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Pipeline panel fields questions about community impact, world gas supply
By Amy Moss Strong, Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 17, 2003 | 1 comment(s)
The natural gas pipeline to Coos Bay is quickly becoming a reality, but some residents still have many questions about the project and its impacts.
Those questions were posed to a panel who represented various aspects of the pipeline project at a forum sponsored by Coos County Citizens for Representative Government at Coos Bay Public Library on Thursday.
More than 40 people attended the forum. Their questions centered on topics from how the pipeline will affect the infrastructure in the county to whether the county's apparent low bidder to construct the mainline from Roseburg to Coos Bay is qualified to do the job.
The panel included Cal Grimmer, South Coast district manager for NW Natural; engineer Tina Monical with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Water Quality Engineer Jon Gasik, with the Department of Environmental Quality; and Ron Hoffine, operations director of the Coos Bay/North Bend Water Board. Paul Van Natta of CCCRG moderated the forum.
Grimmer said NW Natural has contracted with Hinkels and McCoy to construct the pipeline system within Coos Bay and North Bend, as well as in Coquille and Myrtle Point.
NW Natural is not sure how many people or businesses are interested in switching to natural gas, but questionnaires will be sent out soon to help gauge that, Grimmer said. The company will pay to hook gas lines into homes and businesses, but there would be some costs to the owners.
The Coos Bay/North Bend Water Board was represented at the meeting because the board is negotiating with NW Natural to put a water pipe in the same ditch as the gas pipeline to provide water and sewer capabilities on the north side of the McCullough Bridge. The project will be paid for partially with grant money but also through rate increases, Hoffine said.
Dennis Phillips of Coos Bay questioned whether the world's gas supply will last long enough to make bringing natural gas to the county profitable. Phillips asked Grimmer how that information may affect natural gas prices.
Grimmer said he didn't have an answer about gas supplies because he isn't a geologist, but he felt it was normal for gas prices to fluctuate.
Ron Sadler of North Bend asked whether the Army Corps of Engineers would be doing an environmental impact statement regarding drilling under the bay that is planned for the pipeline to be constructed to the North Spit.
Monical said her agency will look at whether the drilling will cause hazards to navigation in the bay and that a general permit is all that is needed to do the drilling. An EIS will not be done, she said.
Coos County Commissioner Nikki Whitty also attended the meeting and answered questions about the county's apparent low bidder of the mainline project, MasTec Inc., of Miami. Plans call for the company to connect the mainline at Roseburg with the Williams pipeline that is buried along Interstate 5. It will then be constructed to Coos Bay, with laterals to Myrtle Point, Coquille and possibly Bandon. A countywide voter-approved bond and state lottery money and grants will be used to pay for mainline construction.
Laura Hughes of Coos Bay said she had reservations about the qualifications of MasTec and asked who would pay if there are problems associated with construction and maintenance.
The county and NW Natural are negotiating an operating and maintenance agreement, according to Grimmer. As operator, NW Natural would monitor the pipeline regularly and also would be responsible for maintenance and repairs. Responsibility for repair costs would depend on the cause of the problem.
"We'll have inspectors," Grimmer said. "We don't want problems on that pipeline because we're at the end of it."
Carol Fischer of Bandon asked whether Coos County will be able to collect taxes from NW Natural.
"We don't set the tax rate, but believe the Oregon Department of Revenue would put NW Natural on the tax roll," Whitty said.
On questioning whether people would opt to convert to natural gas, Ron Grabowski of Riverton said he had researched the issue and found that certain heat pumps would cost less to run than natural gas appliances and furnaces in the area.
Grimmer disagreed, saying natural gas costs would be less than those associated with a heat pump.
Others in the audience had questions about the safety of the Williams gas pipeline, which was built in 1955 and who will oversee the mainline project from Roseburg to Coos Bay
Grimmer said there is recent legislation requiring more frequent monitoring and maintenance) of all natural gas pipelines and said if NW Natural is contracted to operate the pipeline, it will have engineers oversee the mainline project.
While the forum ended at 9 p.m., it appeared many people still had questions.
The citizens group said it may hold additional forums regarding the pipeline.
Those questions were posed to a panel who represented various aspects of the pipeline project at a forum sponsored by Coos County Citizens for Representative Government at Coos Bay Public Library on Thursday.
More than 40 people attended the forum. Their questions centered on topics from how the pipeline will affect the infrastructure in the county to whether the county's apparent low bidder to construct the mainline from Roseburg to Coos Bay is qualified to do the job.
The panel included Cal Grimmer, South Coast district manager for NW Natural; engineer Tina Monical with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Water Quality Engineer Jon Gasik, with the Department of Environmental Quality; and Ron Hoffine, operations director of the Coos Bay/North Bend Water Board. Paul Van Natta of CCCRG moderated the forum.
Grimmer said NW Natural has contracted with Hinkels and McCoy to construct the pipeline system within Coos Bay and North Bend, as well as in Coquille and Myrtle Point.
NW Natural is not sure how many people or businesses are interested in switching to natural gas, but questionnaires will be sent out soon to help gauge that, Grimmer said. The company will pay to hook gas lines into homes and businesses, but there would be some costs to the owners.
The Coos Bay/North Bend Water Board was represented at the meeting because the board is negotiating with NW Natural to put a water pipe in the same ditch as the gas pipeline to provide water and sewer capabilities on the north side of the McCullough Bridge. The project will be paid for partially with grant money but also through rate increases, Hoffine said.
Dennis Phillips of Coos Bay questioned whether the world's gas supply will last long enough to make bringing natural gas to the county profitable. Phillips asked Grimmer how that information may affect natural gas prices.
Grimmer said he didn't have an answer about gas supplies because he isn't a geologist, but he felt it was normal for gas prices to fluctuate.
Ron Sadler of North Bend asked whether the Army Corps of Engineers would be doing an environmental impact statement regarding drilling under the bay that is planned for the pipeline to be constructed to the North Spit.
Monical said her agency will look at whether the drilling will cause hazards to navigation in the bay and that a general permit is all that is needed to do the drilling. An EIS will not be done, she said.
Coos County Commissioner Nikki Whitty also attended the meeting and answered questions about the county's apparent low bidder of the mainline project, MasTec Inc., of Miami. Plans call for the company to connect the mainline at Roseburg with the Williams pipeline that is buried along Interstate 5. It will then be constructed to Coos Bay, with laterals to Myrtle Point, Coquille and possibly Bandon. A countywide voter-approved bond and state lottery money and grants will be used to pay for mainline construction.
Laura Hughes of Coos Bay said she had reservations about the qualifications of MasTec and asked who would pay if there are problems associated with construction and maintenance.
The county and NW Natural are negotiating an operating and maintenance agreement, according to Grimmer. As operator, NW Natural would monitor the pipeline regularly and also would be responsible for maintenance and repairs. Responsibility for repair costs would depend on the cause of the problem.
"We'll have inspectors," Grimmer said. "We don't want problems on that pipeline because we're at the end of it."
Carol Fischer of Bandon asked whether Coos County will be able to collect taxes from NW Natural.
"We don't set the tax rate, but believe the Oregon Department of Revenue would put NW Natural on the tax roll," Whitty said.
On questioning whether people would opt to convert to natural gas, Ron Grabowski of Riverton said he had researched the issue and found that certain heat pumps would cost less to run than natural gas appliances and furnaces in the area.
Grimmer disagreed, saying natural gas costs would be less than those associated with a heat pump.
Others in the audience had questions about the safety of the Williams gas pipeline, which was built in 1955 and who will oversee the mainline project from Roseburg to Coos Bay
Grimmer said there is recent legislation requiring more frequent monitoring and maintenance) of all natural gas pipelines and said if NW Natural is contracted to operate the pipeline, it will have engineers oversee the mainline project.
While the forum ended at 9 p.m., it appeared many people still had questions.
The citizens group said it may hold additional forums regarding the pipeline.
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