The Morrow Pacific coal projects timeline for operation has been pushed back to 2014 due to laws governing construction in the Columbia River.

Work on a loading dock at the port in the Columbia River can not be conducted when salmon and steelhead are running, said Greg Smith, Morrow Pacific spokesman and District 57 State Representative.

We are trying to make sure we comply with all state and federal laws, Smith said. In-water work has to be done in compliance with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requirements.

Smith said the projects parent company, Ambre Energy, has been making its quarterly payments on the 99-year lease option with the Port of Morrow.

While the construction window has been revised, we are still moving full-speed ahead on all other aspects, Smith said.

The corps of engineers also will conduct an environmental assessment, which will focus on the Coyote Island Terminal at the Port of Morrow where a dock is needed in the Columbia River and the areas where coal will be unloaded from rail cars and placed in covered storage areas, according to a Morrow Pacific press release.

Scott Clemans, corps of engineers spokesperson, said the assessment is the first step to an environmental impact statement, which could take years, but will not be done unless significant environmental impacts or effects are found in the study.

We measure environmental assessments in months, we measure environmental impact statements in years, Clemans said.

The main focus of the assessment will be impacts on endangered species salmon and steelhead impacts on tribal treaty rights as well as tribal fishing sites and other sites of significance to the tribes, Clemans said. Water and air quality are also on the assessors radar, Clemans said.

In the decision of what to study, Clemans said the corps of engineers received about 30,000 public comments from federal, state and local agencies. Interest groups, tribal governments and the general public also submitted comments, he said.

We were looking for substantive information that will help us identify potential positive or negative aspects of the project, Clemans said.

The project will ship coal from Montana and Wyoming via rail to the Port of Morrow where it will be off-loaded into covered storage barns then moved onto covered barges. The barges will take the coal to a Port of St. Helens dock to be loaded onto Panamax ocean liners bound for Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Clemans classified the docks footprint as minimal citing that the dock is measured in square feet. In the corps of engineers Seattle district, two environmental impact statements are being prepared on two projects requiring wetlands fill and dredging, Clemans said.

The direct effects of the Coyote Island Terminal are not as readily apparent as the ones in Seattle, he said.

Contact Anna Willard at awillard@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.