Pipeline could come through Brown County

Public hearings

today in Sleepy Eye

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

HUTCHINSON -- Exactly 89 miles of new propane gas pipe could come through Brown County if the state gives the Hutchinson Utilities Commission a green light to start construction.

Public hearings on the proposed pipeline are set for 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. today at the Inn of Seven Gables in Sleepy Eye.

The proposed pipeline would run south from Hutchinson and would end near Trimont, a town about 15 miles northwest of Fairmont.

The pipeline is intended to solve an energy crunch in Hutchinson, which has rapidly expanded in the last five years. The current pipeline is considered too small to meet demands. The proposed line would tie into a larger pipeline that runs from Canada to Chicago.

Although authorities at Hutchinson Utilities said several cities along the proposed route are interested in linking up to the proposed line, they would not divulge which cities they've visited, except to say that the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission has entertained the possibility of a tie-in to the line if and when it materializes.

"This will be the first major pipeline Hutchinson has owned," said John C. Webster, manager of Hutchinson Utilities' natural gas division, in Hutchinson. "We've been discussing this for about two years now."

Patrick Spethman, business manager for Hutchinson Utilities, said the pipeline will cost about $28 million and will be paid for using revenue bonds. The cost compares directly with what the city is currently paying an outside contractor for natural gas service.

Hutchinson Utilities is currently in the process of getting state approval. Public hearings are required by state law when a city agency proposes a project that goes outside its normal boundaries. In this case, hearings and public information meetings were held for the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The Minnesota PUC technically won't have jurisdiction over the pipeline, but Hutchinson Utilities must follow a certificate of need process in order to gain approval for the project.

If the pipeline proceeds as planned, it will likely cut across Brown County though Milford, Sigel and Lake Hanska townships. Brown County Planning and Zoning Director Jane Starz said Hutchinson Utilities must obtain easements from landowners along the route and also get a conditional use permit from the county before construction would begin.

Dan Sonnek, utilities planning and development engineer for the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission, said staff at the two utilities "have been talking on and off about the possibility of it happening," but said there is no formal proposal currently before the PUC. Furthermore, the New Ulm PUC has no formal agreements with Hutchinson at this time.

However, both commissions have service contracts with Northern States Natural Gas, which operates the only natural gas pipeline in the area. Both cities currently use gas from that company's pipeline, which runs from Farmington to Appleton.

Sonnek said New Ulm would need to give Northern States a 12-month notice before it could hook up with Hutchinson, which means some type of agreement would need to be in place before November of 2002. If and when the Hutchinson pipeline materializes -- and if New Ulm PUC decides to tie into it -- New Ulm PUC would need to buy about 5 miles' worth of easements.

Sonnek said the PUC would "stay within the public right-of-way," if and when construction does come through Brown County.