LANSING - David Murray said Lansing needs a gasoline pipeline, but not at the risk to the environment and residents.

And Lansing City Council members agreed the risk was too great, as they urged Lansing Mayor David Hollister to do anything possible to stop Wolverine Pipeline Co. from building a gas line through Lansing.

“I think the first thing we need to do is take care of the environment,” said Murray, a Delta Township resident. “If this is an undue threat to groundwater then we don’t want it.”

Wolverine Pipeline has proposed to build a pipeline through south Lansing, suggesting two routes: one that would travel along Interstate 96 or another that would travel along I-96, veer off near Aurelius Road, traveling along Consumers Energy property between Miller Road and Jolly Road until going back along the freeway. The proposal would have to be approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission before Wolverine could continue with any plans.

Wolverine had wanted to build a pipeline through Meridian Township, but was rejected by the commission in March.

Murray, however, said Lansing needs the pipeline to continue the lifestyle people are accustomed to.

“If you want gas at the pump then you have to find a way to get it there,” he said. “We have to find a way to make way for these things or we will have to make radical changes in the way we live.

“We need to find a route that threatens as few interests as possible.”

Concerns stem from the Wolverine pipeline that ruptured last June in Jackson, causing the evacuation of people living within one square mile from the break.

“We reviewed the situation of Wolverine in Jackson and believe that it is inappropriate to send something that could erupt and cause a tremendous amount of impact and have it go through a highly dense population,” said Ron Wilson, the council’s legislative research analyst. “We have schools and shopping centers it would go through; it is much too risky to send a pipeline through Lansing.”

Leslie Cole, vice president of Wolverine, said the council’s decision was premature and the company had not yet filed an application for the pipeline.

“We disagree that the pipeline is not safe,” he said. “Pipelines run under every major city.

“A pipeline is needed to meet the gasoline needs of motorists well into the future.”

But despite the company’s arguments, council members still voted unanimously to try to stop it from building a pipeline in a densely populated area of the community.

“I felt we were acting pro-actively, telling them up-front about our concerns and hopefully they could go back and come up with alternate routes,” Councilmember Carol Wood said. “I do not want to see additional trucks on the road to transport gas, but we also have to be realistic and have it in the least populated area if there happens to be a spill.”