Environmental groups are expressing outrage and vowing resistance following the federal approval of a controversial liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Calvert County, Maryland.

The Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal, proposed by energy company Dominion, would be the nation’s first such terminal on the East Coast. There are three existing LNG export terminals on the Gulf of Mexico, while 14 other LNG export proposals await approval.

Cove Point would use an existing LNG terminal site on the Chesapeake Bay, and, according to a statement from Dominion President Diane Leopold, it will take advantage of the nation’s “burgeoning surplus of natural gas.”

The decision to approve the fiercely opposed project was issued Monday by the the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

FERC states that the project “is in the public interest.”

In a press statement, Dominion welcomed the news, and said the project would bring “significant economic, environmental and geopolitical benefits.”