If Coos County residents were upset when a 12-inch-wide pipeline was proposed for the area in 2002, imagine their reaction to a pipeline three times as large.

Over the past few weeks, local residents have received letters from Williams Northwest Pipeline requesting permission to come onto their property for surveying purposes. The purpose of these surveys is to determine the path of a 250-mile, 36-inch gas pipeline from the proposed liquid natural gas terminal in North Bay to the California border.

The letter came as a surprise to many residents who received it, as it seemed to suggest the construction of the LNG terminal in Coos Bay is a done deal.

“I'm upset with the tone of letter, which says that it's not a matter of if the LNG facility is going to happen, but when,” said Paul Washburn, who lives on Old Wagon Road. “The letter seems to preclude any community discussion. I haven't even made up my mind on the facility itself, let alone whether a pipe from it could come across my property.”

In the letter, Williams Northwest requests the opportunity to conduct “environmental, cultural and engineering surveys” on the land. Cultural surveys would determine cultural artifacts, such as forgotten cemeteries, that should be taken into consideration in plotting out the pipeline's path. Environmental surveys would determine the type of land the pipeline's construction would affect and engineering surveys would determine the technical feasibility of building the pipeline in certain areas.

According to Steve Potts, Williams Northwest project manager, about 700 letters have been sent to residents in Coos, Klamath, Douglas, and Jackson counties. Recipients of the letter are asked to sign and return it. If they don't, said Potts, then their property will not be surveyed.

“We're looking for permission,” said Potts. “If they don't sign over permission, we won't go on their property. We don't want to trespass.”

However, according to Michele Swan, communications director of Williams Northwest, even if landowners don't sign over permission to survey their property, an easement could still be sought to build the pipeline through it.

Dave Hopkins, a Fairview resident, said he isn't sure his refusal to sign the letter is going to make any difference.

“In Fairview, we've already given permission for the MasTec pipeline, so there probably won't be any legal grounds to stand on when these guys come through wanting to build an even bigger pipe,” said Hopkins. “A lot of people around here do not want to see this, and there's anger, since the (MasTec pipeline) caused so much trouble, but it's going to happen anyway. There's already a defeatist attitude.”

MasTec Inc., a Miami-based contractor was hired by the Coos County Board of Commissioners to construct a 12-inch-wide natural gas pipeline from Roseburg to Coos Bay. That experience has caused some local residents to be wary towards this new construction venture. After allegations of poor construction practices were leveled against the company, the contract with MasTec was eventually canceled in April 2004, and the incident is still the subject of numerous lawsuits. (See sidebar)

“We had a miserable mess with the last pipeline, and I had hoped this was all behind us,” said Mary Metcalf of Fairview. “So much got messed up last time they came in and built a pipe here, and this new one is three times bigger than that one. We're in a nightmare up here with all these pipelines.”

The proposed pipeline will not necessarily follow the pipeline built by MasTec. However, the paths of the two pipelines may occasionally correspond, said Potts.

The pipeline's route is scheduled to be determined by June, he added. Williams Northwest will then submit the proposed route and an Environmental Impact Statement to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for certification. According to a fact sheet provided by Williams Northwest, the route will be submitted for approval in January 2007.

After FERC certification, the company will then approach landowners along its planned pipeline route to acquire easements, or permission to build across their property.

“This process of getting easements takes a very long time,” said Potts. “When we built a pipeline in Washington, we had over 1,000 landowners we had to get easements from, and it took over a year. But we're very fair with our offers, in negotiating money for easements. Very few landowners don't sign up.”

Those landowners who don't grant easements, however, are then subject to condemnation, a legal process in which the individual may have his land taken from him under the laws of eminent domain.

“Very rarely, it'll get into a public need thing, similar to a road,” said Potts. “The public may deem it necessary to build a road between A and B, but you might run into a person that doesn't want that road built through their property, and you have to go to a judge to have the matter settled. But it's extremely rare that we run into that sort of thing. We're not here to steamroll the public. In Washington, less than five of the 1,000 easements we needed had to go that far.”

In Coos and Douglas counties, there were 11 eminent domain cases during the construction of the MasTec pipeline. According to County Commissioner Nikki Witty, all 11 cases were settled out of court.

According to Swan, the majority of surveying for the pipeline has been completed in Oregon. Swan said that once the “pipeline's route is set in stone” by June, open house town-hall meetings will be held Coos Bay, Myrtle Creek, Shady Cove and Klamath Falls. The exact locations of these meetings have yet to be specified, along with which Williams Northwest representatives will be there.

The proposed pipeline is being jointly developed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Fort Chicago Energy Partners and Williams Northwest, with each party holding a one-third interest.