A federal agency this morning approved plans for a liquefied natural gas plant at Sparrows Point, a project that has been opposed by officials at virtually every level who vowed to tie up construction of the $400 million facility in the permitting process.

The five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved with no discussion the proposal just off the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and an 88-mile pipeline that will transport the gas through Harford County into southern Pennsylvania.