Continued unease about a natural gas pipeline proposal prompted Jackson County commissioners to launch their own research into plans for drilling beneath the Rogue River.

"This will determine what is fiction and what is fact," said Commissioner C.W. Smith.

Frank Lang, an emeritus biology professor with Southern Oregon University, said the committee, which is still taking shape, will try to answer concerns being raised about a specific issue around the controversial plan.

"We'll be putting together an unbiased assessment of putting the pipeline under the Rogue River," he said.

Lang said the scope of the committee will be limited to determining what effect, if any, the project would have on fish.

Ultimately, commissioners could make a recommendation to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission based on the committee's findings.

The 230-mile Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline would run from Coos Bay, where ships carrying liquefied natural gas would unload at a proposed terminal at Jordan Cove. The liquid would be turned back into a gas and then pushed through the pipeline through a portion of Jackson County until it reached a major existing pipeline, near Malin, not far from the California state line.

A horizontal boring tool will drill through rock 25 to 100 feet under the river for the 3-foot diameter pipeline.

One of the concerns raised by Commissioner Dave Gilmour is that during the boring process a slurry used to lubricate the tool could spurt out through fractures in the rock into the river. This might endanger fish in the river, he worried.

Lang said he wants to gather the best scientific evidence he can find from both sides of the issue before the committee makes a recommendation to commissioners.

He said he will want to find out if there have been problems in other rivers where gas pipelines have been placed.

The committee will consider the thickness of the pipeline, how it is inspected and how it will be installed, he said.

Michele Swaner, spokeswoman for The Williams Companies, said her company is very conscious of the importance of drilling safely under rivers.

The pipe is inspected on both the inside and outside and coated to protect it from corrosion. It is also generally thicker under the river.

Once the pipe is welded together it is tested under high pressure with water to make sure there aren't any leaks. The pressure that the pipe is tested at is also higher than the normal pressure when the gas flows through the line, she said.

Boring under the river also takes place when fish aren't spawning in the remote chance that slurry blows out, she said.

Swaner said her company has been building pipelines in the Pacific Northwest for 50 years.

"We've had leaks, but no explosions," she said.

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