The Davis County commissioners on Monday reaffirmed their opposition to locating a natural gas pipeline in the foothills above Bountiful, saying that although they don't oppose the pipeline, they don't want it built through Mueller Park.
The proposed route, called the Wasatch Variation, would run through the foothills above the city - including through the Mueller Park recreation area - before dropping down through West Bountiful and North Salt Lake into the Salt Lake Valley.The pipeline is designed to carry a large volume of natural gas from Wyoming to near Bakersfield, Calif., where it will be injected into oil wells to boost production.
Dave Brown, from the Bountiful Area Concerned Citizens group, asked the commission members to reaffirm their opposition and to appear at public hearings the U.S. Forest Service will hold in the coming months.
Brown said with last fall's elections, the makeup of some city governments has changed and his group is asking those that previously went on record as opposing the pipeline route to reaffirm their opposition.
Brown's group maintains that locating the pipeline in the foothills will damage watershed areas and increase the probability of mudslides. The route crosses several geologic fault lines, he said. An earthquake could also sever the line, creating an additional hazard.
Brown said legal research has turned up a clause in the agreement that the Mueller family signed with the Forest Service earlier this century when their land was deeded to the government.
The land can only be used for recreational purposes, according to Brown, and the deed stipulates that if it is used for anything else - such as a pipeline right-of-way - the property will revert to the Mueller family or their heirs.
Brown said his group also fears the natural gas pipeline is just a foot in the door and once the easement is established, it will be used for additional pipelines and utility corridors.
The Forest Service's land-use plan for that area does not include a pipeline or utility easement, Brown said, and a public hearing must be held before that plan can be amended.
He asked the commissioners, along with the county geologist, to outline their opposition to the pipeline when the hearing is scheduled.
The three commissioners - William Peters, Gayle Stevenson and Dub Lawrence - said their previous position opposing the route has not changed, and they agreed to attend the hearing, if possible.
They also agreed to allow the citizens group to put petition forms expressing opposition to the route in the courthouse for the next month. The forms have been placed in numerous south Davis businesses and municipal buildings, Brown said.