The Bountiful mayor and City Council have asked the federal government to stop the Kern River Gas Transmission Co. from running "roughshod over the environment."
Mayor Bob Linnell sent a letter this week to Kevin P. Madden, pipeline regulation director for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, complaining that Kern River has violated at least eight of the commission's orders regarding the pipeline construction.One of those orders requires Kern River to "work closely with affected groups in Davis County and Salt Lake County in finalizing the route . . . so as to avoid or minimize adverse impacts."
That condition "has been uniformly and flagrantly violated by Kern River," the letter states.
Kern River, a half-sister to Northwest Pipeline Co., is building a 900-mile-long natural gas pipeline from Wyoming to Southern California. The pipeline has met stiff opposition in its route through the mountains east of Bountiful.
"Kern River has done very little advance planning in (that) area . . ., has indicated to us that this area is no more sensitive than any other area along the pipeline route and has been insensitive and unresponsive to any suggestions that we have made . . .
"We do not believe that (the commission) ever intended for Kern River to run roughshod over the environment, the wishes of the City of Bountiful, the desires of the Forest Service or (the commission's) own requirements and conditions," the mayor wrote.
Kern River spokesman Dan Lewis said his company is not yet prepared to discuss the particulars of Bountiful's letter but issued this general statement:
"We are fulfilling all obligations under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate and we will respond to (the commission) regarding all allegations made by Bountiful. We will also continue to work closely with all parties to reach a mutually acceptable resolution on the issues at hand."
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City's charges against pipeline company
In a letter sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which grants authority for interstate pipeline projects, Bountiful City has accused Kern River of violating several of the commission's orders.
According to the letter, Kern River has:
- Failed to minimize the amount of vegetation to be removed. Initial Kern River plans called for "normal" construction techniques rather than "restrictive" techniques, the letter notes.
- Failed to minimize the time interval between construction and reseeding. Kern River's plans call for a month's time to elapse between clearing and construction, which is followed by reseeding. "When we discussed this matter with Kern River, they were most defensive . . . and asked us if we were pipeline experts."
- Refused to keep the right-of-way width to a minimum."Kern River is asking for 75 feet as the minimum with steeper gradients up to 125 feet - much more than was initially anticipated," the letter states.
- Failed to submit to the commission specific information regarding staging areas, access roads and other facilities. As late as June 26, Kern River surprised Bountiful with a request to build a 2.6 mile access road up the face of Sessions Mountain, a road that would have been clearly visible from almost anywhere in the city.
"To our knowledge, (Kern River) never submitted this road to (the commission) - for environmental review or approval," the letter says.
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