CCSO release. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office has formed the Coos County Sheriff’s Combined Services Unit (Coos CSU). The CSU will supplement the patrol division of the Sheriff’s Office and will have a primary duty of safety and security required to mitigate concerns on Coos Bay, regarding the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal. The Jordan Cove LNG project is providing Coos County funding for the CSU. This new revenue stream will be provided by the Jordan Cove Energy Terminal as required to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005(EPAct2005). The EPAct2005, enacted by Congress, created a process for natural gas terminal siting. It specifically stated that terminal operators must engage with state and local emergency responders and where resource gaps were noted the terminal operator must develop cost-covering agreements with state and local agencies that would fill the identified resource gaps. Jordan Cove Energy, as required by EPAct2005, caused the creation of the Coos County Emergency Response Planning group. This group has been made up of representatives from the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, Coos Bay Police, North Bend Police, North Bay Fire, North Bend Fire, Coos Bay Fire, Hauser Fire, Charleston Fire and numerous state and federal agencies. The Coos County Emergency Response Planning group identified insufficient security on the bay as a concern. The Sheriff, who currently provides law enforcement services on the bay through a contract with the Oregon State Marine Board, proposed adding more personnel to perform the security mission, thereby ensuring resources would be readily available to take effective action in the event of a security issue. The Sheriff (Sheriff Andy Jackson at the time) submitted plans that would have the Sheriff’s Office facilitate security on the bay. This unit meets the identified deficiencies as a resource gap and meets the criteria found in the cost-sharing language and will be funded by Jordan Cove Energy. In addition to the personnel and equipment costs that have been identified, planning is provided by funding from the Jordan Cove Energy. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) grants federal approval for the siting of new onshore LNG facilities under the Natural Gas Act of 1938 and the EPAct2005. Jordan Cove Energy identified Coos Bay as a site. As such the Coos County Sheriff’s Office has had to prepare, plan and organize for the needs that may arise as the project proceeds. The Coos County Sheriff is acting to ensure the safety and security of our community. The Sheriff understands that there are strong opinions regarding the issues regarding this proposed facility. The Sheriff has taken this project seriously from the first day that this Office was made aware of the potential site. Why? Because increased shipping traffic may cause additional hazards on Coos Bay, Sheriff Craig Zanni and Sheriff Andy Jackson before him, have given due consideration to dealing with a terminal. The Sheriff’s Office has expended approximately 1 million dollars to develop current plans to deal with the Jordan Cove Energy project and those costs have been covered by the Jordan Cove Project. Those funds have allowed the Sheriff’s Office to supplement current services provided to the community.
