JUNE 18, 2020
A project to expand a roadway in the Green River Commerce Park came to a screeching halt this week because the road would be built over three natural gas pipelines.
A lot of roads are built over pipelines, including KY 55, which travels over the very same pipelines just a short distance away. The owner of the pipelines, however, TC Energy, wants the commerce park owner to pay to replace a pipeline should it fail safety testing.
Economic Development Authority chairman Bobby Morrison shared an email with board members Tuesday from Johnathan Frazier, a pipeline crossings engineer with TC Energy.
Frazier wrote that the pipelines would need to pass a pipeline stress analysis then an excavation would need to be performed so the pipelines could be inspected.
If a pipeline should fail testing or inspection, a full pipeline replacement could be required. EDA would be responsible for all costs for testing, repairs, or replacement, Frazier said.
Morrison has been in contact with TC Energy for eight months trying to get an official response to their request to build the road. After saying the board would consider filing a lawsuit if he didn’t have a response by Tuesday’s meeting, he received the email from Frazier on Monday.
The move to require that EDA pay to replace any pipeline that is unstable came as a surprise to the board and the engineer involved in the project.
Engineer Glen Ross, president of MSE of Kentucky, told the Community Voice that he has not had a project stopped before because of a pipeline.
“We’ve always been able to get permission to build what we need to build and cross a pipeline,” Ross said. “Usually they ask that we do some special bedding or whatever it might be to get across the line. They always want to be there while we are doing construction, but I’ve never been flat turned down and this is the first time that we have just been told we can’t do it unless we go through the process of evaluating for repairs.”
While there are several pipelines that run through the property, one in particular seems to be the focus of the concern, and board member Kenzie Rowe said he believes that pipeline dates back to the late 1950s. Rowe grew up near the pipelines.
Ross had recommended that the board seek legal advice after TC Energy held up the project for months. He once again made that recommendation after TC Energy said EDA would foot the bill for any pipeline repairs or replacements.
“I’m not sure that would stand up were it pursued further,” he said. “It does not seem to me that it would work that way.”
Board members expressed their frustration with the news Tuesday as well.
“They pretty much believe that line no. 1 is going to fail,” Rowe said. He noted that Frazier’s email states that EDA would have to replace the “full pipeline” should it fail.
“Are they talking about just that section of the pipeline or are they talking about the whole 3,000 miles?” Rowe said.
Morrison said company officials have voiced concern about crossing pipeline no. 1 to him, but have yet to offer a true resolution.
“I have been working with them for eight months, and they just kick the ball to someone else,” he said. “It’s been a nightmare and I have spent a tremendous about of time.”
While TC Energy’s response raises questions about the safety of the pipeline, Ross said he pointed out to company officials that the commerce park is off KY 55, which is heavily traveled by commercial trucks.
“Somehow it works out there but it doesn’t work for them in the park,” he said.
Areas of the park that have not been developed are currently used for farming practices, which means commercial trucks and farm equipment are on the property already.
“There are a lot of things about all of this that don’t make sense,” Ross noted.
For now, the board has decided to focus on developing roadway to eight 20-acre sites in the northern portion of the park that can be reached by expanding the current road without crossing the pipelines. They will look for other avenues to enter the southern portion of the property that is now landlocked from development because of the pipelines. Ross said that leaves about 40 percent of the park without commercial access until another entrance can be found.
A second entrance has proven to be a problem in the past because that portion of the park does not have road frontage and would require the purchase of more property or an easement from a private property owner. The board spent some time looking over a plat of the property and discussing possible access options.
The board voted to redesign the existing plan and develop the northern portion of the property, but not before voicing their frustration one more time.
“I agree we have to go to plan B, but this is not right,” said board member Mark Dykes. “They are holding this over our heads with something they should be spending money on. It needs to be public knowledge that they are preventing us from doing this. They should be the one maintaining the pipeline.”
A call to Frazier at TC Energy was not returned as of presstime.
EDA board members present at Tuesday’s meeting were Morrison, Rowe, Dykes, Roger Meadows, Chester Taylor and Mayor Pam Hoots.
