Adams County’s planning commission Thursday night approved plans for about 30 miles of a cross-country natural gas liquid pipeline that will run through the county on its way to Texas.
The planning commission approved the plans unanimously, but county commissioners will have the final say. Commissioners are expected to vote on the recommendations Nov. 18.
“We had some serious concerns about you,” planning commission board member Steward Mosko told the pipeline planners.
Members of the planning commission, and a property owner affected by the pipeline, commended the improvements made in the project plans.
The 435-mile pipeline had already received — everywhere else.
At the end of July, Adams County in which a section of the pipeline would extend to the Wattenberg Plant at East Smith Road and Powhaton Road, crossing directly over Front Range Airport.
Commissioners, officials from neighboring cities and planners also expressed concern that the pipeline would impede future development plans around Denver International Airport.
In the three months since that setback, project managers have worked with county planners and staff from other cities to that will avoid Front Range Airport and decrease the development obstructions.
For instance, easement widths have been reduced in some areas from their standard 50 feet to 30 feet. Additional heavy wall pipeline will be used in areas where the county plans to build roads, and the main stretch of the line will move east of Imboden Road — slightly farther from DIA.
The planning commission only had two conditions in its recommendations, both regarding a commitment to finalize language in the final development agreement before the case goes to the county commissioners in November.
The Front Range Pipeline — a partnership of Anadarko Petroleum, Enterprise Products Partners and Denver-based DCP Midstream — is designed to move natural gas liquids such as ethane, propane and butane that are byproducts of natural gas drilling. The raw byproducts are then processed and can be used for manufacturing.
The liquid byproducts will be carried to Texas, where the petrochemical industry is gaining interest in the cheap, raw natural gas liquids. Project managers expect to have the pipeline operational in the first quarter of 2014.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or
