Ruby Pipeline debate moves to D.C.

Logan » There have been many changes since the El Paso Corp. announced plans to construct the Ruby Pipeline more than a year ago.

The proposed 675-mile route from the Opal Hub in Wyoming to the northern California border was moved from central Idaho to a southern path that includes sections of Box Elder, Rich and Cache counties. The price tag for the 42-inch-diameter line, expected to be in operation by early 2011, jumped from $2 billion to $3 billion. Environmental, archaeological and subsurface assessments have been completed.

Now the project's fate is in the hands of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C. An application was filed Tuesday for a FERC certificate of "public convenience and necessity" to construct it, said El Paso spokesman Robert Newberry.

Meanwhile, Cache County officials and residents opposed to the pipeline dropped their opposition.

"Cache County is neutral on this matter," said County Executive Lynn Lemon. "We initially opposed [it] based on requests from landowners [but they have since] agreed to allow Ruby Pipeline to cross their property."

Even the project's most vocal critic has changed tunes -- and jobs.

Joining the El Paso staff: Logan resident Val Grant, who represented the Little Bear Conservation Alliance and the Bridgerland Audubon Society at Ruby Pipeline hearings.

"It's actually kind of fun to be on the inside trying to work on solving some of the problems," said Grant, who worked for Colorado Interstate Gas from 1989 to 2007.

"I'm looking for ways to reclaim the sagebrush in order to compensate for sage grouse, pygmy rabbits and other species that depend on sagebrush for their survival."

The line is designed to boost "capacity out of the Rockies … and Ruby is the right solution to help end users and producers," said Jim Cleary, president of El Paso's western pipelines in a press release.