In past months, debate has been heated within the community over the proposed liquefied natural gas holding facility on Coos Bay's North Spit, as well as the proposed 250-mile, 36-inch gas pipeline from the holding facility to the California border. Many meetings have been held, both pro-LNG and con.

Today, the community will have its first chance to fully interact with those attempting to bring LNG to Coos County, when Jordan Cove Energy Project holds an open house to foster discussion of both proposed projects. The event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. and will be open to the public. It will be held at The Mill Casino-Hotel in North Bend.

Jordan Cove Energy Project announced on Friday its lineup for the open house.

“The format of the event is that we'll have information booths set up everywhere, so people can go from booth to booth and learn about the issues they care about,” said Bob Braddock, Jordan Cove Energy Project director. “Each booth is designed to focus on a particular aspect of the project, whether it be design, vessel movement issues, seismic and tsunami factors, environmental issues, and so on. Rather than have us give lectures, people can just talk to whoever they want to talk to.”

In addition, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission representatives are expected to be on hand. According to Jordan Cove's projected permitting schedule, the company will apply for FERC certification in January 2007, in hopes of having the project approved by November. If all occurs according to plan, construction of the holding facility is scheduled to commence in January 2008.

For more information on the open house and Jordan Cove Energy Project, those interested can visit http://www.jordancoveenergy.com.