XCEL ENERGY ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER COMMERCE CITY CITIZEN’S CONCERNS

Commerce City – This evening, June 29, 2011, a large number of Commerce City residents and elected officials joined representatives from Xcel Energy at the open house held at Stuart Middle School. Xcel was there to answer questions and concerns about their “proposed” 24 inch natural gas transmission line they want to run through Commerce City from Ft. Lupton, down to their current Cherokee plant. That plant is being converted from coal burning to natural gas burning to generate electricity for the Denver metro area.

Xcel made a presentation about their perception of the pipeline’s safety and their timeframe. Public hearings will be held starting in September 2011 as they work thru the permitting process.

Some concerns that citizens had included the following: Xcel answers in red type.

Is fracking used to produce this gas? Xcel made it clear that they are not the producers of the gas, only the distributors of the gas.

Is the safety of water (which can be ruined by fracking) less important than clean air? Xcel said that the producers of the natural gas that they buy gas from are regulated.

Can we get the quantitative numbers from Xcel that you use to make the decision if an area to build a pipeline in is “densely populated”? Does Xcel consider future growth in those numbers? Xcel does not have quantitative numbers, so no real answer was given.

Since the pipeline would go on the west and north sides of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, how close would the “blast zone” be to Basin F (where the US Army has nerve gas buried)? Xcel did not know what Basin F was.

Have you spoken to the US Army and did you know this was federal land? Xcel said the Public Works department of Commerce City told them that it was all cleaned up and all the right away was okay.

How did you get this far in the project not knowing about Basin F? Xcel said that is why we have meetings like this one this evening, to get input from citizens.

Why was this route chosen? No real answer from Xcel, except that a final route has not been chosen.

Could you tell us why you cannot go down a highway? Xcel said CDOT won’t let them.

Could you tell us why you can’t avoid populated areas and go out by the airport? Xcel said DIA won’t let them.

You mentioned that there were shut off valves in case of an emergency. Do you shut the gas off before or after an explosion? Xcel did not answer this question.

One citizen asked why Xcel Energy is not investing in more wind farms, as Xcel already has some wind farms and it is 2011. Xcel said in response, "Have you driven out I-70 where they have huge wind farms? They are ugly."

Do you ever “google” natural gas line explosions? Xcel said they have pictures of explosions hanging in their office and they use them as a reminder for safety as they are very dramatic photographs.

Xcel did make a point of saying that most accidents happen when a third party digs without calling 811. They made a point of how careful they are to assist third parties that do call for a locator from Xcel, but the audience was concerned most about the ones that do not call 811 and just dig anyway.

Please leave your comments below and let us know what you think. Also please attend the meeting in Brighton tomorrow night. The meeting being held in Brighton tomorrow evening, June 30, 2011, is at Overland Trail Middle School, 455 North 19th Avenue, from 5 to 8 pm.

If you want to know more about the proposed pipeline visit the project website at xcelenergycherokeepipeline.com, call their hotline at 1-888-510-3644 or email them at info@xcelenergycherokeepipeline.com.

37 comments:

dkeys said...

I am scared of the ones who will not call the 811 service "Call Before you Dig".

Anonymous said...

This is pretty safe deal. I personally am not that worried about it. It is STATE -OF-THE - ART technology.

The odds of anything ever happening is nil.

Yuri said...

If the actual build out of the northern range would have come true, this would not even being considered.

Wes, n. range said...

I am glad to hear that at some of the Commerce City Council showed up at this meeting in Reunion.

Erin NW said...

FYI-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents

Anonymous said...

dont believe the hype! this is just a ploy to be the next big issue for the upcoming election.
Nothing more then the next "NASCAR"

a prairie dog hole view said...

So Xcel will be shutting down 350 megawatts in 2012 but the new natural gas facility won't be on-line until 2015. Does that mean we have three years of intermittent outages to look forward to?

Anonymous said...

absolutely LOVE the hype comment! This is not a big deal. That is why no one came to the meeting at the Adams City High School. Only a big deal for those in the North.

Knew there had to be a big campaign issue!

Anonymous said...

i dont know what basin F is?

Anonymous said...

have pictures of explosions hanging in their office and they use them as a reminder for safety as they are very dramatic photographs.

Nice well thought out response.

Anonymous said...

Not a big deal?
Are you being impacted by this?
Not just a campaign issue!

Anonymous said...

Bottom line: This is absolutely going to be the safest pipeline in the country, Period!

Archer said...

September 2011 – Permitting process begins

Xcel Energy planners work with counties and municipalities to meet requirements for permit applications. Xcel Energy begins process to obtain permits from Weld County, Adams County, and the cities of Fort Lupton, Brighton, Lochbuie, and Commerce City.

Clearly NOT a campaign issue.

Anonymous said...

POST says: "Residents already tired of this city's industrial image got testy"

I was at the meeting and saw no hint of this. It was all about safety.

Curious in Reunion said...

Rumor is that there already is a 10in. gas line in this right-of-way now on 104 ave. God help us if the 24in. blows up, but if it did, would this not blow up the 10in gas line too?
Making this a 34in pipe blast radius?

Vikki, Commerce City said...

way too far from Basin F to cause any damage. way too close to some of the schools.

NO NO NO green route said...

looking at the maps on the Xcel website. I really like the yellow route ones.

Please Commerce City Council, do not let them build the green route one.

Anonymous said...

Question for you,
If Commerce City Council are at these meeting making comments and asking questions, are they not ruining the process that needs to take place.
I thought Council could not talk about NASCAR because just in case they come they could not vote on it. They were a quasi-judicial something.

How is this any different?

Friend of Commerce City said...

From the Post Article:
"Commerce City is a dumping ground for utilities," said former Mayor Sean Ford. "And you don't go near schools with this. You need other alternatives."

i agree.

Sharkey, Brighton said...

poor cc! everyone is picking on you! just get the money from the permits and be quiet!

BOR said...

This pipeline will tarnish all that we worked for.
Bad enough we going to have over hanging power lines from tri-state.

Ollie said...

living in Belle Creek I am not that worried.

But as the "not in my backyard" theory says: If I lived in South Lawn I would be Pissed!

Anonymous said...

think of the jobs this will create. not all bad. you are safer living near a gas pipeline then you are in a car.

Black Watch said...

Commerce city,

learn from others. copy what works.

http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/resident.aspx?id=7184

JMan said...

hell CC, just pull that home rule city card.
Get BOB on writing up some ordinance against it.

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous said...

This is pretty safe deal. I personally am not that worried about it. It is STATE -OF-THE - ART technology.

The odds of anything ever happening is nil.

PLEASE GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND CALL THE RECENT XCEL VICTIM'S FAMILIES WHO DIED, BURNED ALIVE HERE IN COLORAOD, THEN CALL THE FAMILIES IN NJ, MN, TX, CA WHO LOST LOVED ONES, THEIR HOMES AND COME BACK TO THE BLOG WITH A STRAIGHT FACE AND TRY TO SELL YOUR STORY ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THIS PROJECT. OH AND WE WOULD ALL LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU WILL SAY TO OUR COMMUNITY IF AN EXPLOSION HAPPENS AND BASIN F IS AFFECTED, YOU DO KNOW ABOUT BASIN F RIGHT, SINCE YOU ARE SO SMART.

Sammy in the Newlands said...

Has Commerce City always been the Utility Closet of the Denver Metro Area?

dkeys said...

why are there no city managers at the middle school meeting in north range? We have three, were they all busy?

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the NJ link. CC should replica this exactly.

Pro-Xcel said...

NOT fair that Xcel is trying to do the right thing by being environmental responsible and Commerce City is giving them a hard time.
Gas line is very safe. Stop fear mongering.

nothing but a campaign issue said...

scaremongering work on this group in last election, why not use the same tactic again!

Belle Creek Obsever said...

Why would a developer invest big dollars in Commerce City to build a project adjacent to a volatile
pipeline?

NO NO NO green route said...

Commerce City staff should be doing some economic forecasting about this pipeline.

What would be possibly forfeit in potential tax revenue because of this project?

What development opportunities would write us off because of this project?

I understand it will most likely go in at some point. I just ask that they take it up HWY 85.

Pipeline Truth said...

just because the GN has it as a story doesn't mean it is a real issue!

Don't be fooled. This is a very safe pipeline and the "outcry" is "overrated" and "uncalled for"

Buffalo Proud said...

Hey Gateway,
Can you find out what type of money Commerce City will see when they do this. Do we get on-going money or just permit/impact fees?

mmmmmmessed up said...

Xcel said in response, "Have you driven out I-70 where they have huge wind farms? They are ugly."

Well I think the xcel logo is ugly, there!

JBL, Reunion

Steve Ruge - Reunion North Range said...

Again, I really don't understand what the big deal about this high pressure gas line is. There is already an existing Xcel High Pressure gas line ROW underneath the high voltage power lines that run along 104. What is adding another line going to change? And yes, I do live in South Lawn.