Records Fight Shapes Up Over Oregon Coal Export Idea

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — A legal battle is shaping up over records of the port in Coos Bay and its negotiations for a coal export terminal.

Environmental groups have filed formal requests for records detailing the proposal. The port has said it would charge the groups thousands of dollars so that a lawyer could determine whether information in the records is confidential or public under state law.

The Coos County district attorney, R. Paul Frasier, has told the port it can't charge the Sierra Club $16,000 to evaluate the records.

Now, the port says it will appeal his decision to the courts.

The port has said little about the plans that could bring mile-long coal trains from Montana through Oregon for export to Asia.