Natural Gas Pipeline Update (January 24, 2007)
Several years ago, Lower Valley Energy began studying the feasibility of constructing a 49.7 mile natural gas pipeline to connect natural gas facilities in the Merna area to Lower Valley Energy’s Jackson natural gas facility. Currently all Lower Valley Energy customers natural gas needs are supplied by trucking in liquefied natural gas in 10,000 gallon tanker trucks. A natural gas pipeline would add stability to Lower Valley Energy’s natural gas fuel source and would help eliminate over 500 current truck deliveries per year. .
Lower Valley Energy has been working closely with the Forest Service and WYDOT and is still securing a few remaining needed private easements as well as wrapping up engineering of the pipeline. The energy cooperative currently plans to go out to bid for pipeline construction this fall and hopefully begin the construction project in the summer of 2008 with the pipeline being operational and supplying the natural gas needs of Jackson area customers that fall – just in time for the 2008 heating season.
The Wyoming Public Service Commission issued Lower Valley Energy the needed Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity on October 4, 2006. This certificate is a regulatory approval that will allow Lower Valley Energy to proceed with the project. Lower Valley Energy thanks the Commission for their efforts and review of this important project. In other project news, Lower Valley Energy’s draft Environmental Impact Statement was released to the public in early July of 2006 and the comment period ended on August 25, 2006. The Forest Service is currently reviewing the public comments received and we are anticipating a decision from the Forest Service on the EIS within the coming months. Lower Valley Energy has also been working with WYDOT and the local county agencies to secure any last pieces of regulatory approval or permits to move forward with pipeline construction next summer.
Lower Valley Energy Gas Project Bullet Points:
1) Lower Valley Energy, a long established and rapidly growing Wyoming utility cooperative, is continuing with plans to construct a natural gas transmission project located in western Wyoming. Revised construction costs are in the $5 to $6 million range plus an additional $2 to $3 million for pipe, valves and fittings with a total project costs estimated to be between the $12 to $13 million range.
2) The project comprises a 49.7-mile, 6-inch diameter high-pressure natural gas transmission pipeline to deliver Wyoming gas from the Merna gas field near Bondurant, Wyoming to the Jackson, Wyoming service area.
3) Lower Valley Energy is working with the Forest Service, the Wyoming Department of Transportation and other federal, state, county and municipal agencies with regulatory control over and/or a valid interest in the project.
4) Greystone Environmental Consultants, headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado has been selected as the NEPA contractor. Notice of the project has been published in the Federal Register and public scoping meetings were held in Jackson on July 19th and in Bondurant on July 20th of 2004. Fieldwork that is needed to complete the NEPA document was started in late September 2004 and the draft EIS was released for public comment on July 3, 2006. The deadline for public comment on the draft EIS was August 25, 2006.
5) The selected route is through the Hoback Canyon and final route selection is pending NEPA approval and WYDOT issues, the identified route is located approximately 58% on US Forest Service property, 2% on state property and 40% on private property.
6) Rooney Engineering headquartered in Centennial, Colorado is the engineering consultant for the project. Besides assisting with the route identification and scoping, Rooney is assisting with all technical issues related to the installation and operation of the line.
7) The project is on a critical timeline. Lower Valley Energy is hoping to complete the NEPA process and have the final record of decision completed by spring 2007 with pipeline construction to be completed by fall of 2008. We are anticipating a three-month construction period.
8) This is a great project for Lower Valley Energy and a great project for the Jackson and Bondurant Community. The project is also a great opportunity for Wyoming gas to be used by Wyoming citizens. Lower Valley Energy is currently supplying the needs of its Jackson customers with Liquefied Natural Gas “LNG.” LNG is simply natural gas that is chilled to 260 degrees below zero, at which point it moves from a vapor to a liquid. This LNG is trucked to 3-60,000 gallon storage tanks sited at Lower Valley Energy Jackson office complex where the gas is vaporized as demand dictates, and is supplied through an existing gas distribution system that Lower Valley Energy constructed in the 1990s.
9) Lower Valley Energy is currently bringing in over 500 trucks per year to meet the growing demand for natural gas. Building this pipeline will enable Lower Valley Energy to remove these 500 trucks per year from our already congested highway system and also increase the reliability of natural gas service to our customers. Without the pipeline, Lower Valley Energy is projecting a need for 665 truckloads per year by 2010 to meet the needs of the Jackson market alone.
10) Gas Usage in Jackson continues to grow. In 2005, actual gas usage was 5,183,339 gallons of LNG. This is equivalent to 428,234 MCF of natural gas. Without the pipeline, Lower Valley Energy is projecting that by 2010 we will need to truck 6,590,150 gallons of LNG or 544,461 in equivalent MCF of natural gas.
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