A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
IN BRIEF
Seaside man sentenced
to prison for domestic violence
EXPLORERS CLUB
A Seaside man was sentenced Tuesday to almost
two years in prison for domestic violence.
Saturnino Romero Martinez, 32, was arrested last
June for crimes related to domestic violence, includ-
ing attempted murder.
He pleaded guilty to strangulation and his other
charges were dismissed.
After the arrest, he was the subject of a detainer
by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Astoria police seek information
about attempted robbery
Astoria police are seeking information about an
attempted robbery that occurred Tuesday near Sec-
ond Street and Marine Drive.
Police were called about 2:30 a.m. and spoke to a
man and a witness who were reportedly walking in
the area when they were approached by a man who
brandished a knife.
The suspect demanded the man’s cellphone and
threatened to hurt him if he did not comply.
Another person in the area intervened and the
suspect fl ed on foot.
The suspect is described as a white male with
shoulder length blond hair. He was wearing a white
checkered jacket and a dark colored bandana.
Anyone with information or video of the suspect
in the area is asked to contact Detective Nicole Riley
at 503-741-6118 or at nriley@astoria.or.us.
TOP: Ulises Tadeo Hernández
Castelan navigates a
remote-controlled model
sailboat around the pond
outside the Barbey Maritime
Center. LEFT: Columbia River
Maritime Museum volunteer
Renee Fruiht works with
Hudson Sandel and Izabellah
Paris while they paint ideas
to decorate the sail of their
future miniboat. With many
students not attending in-
person classes during the
pandemic, the Columbia
River Maritime Museum
created the Explorers Club to
provide local students with
learning activities through
the miniboat program.
Authorities track down potentially
dangerous dog after escape
Authorities located an aggressive and
potentially dangerous Chow Chow that escaped
from Clatsop County Animal Control on Tuesday
morning.
Offi cials say the dog escaped at about 9 a.m.
An extensive effort was made by animal control,
the Warrenton Police Department and the Clatsop
County Sheriff’s Offi ce to capture the dog.
The dog was found on Wednesday morning and
was taken back to animal control.
— The Astorian
Washington state nixes
Kalama methanol plant
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Offi cials in Washing-
ton state denied a key permit for a large proposed
methanol plant Tuesday, saying the project that aims
to send the chemical to China to be used in every-
thing from fabrics and contact lenses to iPhones
and medical equipment would pump out too much
pollution.
A signifi cant increase in greenhouse gas emis-
sions and inconsistencies with the Shoreline Man-
agement Act were the main reasons the permit was
rejected for the project planned on the Columbia
River, the state Department of Ecology said in a
news release.
The $2 billion Northwest Innovation Works plant
proposed in Kalama would take natural gas from
Canada and convert it into methanol. It would then
be shipped to China to make olefi ns — compounds
used in many everyday products.
— Associated Press
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/
The Astorian
DEATH
Jan. 17, 2021
Death
HENDRICKSON, Jay Donald, 75, died in Payson,
Arizona. Messinger Payson Funeral Home is in charge
of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
A rendering of the proposed Jordan Cove liquefi ed natural gas terminal in Coos Bay.
Assault
ful possession of meth-
On
the
• Chase
Daniel Record
Rusi- amphetamine, interfer-
novich, 24, of Astoria,
was arrested Saturday on
Bond Street in Astoria
for assault in the fourth
degree and harassment.
Robbery
•
Geremy
Gro-
chow, 31, of Astoria,
was arrested Friday at
Walmart in Warrenton
for robbery in the second
degree and theft in the
third degree.
Criminal mischief
• Desiree Laymon, 33,
was arrested Tuesday in
Warrenton for unlaw-
ing with a police offi cer,
offensive littering, crimi-
nal mischief in the second
degree, resisting arrest
and disorderly conduct.
DUII
• Ricardo Benjamin
Carvajal, 32, was arrested
Monday on U.S. High-
way 26 in Seaside for
driving under the infl u-
ence of intoxicants.
• Joann Kysar, 48, of
Long Beach, Washing-
ton, was arrested Satur-
day on U.S. Highway 30
for DUII.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Astoria School District Board of Directors, 5:45 p.m.,
special meeting, (electronic meeting).
Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
(electronic meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Federal regulators deliver potentially
fatal blow to Jordan Cove LNG project
By TED SICKINGER
The Oregonian
Federal energy regulators
on Tuesday upheld Oregon’s
decision to deny a water qual-
ity certifi cation for the pro-
posed Jordan Cove liquefi ed
natural gas export terminal in
Coos Bay and its feeder pipe-
line, the Pacifi c Connector,
another sign that the massive
energy project may be on its
last legs.
The project’s owner, Cal-
gary-based Pembina Pipeline
Corp., did not respond to a
request for comment. But the
decision prompted an enthu-
siastic response from oppo-
nents of the project, as well as
politicians such as Gov. Kate
Brown and U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden.
“At every stage of the
regulatory process, I have
insisted that the Jordan Cove
LNG project must meet Ore-
gon’s rigorous standards for
protecting the environment,
or it cannot move forward,”
Brown tweeted. “I’m pleased
that the Federal Energy Regu-
latory Commission validated
that approach today.”
Oregon’s Department of
Environmental Quality origi-
nally denied the permit, with-
out which backers cannot
move forward, in May 2019.
It did so partly for procedural
reasons: To avoid uninten-
tionally waiving the state’s
authority as a deadline loomed
‘AT EVERY STAGE OF THE
REGULATORY PROCESS, I HAVE
INSISTED THAT THE JORDAN
COVE LNG PROJECT MUST
MEET OREGON’S RIGOROUS
STANDARDS FOR PROTECTING THE
ENVIRONMENT, OR IT CANNOT MOVE
FORWARD. I’M PLEASED THAT THE
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY
COMMISSION VALIDATED THAT
APPROACH TODAY.’
Pembina’s request to waive
Oregon’s 401 water quality
authority,” Stacey McLaugh-
lin, a Douglas County land-
owner, said in a news release
from the project’s opponents.
“Any approach to seeking
approval of its Pacifi c Con-
nector Pipeline and Jordan
Cove Energy Project without
proper permits compromises
the safety of Oregon’s land-
owners. Pembina is proving
it cannot be trusted — this is
not a characteristic seen in a
‘good neighbor.’”
Gov. Kate Brown
Tuesday’s decision still
leaves the company free to
reapply to the Department of
Environmental Quality for
the certifi cation. But 15 years
after the controversial LNG
terminal and pipeline were
originally proposed, backers
face a daunting set of obsta-
cles at the state level.
Last February, the Oregon
Department of Land Con-
servation and Development
determined that the project
was not consistent with land
use laws under the Coastal
Zone Management Act. In its
decision, it said the “adverse
effects from the project will
be signifi cant and under-
mine the vision set forth by
the Oregon Coastal Manage-
ment Plan and its enforceable
policies.”
for making a decision and the
company’s application was
still deemed incomplete.
The agency said at the
time that it was denying the
application because there “is
insuffi cient information to
demonstrate compliance with
water quality standards, and
because the available infor-
mation shows that some stan-
dards are more likely than not
to be violated.”
But it denied the applica-
tion without prejudice, leav-
ing the company free to
reapply.
Pembina appealed the
decision to federal regula-
tors, arguing that the agency
had failed to make a deci-
sion in a timely fashion. In a
unanimous decision Tuesday,
commissioners at the Fed-
eral Energy Regulatory Com-
mission disagreed, effectively
arguing that the state had
never received a completed
application.
“The order fi nds that Jor-
dan Cove and Pacifi c Con-
nector never requested cer-
tifi cation with respect to the
c ommission authorizations
for the Jordan Cove Energy
Project and that the Oregon
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality could not have
waived its authority to issue
certifi cation for a request it
never received,” the commis-
sion said Tuesday in a sum-
mary of its fi ndings.
“The evidence in the
record was clear, FERC had
no choice other than to deny
Company can reapply
See LNG, Page A3