Berthoud residents are upset over a new, high-pressure natural-gas pipeline Xcel Energy is building because they say they were not adequately notified of the project and are concerned for their safety.
“If it breaks right there, it is going to burn the house; I know that,” said Bill Ritter, a resident whose home is 50 feet from the pipeline. “I am not real thrilled about it. What can I do about it? Probably nothing.”
Xcel obtained a special-use permit from the Weld County Planning Commission, but neighbors say they think the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should have jurisdiction regulating a pipeline of this size.
The company held two public meetings last year about the project, but some neighbors in Berthoud said they were never notified and never saw the announcement placed by Xcel in a newspaper with limited circulation. They learned about the pipeline when the ditch-digging began.
The recent natural-gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif., that killed seven people and torched dozens of homes has added to neighbors’ uneasiness.
The cause of that accident has not been determined, but the San Bruno pipeline was more than 50 years old, and new pipelines are built with more advanced technology.
Weld County is required to notify property owners within 500 feet of the project. Xcel is required to notify only those owners whose land will be crossed by the pipeline, said Xcel spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo.
“We have complied with all mandated filings and followed all procedures on this project, in some cases going above and beyond what is required by code, such as burying the pipeline 6 feet underground, per one concerned resident’s request, when we are only required to bury it 4 feet underground,” Aguayo wrote in an e-mail.
“I had no recourse”
Fred Weis, a hay farmer who was notified that the pipeline would bisect his farm, was paid an undisclosed amount by Xcel but is still not happy about the project.
“Mine is right down the middle, and I had no recourse,” he said. “My biggest objection is that the process was a foregone conclusion.”
The Weld County Planning Commission required Xcel to place an ad in a local newspaper announcing the public meeting and upcoming plans.
Xcel placed an ad in the Windsor Beacon, a twice-weekly newspaper with a Tuesday circulation of 3,500 and Saturday circulation of 7,000. The newspaper is not delivered in Berthoud.
Xcel deemed the project a lateral pipeline, considered part of its “ordinary course of business,” which means it did not have to obtain certification from the PUC.
The PUC inspected the construction last week and found Xcel in compliance. The agency will monitor Xcel’s inspection and maintenance records of the pipeline over time, said Terry Bote, spokesman for the PUC.
The 16-inch pipeline is 17 miles long and will be capable of carrying pressure of 1,050 pounds per square inch. It extends from an existing pipeline east of Milliken and runs west to Berthoud.
The first phase was completed last fall, and the second phase is under construction and will be done in November, Aguayo said.
“The purpose of this project is to deliver additional natural gas to the Milliken, Longmont and Estes Park areas and is an important part of our plan to meet growing natural-gas demand within these areas,” Aguayo wrote.
This month, Xcel Energy made slight changes to the path of the pipeline but did not have to notify neighbors of the change because the pipeline was not going to cross any new properties.
The Weld County Planning Commission did not ask Xcel to apply for a new permit with the changes. A Weld County attorney reviewed the new path and determined the changes were not substantial.
“If there is not a major change, then there is not a notification,” said Weld County planner Chris Gathman.
Negligible threat
“It seems like Xcel gets to do whatever they want to do, because they sure did not inform us,” said resident Steve Peyton, whose front door is 150 feet from the pipeline.
Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit group advocating for safety, said if a line that size explodes, 400 feet on each side of the pipeline would be in the blast zone.
But, Weimer said, accidents should be put into perspective.
There are 2.5 million miles of pipeline across the country, and there is a significant incident somewhere in the U.S. every other day.
“If you do the math and divide the chances of one failing in any one particular spot, it is almost negligible,” he said.
From 2000 to 2009, there have been nine significant natural-gas pipeline incidents in Colorado resulting in one injury, no fatalities and $5.4 million in property damage, according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration.
“In the past 24 years, there have been 65 fatalities as a result of incidents on gas transmission lines in the United States,” Aguayo wrote. “In 2009 alone, there were 45 airplane fatalities, 34 lightning deaths, and more than 33,000 vehicle traffic deaths.”
Last week, Weimer said, Pipeline Safety Trust vice president Rick Kessler testified before Congress about lax regulatory and safety guidelines governing natural-gas pipelines that allow companies to forgo rigorous oversight.
“Some of those standards are pretty gray, and they are written by the industry and were purposefully gray,” Weimer said.
The nonprofit asked Congress for a more transparent process, such as making inspection records of natural- gas pipelines available to the public.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
