PORTLAND (AP) — Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation say federal regulators have dismissed their concerns about liquefied natural gas facilities in the state.

Congressman Peter DeFazio joined fellow representatives David Wu, Earl Blumenauer and Darlene Hooley in sending a letter last month to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, requesting improved licensing procedure for the facilities.

“Like the Governor,” the Democrats wrote, “we too have not taken an absolute position on LNG facilities in Oregon, but we are concerned about the inadequacy of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensing process.”

“... We would appreciate FERC’s insight and expertise into the question of need, before our constituents are asked to grapple with safety and environmental obstacles.”

But in their reply this week, regulators said they intend to let the market decide whether any of the pending LNG projects move forward.

“FERC basically blew off the concerns expressed in our letter,” DeFazio said in a press release Thursday. “Now the state of Oregon is going to waste a huge amount of time investigating several plans, at great cost to taxpayers, most of which will not even come to fruition. I don’t believe Oregonians should have their concerns railroaded by a deregulated market, unchallenged by an ideological laissez-faire FERC.”

The terminals would accept imports of supercooled natural gas from abroad, reheat the liquid into a gas, and ship the gas to West Coast markets through pipelines.

Supporters say imports are needed to diversify Oregon’s energy sources as supplies tighten. Opponents have environmental concerns.

Wu said he remains unsatisfied with FERC’s assessment of LNG facilities in Oregon.

“I will continue to fight for increased state and local authority, and meaningful input from the affected communities,” he said in Thursday’s press release. “FERC’s narrow focus ignores the larger compounding impact of these facilities on the local community, industry, and public services.”

— Editor Kathy Erickson contributed to this story.