Gas pipeline poised to cross ag landscape

 

Capital Press

July 21, 2006

 

Toni Woolsey and Mark Scrimsher live in different Oregon counties, but they have the same problem. A proposed 223-mile natural gas line would run through the middle of their properties.

Woolsey, who lives on 16 acres of woodland near Trail in Jackson County, says the line's right of way would leave an ugly scar through her oak and pine slice of heaven.

For Scrimsher, an alfalfa hay farmer near Merrill in Klamath County, the problem is economic. He fears losing production on the 75-foot-wide easement developers plan through his 250 acres of fertile agricultural land.

"It costs so much money now to farm," Scrimsher said. "Everything's right on the edge. That's why this is so critical. It's one more nail in the coffin of farming."

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission officials heard that sentiment again and again during a series of public hearings on the pipeline. The meetings concluded July 13 in Klamath Falls after previous sessions in Roseburg, Coos Bay and Medford.

The FERC will decide whether to approve what's called the Pacific Connector pipeline proposed from Coos Bay to Malin. The project is a partnership between Northwest Pipeline, a subsidiary of the Oklahoma natural gas firm Williams; PG&E Corp. of California; and Fort Chicago Energy Partners of Calgary, Alberta.

Developers say the line is needed to bolster natural gas supplies to the West Coast. Canadian gas fields are becoming depleted and a Rocky Mountain source will be sent to the East Coast during coming years, they said. The plan calls for liquefied natural gas purchased internationally to be shipped to Coos Bay, where it will be reconstituted for delivery through the pipeline.

The proposed line would connect near Malin with Williams' existing pipelines serving Northern California and part of Nevada in addition to Oregon.

The scoping meetings are part of the information-gathering process required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Citizens' comments will help the FERC decide what needs to be considered when the agency compiles its environmental impact statement.

Some of those who testified at Klamath Falls expressed fears about effects on groundwater. More than one resident said the water table is no more than 2 feet below the ground's surface on their property, making it difficult if not impossible to bury a 36-inch-diameter steel pipe.

Scrimsher is concerned about impact to soil quality along the easement. Williams officials say they will return land disturbed during construction to its original condition, or as closely as possible.

But Scrimsher said he is skeptical.

"The soil is not going to be the same," he said. "It will act differently when watered. I may not be able to get out in the field when I want to."

His wife, Susan, asked why property owners were not notified about a route change away from the original line near Stukel Mountain. The change puts the line through the Scrimshers' property.

Answers to questions were not given under the meeting format. However, pipeline project manager Steve Potts of Williams said during a telephone interview that company engineers suggested the realignment due to fear of earthquakes.

The company's geotechnical engineers studied the land near Stukel and found evidence of an old landslide, he said.

"It's a safety thing," Potts said of the route change, which pushed the pipeline onto farmland. "It would pose a future risk."

Wanda Baker, who owns 205 acres of land in Douglas County, asked how soil on the pipeline easement will be kept in place in areas of strong runoff.

"How will you address the streams that will be crossed?" she asked. "How will logging be affected?" She added, "I do not feel it is correct that people are allowed to come onto our land and condemn it."

Several people expressed frustration with the information-gathering system, saying they believed the pipeline is a done deal and the FERC is merely going through the motions.

Williams officials have said the pipeline means $8 million annually in property tax payments to the four Oregon counties it crosses. Woolsey of Trail and Susan Scrimsher of Merrill said protests are pointless.

"They're going to do it anyway," she reportedly said.

Scrimsher said Williams is "dangling $2 million in taxes" in front of Klamath County officials. "Oregon is up for the big bucks, and I feel powerless," she said.

Williams estimated the pipeline project will create 1,000 construction jobs. That, and the tax benefits to counties, prompted some people to testify in support.

"We certainly can use the jobs," Tom Rios said in Klamath Falls. "I'm for it for that reason."

The timetable calls for Williams to file a formal application with the FERC in January 2007. The federal agency is scheduled to release draft and final environmental impact statements the same year.

If approved, pipeline construction would begin in summer 2009 with operation starting the fall of 2010.

 

Side Bar

 

Other players in the project

That proposed natural gas pipeline from Coos Bay to Malin in Klamath County is part of a project that officially got into gear with federal regulatory agencies May 1. It's official title is Jordon Cove - for the proposed off-loading facility on the North Spit of Coos Bay - and the Williams Pacific Connector pipeline. While the FERC has responsibility for the overall environmental impact statement, it is actually farming out a substantial amount of the work. In FERC filings, the U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for safety analysis of the ocean tanker and liquefied natural gas facility at Jordon Cove. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will take the lead on how the pipe impacts federal timberland along its 223-mile route. Five pumping stations are also part of the environmental analysis. A Williams Pacific Connector filing with the FERC late last month lists 383 individual property owners along the proposed pipeline corridor. But Williams said geotechnical surveys are far from done, an indication that the corridor could change as it did when evidence of a landslide was discovered on Stukel Mountain southeast of Klamath Falls. - Tam Moore

 

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