Agenda - Council - 03/23/1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE DISCUSSION OF NORTHERN NATURAL GAS COMPANY PIPELINE By: Cindy Sherman, Community Development Director Background: Northern Natural Gas Company is intending to install a 16 inch line within an existing easement that currently has an 8 inch line in the northern part of Ramsey. The line provides natural gas to NSP and Minnegasco and is needed to provide service to the area. The line is 14.7 miles long and runs from Hugo to Elk River. The company will be acquiring additional easement rights, some are proposed to be temporary and some are permanent. Observations: The City of Ramsey does not have a review requirement for installation this type of pipeline. We were contacted by the pipeline company and told them that we did not have a permit requirement in our community for the general installation but permits to cross rights-of-way would be required. They have submitted information for the permits required. They have also submitted requests for additional easement necessary for the installation of the pipeline on City owned land. They are also working with individual property owners in regard to easement acquisition. City Attorney Goodrich has been provided with the easement information and it will be scheduled for consideration at the City Council meeting on April 13. Staff has discussed the pipeline with the City of Andover, the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety (MOPS) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The City of Andover requires a special use permit for the installation of pipelines and in this case it was an amended permit since a permit exists for the existing pipeline. FERC is the federal agency responsible for the review and approval of the pipeline design. MOPS is the state agency that monitors the installation and operation of the pipelines in the state. Because the pipelines are federally regulated FERC is the agency that has final jurisdiction. Remote shut-offs are not required in the regulations and are not proposed to be installed with the pipeline. The plans the City received were a general description and layout and did not include detailed construction documents that would have been required for a formal review. The City of Andover is relying on FERC to review the plans for safety concerns. The Andover Planning Commission discussed the item at two meetings and they are recommending the City Council appiove the amended SUP for the pipeline. The City Council has not acted on the item as yet. Andover did send a resolution to FERC outlining concerns that were raised at the first Planning Commission meeting; most of the issues were addressed at the second Planning Commission meeting.