The Daily Astorian: Palomar withdraws pipeline application

By KATIE WILSON
The Daily Astorian Daily Astorian

A Palomar Gas pipeline will not be built through Clatsop County at this time.

Palomar Gas Transmission LLC filed a notice of withdrawal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today, said the company's spokesman David Dodson.


The pipeline would have hooked into a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at Bradwood Landing, located east of Astoria, but NorthernStar, the company at the head of that project, filed for bankruptcy last year.

This situation "created uncertainties for Palomar that required resolution in order to determine a best path forward for the Project," reads the notice of withdrawal.

"Bradwood was the only customer on the western leg," Dodson said.

The company still hopes to develop the eastern end of its proposed pipeline which would connect to a hub near Molalla, Dodson said.

The application submitted to FERC included material relating to both the eastern and western portions of the proposed pipeline. Palomar is asking FERC to preserve this existing record since the the company plans to go ahead with an eastern-focused project in the future.

Dodson estimated that the company paid upwards of $30 million in development costs on the pipeline.

"We're hoping that that $30 million is an investment," he said. By preserving some of the original record, they could also preserve some of the value of that investment, he said.