Tove Tupper & Associated Press
 
December 17, 2009
 
NEAR SHADY COVE, Ore. -- Federal regulators have approved construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal on Coos Bay and a pipeline to distribute the gas that would run from Coos Bay to Malin.
 
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 3-1 Thursday in Washington, D.C. to approve the Jordan Cove project.
 
Ships would deliver the super-cooled gas to a terminal to be built on the North Spit of Coos Bay. The gas would be distributed through a 230-mile Pacific Connector Gas pipeline that would slice through Jackson and Klamath counties and connect to existing networks in Medford, Roseburg and Klamath Falls.
 
Construction is not final, FERC's approval just means that Pacific Connector can move forward with obtaining permits for the project, including permits from the Department of Environmental Quality and the Army Corps of Engineers, a process that could take up to a year.
 
Property owners along the route have objected to the pipeline, and the Oregon Department of Energy has questioned the need for LNG terminals in the state because of alternative sources of energy.
 
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and Attorney General John Kroger have already asked FERC to reconsider its approval.