NORTH SPIT — A line of wooden stakes with pink flyers cuts an east-west path across the sandy, grass-strewn flats of Ingram Yard. Today, the markers stand about four football fields from the edge of Coos Bay.

But if the Coos County Board of Commissioners gives its assent to a proposed marine terminal on the North Spit, they would be less than 200 feet from the water’s edge.

The markers delineate the boundary between the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay’s project and Jordan Cove Energy Project’s proposed liquefied natural gas terminal. They were one of several items of interest on a tour of the site conducted Tuesday morning by LNG Project Manager Bob Braddock.

The visit was scheduled to give Federal Energy Regulatory Commission engineering staff a firsthand look at the project’s location. But most of the questions for Braddock were posed by longshoremen, media representatives and LNG opponents who joined the two-hour tour.

People asked about the height of the two proposed natural gas storage tanks and the projects’ effect on the North Spit’s water table. But most questions concerned the dimensions of the marine and LNG terminals. The port’s deputy executive director, Michael Gaul, attended the tour, but it was Braddock who addressed both projects. However, he refrained from addressing questions regarding the port’s other venture, the container terminal.

Rather than describe the boundaries of the two projects, Braddock took those assembled directly to them. After assembling in Coos Bay, a caravan of vehicles drove out to TransPacific Parkway, down Jordan Cove Road and around the perimeter of the Roseburg Forest Products wood chip terminal property. Drivers were instructed to stay close to one another because the wood chip site, like the 159-acre property for the LNG terminal and the 25-acre property set aside for the marine terminal, is private property. Exiting their vehicles at about the western boundary of the wood chip site, Braddock and the group headed down the old Jordan Cove Road, skirting the waterfront. Bundled up in jackets, knit caps and hoods, the 27-member group was dressed for far worse weather than what greeted them, as a slight breeze accompanied steel-blue skies.

 About 400 feet from their vehicles, Braddock stopped next to a lone tree right on the shore. He explained this point would be the eastern edge of the slip dock, with the other edge 1,100 feet farther to the west. With the whole group assembled, Braddock took a moment to explain that the road was graded about 20 feet above mean sea level. Behind him was the sand dune that would be excavated to make way for the marine terminal and his LNG terminal. He said the dune’s highest point is about 120 feet above sea level, though it varies significantly.

After another 500 feet, Braddock stopped at a dilapidated yellow gate: the entrance into Ingram Yard. He explained the upland area next to the dune once served as a dairy farm before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filled it with dredge material. It then served as a storage yard for Weyerhaeuser Co.

As they moved inland, the group stumbled upon a piezometer, an instrument used to measure pressure, and in this case, the water table. Braddock explained the water table at this point was about 10 feet down, with sandstone bedrock located about 120 feet down.

Holly Stamper, of Charleston, asked whether the excavation would cause saltwater incursion of the water table and Braddock said it would not.

At this point, the tour diverged from the main trail and cut across the yard to the western boundary of the proposed marine terminal. On the way, Braddock stopped and directed people’s attention to the soil’s composition. Kicking the soil with his Gore-Tex boot, Braddock pointed out shells that give away the fact most of the material was dredged from the estuary by the Corps of Engineers.

This was well demonstrated at the boundary of Henderson Marsh. Braddock stood where the marsh begins and explained that the difference in elevation, about 15 feet, could be attributed primarily to the dredge spoilings.

“The boundary is quite, relatively, distinct,” he said.

Braddock went out to explain that the marine terminal will have a 50-foot setback from the marsh.

Several members of the expedition asked whether the marsh would be impacted by the proposed container terminal. Braddock said he could not answer the question because the two projects are not related and he is not privy to the container terminals particulars.

As the party continued north, members came across the pink markers, then cut north-by-northeast to a stake indicating the location of the northern storage tank. Braddock said the bottom of the tanks would be about 20 feet above sea level, extending nearly 200 feet up. He noted that berms, around an elevation of 55 feet, would ring each facility. He said some of the dune would be excavated and moved to the northern end of Ingram Yard to serve as a buffer between the terminal and TransPacific Parkway. The trees and brush taken off the top of the dune would be ground up and laid down in hopes of improving the soil to grow new trees on the buffer berm.

When some scoffed at the idea, Braddock responded.

“Whether you can (grow trees), that’s another story,” he said. “But we’ll try.”

Several people wanted to know whether it would be dangerous to travel along the parkway in the event of an accident at the LNG terminal. Braddock assured them that both the parkway and the adjacent properties would be safe.

“We don’t anticipate impacting our neighbors,” he said. “They could build a church. They could build a school (and it would be safe).”

When people asked about the LNG tankers entering the bay, Braddock said they would have to wait for the U.S. Coast Guard report on the matter. He said he expects the document will be completed within the next month, perhaps before the new year. It will come out before the draft environmental impact statement that several FERC officials in attendance Tuesday are helping to prepare.

Wearing a red Maryland Terps baseball cap Tuesday, FERC engineer Steven Busch said he has been working on the project for several months and had yet to visit the site. He said it was helpful to be on the ground and see things in person, noting that he originally thought that the sand dune that will be partially excavated would be completely leveled.

“So that’s good to know,” he said.

He said his visit would not make or break the project’s application, but rather help inform him as he continues to work on the project.

“We are orienting ourselves, to where property lines are, with respect to the waterway and where points of travel are,” he said.

If the FERC approves the project, Busch and his cohorts would return to make construction inspections.

Doyle Williams and Frank Williams said they hope the terminal becomes a reality. The two Coos Bay longshoremen said they would like to see more jobs return to the area after they ran dry following the closure of mills. Frank said the United States needs more energy, and if it can bring more jobs to the area, all the better.

“It’s coming, so why not have it in our area” he asked.

Karen Castner, of North Bend, was somewhat warier. She said she does not like the idea of restricting the public’s access to the adjacent waterway. Although the property is privately owned, she would prefer the land be left open for public use. Currently, there are no approved hiking trails on the property, though there are no gates and surveillance to obstruct trespassing. Such security precautions would be built if a marine terminal and LNG terminal are constructed.

“It would be nice to go to the (North Spit) boat ramp and take a nice long walk each way,” she said. “I’d like more answers about public access.”