Environmental Justice Concerns

Their are many reasons tThe Pacific Connector Pipeline and Jordan Cove Export Terminal would be built in the proximity of predominantly lower class, and indigenous peoples. This raises concerns about environmental injustice, a concept that holds that marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by environmental “bads”, such as pipelines, landfills, and industry. Pipelines are prone to leakage, which can have devastating effects on waterways, and in turn the people who rely on them for subsistence and their livelihood.

Residents of Coos Bay

Citizens along the southern Oregon coast oppose the construction of the Jordan Cove liquified natural gas terminal. The terminal is proposed to be built on the north side of Coos Bay, which has a population of around 16,000 (U.S. Census).

The route that the proposed pipeline would follow would lead it straight through the sand dunes surrounding the town, which are an unstable building surface and could cause a higher likelihood of a spill, or explosion. This route would also put it in an extreme tsunami inundation zone, and in the Cascadia subduction zone (Citizens Against LNG). All of these risk factors make the pipeline extremely hazardous to the people of Coos Bay, and the greater Coos County area. While Veresen and the Jordan Cove LNG project promise to take safety measures if the pipeline is built, the amount of factors at play make this project a direct threat to not only the livelihood, but the safety of these people.

16,922 people live along the hazard zone of the pipeline. The hazard zone can reach up to 1.5 square miles from the site of single spill, and can have negative impacts on drinking water, agriculture, and fishing for years (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 2015).

The Klamath Tribes

The potential impact of the pipeline on waterways is particularly significant when considering the Klamath River Tribes’ dependence on salmon, both for cultural practices and subsistence. If the pipeline’s contents were to leak in or around any of the numerous rivers and streams that it crosses, it could wreak irreparable damage on the already endangered salmon fisheries of Southern Oregon and Northern California. This would have an effect on countless indigenous peoples’ livelihoods and cultural heritage.

The Klamath tribes also contend that the pipeline would unearth ancient Klamath burial grounds and other sacred cultural sites, a form of slow violence on members of the tribe and their history.

Ecological Concerns

The Pacific Connector Pipeline would negatively impact over 400 water bodies and would cross “6 major subbasins of rivers in southern Oregon – the Coos, Coquille, South Umpqua, Upper Rogue, Upper Klamath and Lost River subbasins,” most of which contain species of endangered salmon and steelhead trout (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 2015).

To clear a route for the pipeline thousands of acres of forested land would need to be cut. The clear cutting of these lands will have a negative impact on many different species, including the endangered northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet.

According to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the pipeline’s current route will clear cut “within 79 known owl site home ranges” and over 489 acres of the owl’s habitat will be “directly clearcut.” (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 2015). This is not to mention the dangers of fragmentation. When habitat is segmented by areas of clearcut, it causes significant ecological degradation and is one of the biggest dangers currently facing the northern spotted owl.

 

It would also harm the habitat of another endangered bird, the marbled murrelet, which relies on large old growth trees for nesting purposes. In Washington and Oregon alone, marbled murrelet habitat has declined 7% annually. It is highly unlikely that the population numbers will increase due to low reproduction rates and loss of habitat. The pipeline would likely be constructed over private as well as public lands which is significant, because the marbled murrelet habitat has been reduced to primarily private holdings. If the pipeline were to cross over private lands, this could destroy one of the last sizable habitable areas for the bird. The pipeline will clearcut 84 acres of suitable habitat for the bird, including already occupied stands (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 2015).

Climate Concerns

One of the strongest arguments against the construction of the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline and Jordan Cove Energy Project is the increasing speed and severity of anthropogenic climate change. If humans are to curb their affect on the planet’s climate, limiting the use of fossil fuels and stopping all fossil fuel infrastructure projects will be instrumental. If the FERC approve this pipeline, it will result in the continued mining, transport, and sale of these fossil fuels and eliminate any chance that we have at a stable climate.

Sources

“Citizens Against LNG Working for a renewable world.” Citizens Against LNG | For the Record. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Final Environmental Impact Statement Jordan Cove Energy Project and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline Project. Rep. no. CP13-483-000.     Washington, DC: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2015. Print.

Staff, KRK. “Help Block a New Klamath Gas Pipeline.” Klamathriver.org. N.p., 26 Jan. 2017. Web. 19 May 2017.

“LNG: More Information.” Cascadia Wildlands » LNG: More Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017.

Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife. “OFWO – Marbled murrelet.” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017.