NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | January 6, 2017 | PAGE 9
Jordan Cove LNG terminal: Not dead yet
ROOFERS STEP UP TO HELP TOY & JOY MAKERS: Members of Roofers Local
49 donated $1,283 in cash and four bags of toys to Portland Fire and Rescue’s
Toy & Joy Makers. Making the presentation to a representative of Portland
Fire and Rescue are Business Manager Russ Garnett (left) and Local 49
President Travis Hopkins (right). Local 49 donates to the Toy & Joy Makers
every year. Toys are collected at the union’s annual Christmas party, and
money is raised through a 50/50 raffle. Toy & Joy Makers is a local toy drive
founded by Portland Fire & Rescue in 1914, to help out local families in need
around Christmas time.
Veresen Inc., the Canadian
company behind the proposed
Jordan Cove liquefied natural
gas (LNG) plant in Coos Bay,
says it will file a new, revised
application after being denied
construction permits by the Fed-
eral Energy Regulatory Com-
mission (FERC).
The company wants to build
an LNG storage facility on the
North Spit in Coos Bay. The
original proposal included an
adjacent 420-megawatt power
plant, and a 234-mile connector
pipeline. The price tag was $6
billion, all privately-funded,
without any taxpayer incentives.
A project labor agreement is
in place with the Oregon Build-
ing and Construction Trades
Council to build the facility with
all-union labor. It also has sup-
port from the Oregon AFL-CIO.
The new filing with FERC
will not include a power plant.
Last March, FERC denied
the construction permit applica-
tions, stating that market sup-
port wasn’t there, and that the
public benefits of the pipeline
didn’t outweigh the potential for
adverse impacts on landowners
and communities.
Veresen’s request for a re-
hearing was denied by FERC on
Dec. 9.
“While the decision was dis-
appointing, we remain commit-
ted to this project,” said Betsy
Spomer, CEO of Jordan Cove
Energy Project, L.P. and Pacific
Connector Gas Pipeline, LP, in
a press release.
On Dec. 13, Jordan Cove
LNG withdrew its application
with the Oregon Energy Facility
Siting Council to build a power
plant.
“Through feedback from
stakeholders and extensive en-
gineering work, we have de-
signed a more efficient facility
that does not require a power
plant, and will reduce overall
environmental impacts,” said
Spomer, emphasizing that the
2015 Final Environmental Im-
pact Statement remains valid
and has already confirmed that
the project is environmentally
responsible.
As Jordan Cove LNG readies
the applications for re-filing, im-
portant agreements, such as the
project labor agreement, will
stay in place.
“It’s business as usual,” said
Tim Frew, executive secretary
of the Oregon Building & Con-
struction Trades Council.
“Jordan Cove’s investment
will rank among the largest pri-
vate investments in Oregon’s
history,” State Sen. Arnie Rob-
lan said in a press release issued
by Boost Southwest Oregon, a
coalition of organizations,
politicians, and individuals that
support the project. “The project
will generate hundreds of mil-
lions in tax revenue for schools,
infrastructure improvements
and public safety that will take
the burden off the backs of local
taxpayers.”
Boost Southwest Oregon has
put out a call for more people to
join their coalition “to make our
voices heard.” To become a
booster, go to boostsouthwest-
oregon.org/boosters.
Oregon, Washington buck national
trend as job-related deaths decline
A total of 4,836 fatal work in-
juries were recorded in the
United States in 2015, a slight
increase from the 4,821 fatal in-
juries reported in 2014, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics re-
ported Dec. 16 in its Census of
Fatal Occupational Injuries.
Oregon and Washington were
among 29 states to buck the na-
tional trend and see their job-re-
lated fatalities decrease.
Oregon registered 44 job-re-
lated deaths in 2015, compared
to 69 the previous year. That
equates to 2.6 deaths per
100,000 workers.
Washington had 70 work-
place fatalities in 2015, com-
pared to 88 in 2014. That
equates to 2.1 deaths per
100,000 workers.
Key findings of the 2015
Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries:
• Annual total of 4,836 fatal work-
place injuries in 2015 was the
highest since 5,214 fatal injuries
in 2008.
• The overall rate of fatal work in-
jury for workers in 2015, at 3.38
per 100,000 full-time equivalent
(FTE) workers, was lower than
the 2014 rate of 3.43.
• Hispanic or Latino workers in-
curred 903 fatal injuries in
2015—the most since 937 fatal-
ities in 2007.
• Workers age 65 years and older
incurred 650 fatal injuries, the
second-largest number for the
group since the national census
began in 1992, but decreased
from the 2014 figure of 684.
• Roadway incident fatalities were
up 9 percent from 2014 totals,
accounting for over one-quarter
of the fatal occupational injuries
in 2015.
• Workplace suicides decreased 18
percent in 2015; homicides were
up 2 percent from 2014 totals.
• Heavy and tractor-trailer truck
drivers recorded 745 fatal in-
juries, the most of any occupa-
tion.
• The 937 fatal work injuries in the
private construction industry in
2015 represented the highest to-
tal since 975 cases in 2008.
• Fatal injuries in the private oil and
gas extraction industries were 38
percent lower in 2015 than
2014.
• Seventeen percent of decedents
were contracted by and perform-
ing work for another business or
government entity in 2015 rather
than for their direct employer at
the time of the incident.
ONLINE EXTRA
To see the full report, go to
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/
cfoi.nr0.htm