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State regulators have denied the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline a needed water quality certificate.

The move announced Monday by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality deals another delay to the 229-mile pipeline project that would connect the Klamath Compressor Station east of Klamath Falls to infrastructure near a seaport terminal at Coos Bay’s North Spit.

The state agency’s decision was made 鈥渨ithout prejudice,鈥� meaning the company backing the pipeline, Pembina Pipeline Corp., based in Canada, could rework its application and try again.

A Southern Oregon environmental group fighting the project characterized the water quality certificate denial as a 鈥渞eally big move in the right direction for Oregon.鈥�

鈥淭his is a very serious blow to the Jordan Cove LNG project,鈥� said Allie Rosenbluth, campaigns director for Rogue Climate.

Pembina has been pushing the Jordan Cove project for more than a decade, seeing an opportunity to move liquefied natural gas from the interior of the United States to energy-hungry Asian markets via ocean shipping.

Pembina representatives did not reveal their next move.

鈥淧embina’s management team is working to better understand this decision and its impacts and will communicate updates when appropriate,鈥� spokeswoman Tasha Cadotte stated in an email message.

Cadotte declined to comment beyond the written statement.

The DEQ decision came in response to a deadline set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A recent court decision had called into question an extension of the deadline to Sept. 24, so the state agency kept to the original May 7 deadline to preserve Oregon’s right to review the project’s water quality impacts.

Some observers expect Pembina to rework its application and try again to get DEQ approval. It wouldn’t be the first time the Jordan Cove project team has overcome obstacles.

鈥淭hey’ve had a lot of things denied, but they come back,鈥� said Hugh Link, director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.

The commission represents the 423 permitted crab boats on the Oregon Coast, and has pushed for safety corridors around any ships that would use Jordan Cove. Crab boats and tankers alike would have to cross the Coos Bay bar at slack high tide.

鈥淲e want them to be able to maneuver safely through the Coos Bay bar,鈥� Link said. 鈥淲hen they’re going out or coming in, we don’t want them to have to wait in bad weather.鈥�

The commission has not taken an official position on the project.

Pembina says the $10 billion project would create 6,000 construction jobs at its peak and would generate property tax revenues of $60 million a year to southern Oregon counties and $50 million to the state.

The Port of Coos Bay has backed the project.

鈥淲e see it as something that can be really transformative for this area as far as bringing back economic development opportunities,鈥� spokeswoman Margaret Barber said.

Jordan Cove has alarmed environmental groups, who believe the project would become Oregon’s largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions as climate change worsens. The pipeline also threatens coastal rivers and the property rights of some landowners who could face eminent domain, Rosenbluth said.

DEQ’s denial was backed by a 209-page report analyzing the proposal’s effects on water quality. The agency cited concerns about construction of the pipeline and associated roadways affecting water temperature and sediment in streams and wetlands, and the risk of drilling materials entering the Coos Bay estuary.

Pembina proposes to dredge a 22-acre area to connect a slip that would be built to the navigation channel. The 36-inch-diameter pipeline would affect about 4,950 acres during construction and 1,400 acres permanently, according to the agency.