Oregon Public Broadcasting

Construction could begin in Oregon soon on a 680-mile natural gas pipeline.  That’s after  a key approval from the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The last 100 miles of the Ruby Pipeline are in southern Oregon. The pipeline ends in the small town of Malin, after crossing Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.

The pipeline still needs a final green light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the BLM approval is subject to certain conditions.

Klamath County commissioner Al Switzer says he’s looking forward to the jobs the pipeline promises.  Especially after the downturns the timber and farm sectors have suffered in southern Oregon.

Al Switzer: “So two of the legs of our economy have been hit really hard. And any time you can bring jobs in, even short-term, these are pretty well-paying, they’ll spend some money. We just look – that’s a good thing.”

Switzer says what opposition he’s heard has come from owners of farmland on the pipeline route.

The pipeline is expected to carry one and a half billion tons of natural gas per day from Wyoming, mostly to customers in California.