Hutch pipeline

gets judge's OK

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

ST. PAUL -- A report issued by the state Office of Administrative Hearings Wednesday recommends giving the Hutchinson Utilities Commission the certificate of need required to build an 89-mile natural gas pipeline.

The project first surfaced in Hutchinson nearly one year ago, when HUC officials secured support from the Hutchinson City Council and a handful of other civic groups. HUC officials cited a growing need for energy in the rapidly-expanding town, saying the current pipeline is too small to meet natural gas demands.

The pipeline is supposed to run through McLeod, Sibley, Nicollet, Brown, Watonwan and Martin counties from Hutchinson to Trimont, which is in southwestern Martin County.

The project received a favorable recommendation from Chief Administrative Law Judge Kenneth A. Nickolai nearly four months after testimony from HUC officials and natural gas experts criticized and supported the plan.

Nickolai determined that HUC met the requirements for the certificate of need because Hutchinson was able to show a need for more natural gas and that none of the alternatives it considered were as reasonable as a building its own pipeline.

"Based on the judge's recommendation, we feel the process is moving forward in a positive manner," said John Webster, manager of Hutchinson Utilities' natural gas and electrical divisions.

The proposed project now only needs the permission of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission before construction can begin. The proposal is expected to go before that commission at a hearing in November in St. Paul.

Additionally, the cities of New Ulm and Fairfax have submitted letters saying they expect to contract with HUC to buy natural gas services using the pipeline. Heartland Corn Products, an ethanol producer near Winthrop, has also submitted a letter saying it intends to buy gas from the pipeline.

The report found the pipeline will also benefit current users of the Willmar branch of the Northern Border Pipeline which HUC intends to hook into. MG Waldbaum in Winthrop has been identified as a business along the line that could benefit from increased natural gas capacity.

If the pipeline is built, some cities like New Ulm could have an alternate source of natural gas, and possibly an additional source of income as well as a possible economic development tool.

Those benefits aren't going to come without costs. The report also found that pipeline construction will require "disturbance of agricultural lands during construction." Erosion and disruption of river and stream crossings and forested areas are likely along the route even though no substantial evidence about possible construction impacts on land during the hearings, the report said.

Nickolai issued the report after taking three months to consider two rounds of testimony that began with a series of public hearings in Hutchinson and Sleepy Eye. At those hearings, some local officials voiced support for the plan while some local farmers criticized it. The hearings in Sleepy Eye generated a few letters to Nickolai, which were included in the OAH's investigation into the application.

Webster acknowledged HUC has already received bids for pipeline construction and materials. He said the bids are within the budget for the project, but did not give any indication of the actual cost of the project because bids have not been awarded yet.

The report said the pipeline will cost at least $25.5 million and could be as high as $39 million.

--Journal staff writer Ron Larsen contributed to this report .