ASTORIA (AP) — The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals has told the Clatsop County Commission to take another look at the Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas project.

The board disputed the county’s finding in a land-use decision that the facility is “small or moderate” and that requirements to protect salmon and traditional fishing areas had been met.

Six local citizen groups raised 21 challenges to the commission’s approval.

On Tuesday, the board ruled in favor of two, which invalidates the Land Use Compatibility Statement, a key step in the permitting process.

The county statement is required before developer NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. can begin construction on the $650 million LNG terminal 20 miles east of Astoria on the Columbia River.

It’s not uncommon for the board to send land-use decisions back to counties for more work, and the project faces other regulatory and legal hurdles.

The Land Use Board of Appeals ruled that the county failed to properly determine whether the terminal and pipeline “protects” salmon and traditional fishing areas because it used a legal dictionary definition of the term first, skipping over other definitions provided by state law.

The board also ruled that the county improperly decided that the project is “small or moderate,” the only size allowed on the Bradwood land parcel.

The county did not fully consider the size of the 46-acre dredging area and 36-mile pipeline in sizing up the facility, the board of appeals said.

LNG opponents celebrated the ruling.

“This decision is a victory for healthy communities and clean energy,” said Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper.

NorthernStar officials said they, too, were satisfied because the ruling rejected 19 of the 21 challenges.

“We are confident the remaining two items remanded by LUBA can be successfully resolved,” said Joe Desmond, vice president of external affairs for NorthernStar.