Pipeline route has landowners worried
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Loretta Park
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
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RUIT HEIGHTS -- A few Davis County property owners are concerned about a crude oil pipeline coming out of Weber Canyon and heading south along Highway 89.
One of those owners is the Manning family. They own 22 acres of orchards in Fruit Heights.
"If they leave it as it was, it's a non-issue," Scott Manning said of the impact the work has had on his property.
His father, Glenn Manning, said Rocky Mountain Pipeline System officials didn't ask if it was OK to tear down their fence. The construction company also went past their easement, which was inside the Manning property line, 90-plus feet.
Heavy equipment drove onto the Manning property when it was wet and left large ruts, Scott Manning said.
Construction of the 95-mile, 16-inch buried crude oil pipeline began in June. A drill rig is used to bore under the ground to minimize the amount of construction necessary to install the pipe.
The work, now in its second phase, started in Wyoming and came down Weber Canyon. The final destination is the Chevron refinery in North Salt Lake, which will then pump oil to other refineries in the area.
The Mannings said they contacted Rocky Mountain Pipeline System officials and discussed their issues with them.
"I assume they will keep their promises," Glenn Manning said.
Some of those promises include a check to pay for the temporary use of the Manning's land while installing the pipeline, putting the fence back and removing the ruts.
The Mannings also said they were unaware of the company's easement that went inside their property line until they bought a map from Fruit Heights.
"Right-of-way agents have been proactively working with landowners, community members and city officials," states an e-mail sent by Cindy Gubler, Rocky Mountain Pipeline's public relations spokeswoman.
Jackie Yeung,who owns and runs Bamboo Gardens in Fruit Heights, said she is also unhappy with the pipeline company.
The nursery owner was told not to plant a large area of her property and was also asked to move her water lines and her greenhouse.
Then in August, she said, the company decided it didn't want her land for the pipeline because it was going to stay within its original easement.
"It's been a big loss," Yeung said.
The pipeline is also going to affect some county land in Farmington.
Commissioners agreed to allow the company to use some of the county's property around the Davis Justice Complex and the Davis Events Center. It will cost Rocky Mountain about $23,897 for the permanent and temporary new easements.
Tony Thompson, of the county's community and economic development department, said the additional easement is necessary so the company can bore the hole for the pipeline.
If the county did not provide the extra easement, the company would have had to open-cut the new asphalt road that runs in front of the new part of the jail.
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