Environmental groups oppose pipeline expansion in Pacific NW

By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. government has taken a step toward approving the expansion of a natural gas pipeline in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a move opposed by environmentalists and the states of Oregon, California and Washington. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission completed an environmental impact statement that projected a positive view of the proposal. But a coalition of groups said the commission’s environmental impact statement didn’t properly address harmful impacts on climate change, particularly that caused by fracking. The pipeline runs from the Canadian border, through a corner of Idaho, and into Washington state and Oregon, and connects with a pipeline going into California.