A Eugene school teacher has thrown another wrinkle into the ongoing legal battles surrounding the liquefied natural gas terminal proposed in Coos County.

Randy Prince filed a notice of appeal with the Oregon Court of Appeals on Tuesday, asking for a third opinion regarding the proposed LNG terminal’s land use application.

The  Coos County Board of Commissioners approved the application in December. Opponents appealed that decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, which found several flaws with wetlands mapping and archeological preservation plans.

Tsunamis are the issue this time.

In a press release Thursday, Prince, 54, said he decided to appeal because of his concerns about someone building an LNG terminal in a tsunami zone. He said Coos County should require consideration of tsunamis when approving projects.

“I believe it’s an overlooked issue,” he said.

He noted that the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development urged counties to update their comprehensive plans to consider tsunamis in 2002. It was an issue he brought up in the appeal to LUBA.

LUBA said the DLCD never sent a notice to Coos County to make changes to its plans, and therefore the county has no responsibility to do so.

Prince believes that interpretation ignores other parts of the DLCD conclusions that call on local officials to address tsunami risks.

“The local plan does not mention tsunamis,” he said. “That is a critical issue for the safety of the project.”

Without appeal, LUBA’s decision would have been remanded back to the county level, but instead, it will stay in Salem, instead of going to Coquille.

Prince said his interest in the case stems from his experience working at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield. He noted that if an accident were to take place at the LNG terminal, it potentially could injure a great number of people, impacting health care services throughout the region.

“It would strain the whole area’s disaster-response ability,” he said.

Now that he has filed his notice of appeal, Prince has until Aug. 26 to submit paperwork explaining his reasons for appealing the LUBA decision.

The case’s docket number is A139623.