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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Neighborhoods Employment Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend June 18, 2006 �Chicken� Dusenberry says the preferred route for a natural gas pipeline from Coos Bay to Malin runs right through his property overlooking the Rogue River. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) When Dreams Collide By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Topographical map of project For nearly three years, Chicken and Sami Dusenberry have been preparing a building site for their dream house on 46 undeveloped acres in Trail overlooking the Rogue River. Obtaining the proper county permits after a long struggle, they dug a septic system, drilled a well and installed electricity. They are about to apply for a building permit. "It's our dream," Sami Dusenberry said. "We want to live the rest of our lives out here. Now there is this pipeline. They wanted to go through the middle of the homesite but they said they will adjust it a little. "It's still going to be very close," she added. "It's devastating." They discovered this spring that their property lies in the path of the preferred route for the proposed Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, which would pipe natural gas some 225 miles from Coos Bay to Malin in the lower Klamath Basin. The route would cross through the Dusenberry property, then under the Rogue River. It was on that property with its oak savannah that Lan "Chicken" Dusenberry, 62, a log truck driver, played as a toddler. His uncle, Steve Wilson, who operated a logging company in the area for years, owned the property when Dusenberry was a fledgling. "This is my old stomping grounds," Dusenberry said. "This is where I grew up. I don't like the pipeline going through our property. That's a lot of gas. It's dangerous. And they will have a big clearing going through here." "The surveyors are working with us to go closer to the property line but if they decide not to build it, we won't be heartbroken," he added. The Dusenberrys are among hundreds of property owners in southwestern Oregon wondering how the proposed pipeline could affect their lives. Although construction wouldn't start until the summer of 2009 at the earliest, the pipeline builder — Williams Pacific Connector Gas Operator LLC out of Salt Lake City — has already deployed surveyors to canvass the preferred route and talk to landowners. "We're meeting with all the land owners where we want to survey their property," said Steve Potts, pipeline project manager for the Williams firm. "We're tweaking the preferred line right now to minimize the impact to try to keep the landowners happy. "We're going to be their neighbors for a long time," he added. "We want to get along with them." About 85 percent of the landowners approached have agreed to allow their land to be surveyed as a possible route for the pipeline, he said. That doesn't mean they have given their blessing for the pipeline to cross their land, he noted. The price the firm will pay for an easement to cross a private parcel depends on several factors, he said. "It's based on land values," Potts said. "If you are in a high value area you would receive more money than someone in a lower value area. It's just like property values." The 225-mile route through mountains and valleys will have its challenges, said the civil engineer. The pipeline will be placed underneath the Umpqua and Rogue rivers and numerous streams en route, he said. The firm will first drill bore holes at least 100 feet deep on both sides of the river to determine geological factors, he said. The pipe will be more than 50 feet under a riverbed. A drilling rig deployed at a slant some 1,000 to 2,000 feet away from the river will be used to drill the hole for the pipeline, he explained. "They can steer the drill head at an angle," he said, noting the distance is needed to gently angle the pipe under the river. "They will go underneath the river, then steer it back up." A 100-foot-deep core test already has been taken on the Dusenberry property. While the geologic challenges are tough, some property owners also can present problems, Potts acknowledged. But in the end, landowners who aren't receptive may have no choice but to comply. Next year, the firm will apply for a certificate from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to develop the pipeline. If the certificate is granted, it would give the firm the power of eminent domain — the right of the government to take private land for public use such as a utility pipeline. "We try not to use that," Potts said. FERC is the lead federal agency responsible for conducting the environmental review of the project, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. It will be charged with preparing a draft environmental impact statement for the pipeline, followed by a final EIS, observed Shannon Dunn, an environmental scientist who is FERC's assistant manager on the project. Numerous experts will be deployed to scrutinize the proposed pipeline, including engineers, biologists, geologists, archaeologists and others, she said. FERC will work closely with other agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard, which looks at waterway suitability and safety, and the U.S. Geological Survey, which has expertise in earthquake potential. "We look at all factors on both private and public land," she said, noting that equal concern is given to both. "The environmental areas we look at are water resources, vegetation, wildlife — including threatened and endangered species — and land use. We also look at archaeological resources and geology." FERC will review the firm's safety and reliability records, Dunn said. "Prior to construction, they need to agree to our wetland and water-body construction and restoration procedures," she said. "They need to either agree to follow that, or come up with a measure that would protect a resource at least as much as our measures require them to." Meanwhile, the Dusenberrys, who now live in Shady Cove, say they will continue to work with the pipeline developers. "The pipeline isn't going to stop us," Chicken Dusenberry said. "We are going to build." "But our whole idea was to come up here and see no other roofs or hear sirens," his wife interjected. "Now we're going to have a big pipeline right through here." Sami Dusenberry said representatives of the Williams company appear to be willing to work with them. "The surveyors said they could install the pipeline a little farther away from our homesite and not through the middle of it," she said, then added, "But I want to get that in writing." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] . Route: Coos Bay to Malin, passing through Trail in Jackson County. Pipeline will cross some 40 miles of U.S. Bureau of Land Management land and 30 miles of national forestland. Length: 225 miles. Diameter: Three feet. Cost: Between $700 million and $850 million. Purpose: To provide natural gas supplies to the Pacific Northwest. All of the West Coast's natural gas supplies currently come from Canada or the Rocky Mountain area. Supply: As much as 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. How it would work: The pipeline would connect the proposed Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal in Coos Bay to another pipeline system near Myrtle Creek, then to PGE's gas transmission system near Malin. Ships would unload liquefied natural gas, which would be slowly heated into gas to be placed in the pipeline. Builder and partial owner: Williams Pacific Connector Gas Operator LLC, Salt Lake City. Firm owns and maintains the natural gas pipeline between Portland and Grants Pass, which was built in 1963. It also owns the lateral pipeline off the trans-Canada pipeline that flows into Klamath Falls. Other owners: Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. and Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP. Details underground: The U.S. Department of Transportation requires the top of the pipe to be at least 30 inches below the surface. The metal pipe will be buried in a trench five or six feet deep. An electrical charge will prevent corrosion. Details above ground: A 95-foot construction right-of-way will be required when the pipeline passes through a forested area on level terrain. After the pipeline is installed, all but 15 feet on each side of the pipe will be restored. More informationwww.pacificconnectorgp.com Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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