernStar president Paul Soanes called it "a major milestone" that "puts Bradwood Landing on track to complete its permitting
by next summer, allowing construction to begin later in 2010."
NorthernStar plans to bring LNG tankers 38 miles up the Columbia, where they would unload superchilled gas into storage tanks. The gas would be warmed and pumped to market through at least one pipeline that would cross the Columbia River and connect with the Williams pipeline just north of Kelso.
Should federal regulators determine the project meets the requirements of
the Endangered Species Act, NorthernStar will still have to get approvals
from Washington and Oregon under the clean air, clean water and Coastal Zone Management acts. FERC's decision to approve the project also faces an appeal from various environmental groups and state and federal agencies in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Court rules against Baltimore LNG proposal

BALTIMORE, Md. - A federal appeals court has upheld Maryland's decision to deny a water quality certification for a liquefied natural gas terminal at Baltimore's Sparrows Point.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Arlington-based AES Corp.'s petition for review in late December. AES had argued Maryland failed to decide on its application within a year of its proposal and the state's certification denial was "arbitrary and capricious" because it considered water flow a form of pollution under the Clean Water Act.
But the court panel ruled that Maryland regulators decided within one year of the Army Corps of Engineers' provision of necessary information - not when AES had submitted its application.
Further, the opinion holds that Maryland properly considered how water flow would be affected by the additional dredging needed for LNG tankers. The court agreed with the state that the dredging would induce "pollutants" by creating deep channels where the dissolved oxygen levels would not meet water standards.
"Maryland examined the relevant data pertaining to the effect on water quality in the areas of the proposed deep channel dredging and articulated a satisfactory explanation for its denial on that basis," the panel wrote.
The ruling could have an effect on other proposed LNG facilities, especially those in Oregon where the state is still reviewing required permits and similar environmental concerns have been raised.

TransCanada getting more interest in Alaska LNG project than pipeline

ANCHORAGE – TransCanada Corp. told Alaska legislators on June 23 that it is getting serious interest in an LNG alternative to its all-land Alaska gas pipeline project as the company prepares for a 2010 initial open season.
TransCanada Vice President Tony Palmer said potential shippers have expressed interest in up to three billion cubic feet per day of gas for an LNG project at Valdez, which is up from two billion cubic feet TransCanada initially planned to offer as an LNG alternative to an all-land pipeline from northern Alaska.
Palmer would not disclose names of the companies expressing interest, but in recent years, four major firms - BG Energy, Mitsubishi, Sempra International and the Chinese-owned energy company Sinopec - have expressed interest in Alaska LNG.
Palmer said there is not enough gas available for both an LNG and land pipeline, at least initially, if three billion cubic feet a day is shipped to an LNG project in addition to the four billion cubic feet per day TransCanada hopes to ship through a land pipeline.
"It would be an either/or situation for us, not both," he told the House Resources Committee in the committee's meeting.

FERC gives Downeast LNG project favorable review

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators on May 18 gave a favorable environmental review of Downeast LNG's proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Washington County, Me.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Downeast LNG's proposed LNG terminal and pipeline would have some adverse environmental impacts, but that they could be "reduced to less-than-significant levels" by the company's proposed mitigation efforts and additional recommendations included in FERC's draft environmental impact statement.
Downeast LNG is proposing a 320,000-cubic-meter LNG terminal, storage tanks, regasification plant and a pier on an 80-acre site on Passamaquoddy Bay in Robbinston, as well as a pipeline that would send the natural gas 30 miles northwest to a point near Baileyville where it would connect with Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline LLC's existing pipeline.