County rules LNG pipeline won't affect oysters

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) -- The Pacific Northwest's only native oyster won't stand in the way of a proposed natural-gas pipeline in Coos County after commissioners voted to move forward with a land-use permit for the pipeline.

The Coos Bay World reports (http://bit.ly/wUWixF ) the Coos County Board of Commissioners has voted to approve the permit for Pacific Connector's 2.4-mile stretch of pipeline. The pipeline would lead to a gas terminal on the North Spit.

A group that opposes the pipeline had argued that commissioners had not given adequate consideration to the effect of construction on Olympia oysters.

But an independent adjudicator released a report in January that deemed that Olympia oysters were scarce in the inlet and so harm appeared minimal.

Pacific Connector will take mitigation steps to ensure the oysters' habitat is preserved.

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Information from: The World, http://www.theworldlink.com