| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Thirteenth District |
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| Press Release | Date: Sept. 27, 2005 |
COAST GUARD WILL EVALUATE SUITABILITY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER FOR LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS SHIPS “We plan to work very closely with local officials, our Ports and Waterways Safety Committee and the Area Maritime Security Committee in evaluating this proposal,” said Patrick G. Gerrity, Coast Guard Captain of the Port at The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is responsible for authorizing the siting, construction, and operation of onshore LNG facilities. Once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission receives an application for an LNG facility, it is required to complete an Environmental Impact Statement, evaluating issues ranging from air quality and biological impacts, to cultural and socioeconomic impacts, as well as safety and security impacts. The Coast Guard will serve as a cooperating agency for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions Environmental Impact Statement. Northern Star Natural Gas LLC will provide the Coast Guard with a safety and security assessment that identifies any navigational safety hazards. They will also give potential safety threats along with any recommendations on any mitigation measures and the resources to federal, state, local and the public that will be needed to provide an acceptable level of safety and security for the proposed LNG operations. This assessment will be submitted to the Coast Guard so that it can be reviewed and validated by key stakeholders at the port, such as the Area Maritime Security Committee. Based on this assessment, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port will evaluate the suitability of the waterway for LNG marine traffic and provide his or her findings to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for inclusion in its Environmental Impact Statement. The Coast Guard and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold public meetings at ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
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