By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
There will be a public meeting, hosted by the Bureau of
Land Management, at Juab High School on Tuesday, March 27,
at 7 p.m.
The meeting will be held to take comment concerning the
environmental impact the Williams Pipeline Project may have
on the area.
A terminal, consisting of tanks and loading racks for
trucks, is planed for construction near Interstate highways
in Nephi. Construction on the site is planned for 2002. Also
the Kern River and Questar natural gas pipelines will be
addressed.
"The proposal is to convert an existing 220-mile 10- and
12-inch diameter natural gas liquids pipeline that extends
from Bloomfield, New Mexico, to the vicinity of Crescent
Junction," said Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission chair.
"A new section of 12-inch diameter pipeline would be
constructed from Crescent Junction to the vicinity of North
Salt Lake City," he said. "At Nephi, the location they are
proposing for the terminal will be south of the new public
safety building."
The location would provide the trucks traveling to and
from the facility to access SR 28 for a short distance, less
than one mile, directly to the Interstate 15 off and on
ramps in south Nephi.
"This is a much better site than the one Williams
proposed the first time," said Howarth.
That site, located near Mona, met with a public outcry.
The protest centered around the several mile distance from
the freeway system over country roads used by school buses
to pick-up and deliver school children.
Also a bone of contention was the wet-lands status of the
proposed site. It was located near Burraston Ponds,
naturally occurring underground fed ponds. The site is a
popular fishing and camping haven.
The new site is better situated, said Howarth, since it
is near the county jail, a gravel pit, and the south-Nephi
freeway entrance businesses, rather than being located in a
residential/farming area.
"This is a much better location than the first proposal,"
he said.
The draft environmental impact statement is now complete
and is ready for comment.
It analyzes impacts of the three pipeline proposals (the
Nephi site is part of one of the three) based on the Plans
of Development (POD's) received from the three proponents.
Those are proposals by Williams, Questar, and Kern
River.
The draft impact statement also analyzes a proposal to
amend one or more forest plans to accommodate the proposals.
Alternatives consist of two major (30 miles or longer) route
alternatives and two short (5 miles or less) route
variations, in addition to the no action alternative.
The draft EIS also addresses issues and concerns which
were raised during public scoping meetings.
In addition to the public meetings which have been set,
written comments can be mailed, from now until April 16,
2001, to the Bureau of Land Management, LaVerne Steah,
Project Manager, P.O. Box 45155, Salt Lake City, UT
84145-0155 or through the project web site at
www.qwk-eis.org.
A public meeting will also be held in Payson City Hall,
March 28, at 7 p.m.
In all, public meetings have been planned for seven
different sites in Utah.
"The DEIS evaluates the granting of rights-of-way to
Questar Pipeline Company and Kern River Gas Transmission
Company, to construct, operate and maintain natural gas
pipelines and to Williams Pipelines company for a petroleum
products pipeline on Federal lands administered by the BLM
and the US Forest Service," Howarth said.
Those who are interested in reviewing the DEIS prior to
the meeting should contact Steah or the BLM or visit one of
the web sites.
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