COQUILLE - Developers of a local liquefied natural gas terminal have cleared another hurdle in addressing environmental concerns, as they try to move forward with the project.

The Coos County Commissioners approved a zone change Tuesday for the Kentuck Golf Course to exclusive farm use. The switch would allow the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay to use the land, if it builds a docking area in conjunction with the Jordan Cove Energy Project LNG terminal on the North Spit.

The commissioners added three conditions to the project to limit costs to the county and damage to the environment, but the three-person vote was divided. Commissioner Bob Main voted no, in light of concerns he said he had about pollutants washing into the bay. Commissioners Nikki Whitty and Kevin Stufflebean voted yes.

Developers have devised a plan that would flood the back nine holes of the course to satisfy government wetland replacement requirements for the LNG project. They would remove part of the dike west of the course and build a bridge for East Bay Road.

Main said he was concerned that a former methamphetamine lab in a house in the area had contaminated the course and would leach into the bay if the mitigation plans proceeded. Oregon’s Department of Health Services has a house  on Golf Course Lane listed as unfit for use.

Mike Gaul, deputy executive director, said Main’s comments were the first he’d heard of a meth lab.

Main’s fellow commissioners and the port’s lawyer tried to reassure Main, noting that state and federal agencies would check into those issues through a biological assessment and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review. Main remained opposed.

“I’m not comfortable that they will check that potential problem,” he said.

Mark Whitlow, a Portland attorney representing the port, said it was premature to discuss the runoff issue, because the primary purpose of the meeting was the zone change.

“Until the port’s project goes forward, there is no project proposal for the site,” he said.

The commissioners still imposed some conditions assuming the site would eventually be used as mitigation. Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean asked that the port build the East Bay Road bridge using sheet piling, which he said would reduce maintenance costs for the county road. He also proposed a condition saying that a proposed tidegate on Kentuck Slough would be maintained by the port. If the work isn’t done, the county can fix any problems that arise and then bill the applicant.

The last condition came out of concerns raised by Jody McCaffree, a local  opposition leader to the LNG project. She suggested the county require the port to have oversight from an independent committee.

“We need someone who is really looking out for our interests,” she said.

 The port agreed that there should be a technical advisory committee, such as the one it already has, including leaders from the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and Coos Watershed Association.

McCaffree didn’t like this idea. She suggested having an in-house oversight committee could lead to another dilemma like the construction of the county gas pipeline by MasTec Inc.

Stufflebean said that’s unlikely since the port will need to meet government guidelines that will be monitored.

“Regulatory agencies tend to pick on government entities more than private companies,” he said.

Gaul also took exception to the comparison, noting that the port has a history of completing projects without environmental damage.

“We are not MasTec,” he said. “We are the Port of Coos Bay.”

Jordan Cove is paying for the land use application process, as well as the land if it comes to it. The Culp family, which owns the course, has signed an option with Jordan Cove to sell either half or the entire 137-acre property.

The LNG developer only needs 36 acres of wetland, while the entire property could produce about 100. The port will have the option to buy unused land through its agreement with Jordan Cove.