Environmentalists are appealing a state dredging permit in a bid to derail proposals to export coal and liquefied natural gas through the Port of Coos Bay.
The appeal was filed Wednesday with the Oregon Department of State Lands, which last month gave the Port of Coos Bay a permit for dredging needed to build two large ship berths on the North Spit.
Jan Hasselman of the environmental law firm Earthjustice in Seattle says the state did not adequately consider the dredging’s ultimate impacts on protected aquatic resources.
The appeal argues that the permit would lead to pollution and increased ship traffic that would harm commercial and recreational fishing and boating on Coos Bay.
The port and the department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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