Pipeline hearings postponed until July

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

ST. PAUL -- Anyone waiting for action on the proposed 89 miles of natural gas pipeline from Hutchinson must wait a little longer.

A ruling from an administrative law judge Wednesday morning postponed testimony in a hearing that will help the state decided the fate of the proposed project.

Witnesses and attorneys gathered in the small hearings room at the headquarters for the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission expecting to testify all day along, but they ended up leaving about one hour after the hearing was scheduled to start.

Judge Kenneth A. Nickolai ruled that the hearing should be delayed because the Hutchinson Utilities Commission, which would construct, own and operate the proposed line if the plan met state approval, had witnesses that its attorney said were crucial to its case that were only recently added to the witness list.

The hearing was rescheduled for July 22 and 23.

The ruling will delay the HUC's certificate-of-need process by almost two months, because the hearing is required by state law and must be finished in order for the Minnesota PUC to be able to make a decision on whether or not the project can happen.

Objections to the postponement were made chiefly by Eric F. Swanson, a St. Paul attorney representing Northern Natural Gas, a Omaha, Neb.-based company that currently supplies several Minnesota cities -- including Hutchinson and New Ulm -- with natural gas. Swanson objected to the addition of the witnesses, saying it would take more time and more money to go over the testimony.

"We have already gone through this process at great expense," he told Nickolai. "We're ready to proceed today."

Conflicts also arose when the subject of the discussion changed to scheduling. Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Julia Anderson, representing the Minnesota Department of Commerce, said her witnesses had several scheduling conflicts because of other business matters and personal business.

Eleven witnesses were scheduled to give testimony Wednesday, but Hutchinson Utilities had proposed to add three new ones, including Minnesota State Demographer Tom Gillaspy, whom HUC attorney Bruce Hanson said will testify about recent growth in the Hutchinson area.

Other witnesses included authorities from Hutchinson Utilities, Northern Natural Gas and the Minnesota DOC.

PUC Director Dan Sonnek was the only representative of the New Ulm area listed as a witness.

Hanson also submitted a letter from State Sen. Steve Dille, R-Dassel, as evidence. Dille's letter joined seven others, which Nickolai had received in the days since the June 5 deadline for written positions on the project. Nickolai said he got about 20 letters in between Wednesday and the last public hearing, which was held May 16 in Sleepy Eye.

When the hearings end in July, Nickolai will have 30 days to make a recommendation to the Minnesota PUC, which will then determine the fate of the project.