After a three-hour hearing sprinkled with allegations of "corruption" and "conflict of interest," the Bountiful City Council decided Tuesday night to soften its stance on a proposed natural gas pipeline.
The council voted 3-1 to continue opposing the so-called Wasatch variation route but to begin negotiating with the pipeline companies to mitigate environmental and safety concerns along the route.Voting against the motion was Councilwoman Renee Coon, who, as president of an anti-pipeline citizens group, has led a fierce battle against any routing of the pipeline through Davis County.
Until Tuesday night, the council had "unequivocably" opposed the Wasatch variation, which would bring the pipeline over the mountains east of Bountiful, through Mueller Park, around the southeast bench of south Davis County and then west and south through Salt Lake County.
The city's hard-line stand prompted numerous other governments in Davis and Salt Lake counties to take similar positions, many of which may now be weakening.
Seeing that the council was about to amend its position, Coon expressed her disgust at what she called the "corruption" she has seen among government officials in the process.
"I beseech elected officials of Bountiful and other cities involved to stand firm against the Wasatch variation and the corruption that has followed it - to be united in insisting the route be moved away from the Wasatch Front or not built at all," Coon said.
Though not specifying who she thought was being corrupt, Coon a few minutes earlier had sparred with Mayor Bob Linnell over his failure to notify her of meetings he and city staff have been having with Kern River Gas Transmission Co. and WyCal Pipeline Co., both of which have been certified by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a pipeline.
The two companies are competing in the California natural gas market to see who will be first to build the pipeline.
"I need to be as informed as I can before making a decision . . . I have the right to attend any meeting I want to, and it was my understanding I would be invited to any meeting with the pipeline companies," Coon told the mayor.
Linnell said he doesn't apologize for excluding her, saying it's his stewardship as mayor to carry out the mandates of the council as he sees fit.
The mayor on Monday called Tuesday's special meeting to clarify recent developments and to assess the positions of all parties involved. The issue, which has been hot and cold for the past year, heated up again on May 21 when FERC issued an order denying petitions by the citizens group and the city to reconsider FERC's certification of the pipeline companies.
Linnell said he doesn't believe the pipeline can by stopped from coming through Davis County and said the city should begin taking steps to minimize the impact.
Throughout the hearing - attended by about 50 citizens as well as politicians and representatives of the pipeline companies - several key questions were dealt with. Here's a summary:
-Why do opponents consider the Wasatch variation undesirable? It passes through watersheds and a popular mountain park. The pipeline would also be located within a few hundred feet of homes.
-Are there any other routes? The FERC order specifies only one but has made it a mile wide to allow room to maneuver around undesirable geographical features. Any other route would have to be approved by FERC.
Since the May 21 FERC order, the mayor and his staff have been looking at locating the pipeline farther east and south from the approved route. But FERC wouldn't be likely to approve such a change without the consensus of all parties involved. The Forest Service and the citizens group said they are not in favor of the alternative.
-Who will build the pipeline? The company that is first able to procure contracts with natural gas buyers in Southern California.
-What is stopping the pipeline from being built tomorrow? Because the pipeline would run through three miles of forest above Bountiful, the Forest Service still has to give its approval. Forester Gordon Reid said Tuesday the Forest Service will likely give its approval within a few months unless significant new environmental issues are raised.
Both companies said they are ready to proceed as soon as they get the Forest Service go-ahead.
-Are there any other ways opponents can stop the pipeline? Legislation would stop it, but many believe there isn't enough support in Congress to get such a bill passed.
However, Kenley Brunsdale, the citizens group's attorney and Democratic challenger to Jim Hansen, R-Utah, is in Washington assessing the results of a House oversight investigation held in early May. The chairman of the oversight committee is Peter Kostmayer, D-Pa., who Brunsdale has said is a powerful congressman who may be able to push a bill that would stop the Wasatch variation.
In a letter to Linnell this week, Brunsdale said he believes there is a chance the route and FERC's decision can be successfully challenged in a federal appeals court.
Linnell, however, said the city's attorney in Washington has advised him the chances of prevailing in a court appeal are "non-existent."