Lansing - Lansing City Council will vote next week on a pipeline company’s request to build a gasoline line within city limits.
The council members voted 5-2 Thursday to add two items to the Aug. 5 agenda. The first is to approve the “limited consent” agreement and the other would deny Wolverine Pipe Line Co.’s request.
If the first item passes, the other will be ignored.
The council also can choose to remove one of the two proposals from the agenda.
“We always have the opportunity to pull one of them Thursday,” council Vice President Carol Wood said. “What we’re doing is saying there will be some kind of a vote next Monday.”
Residents and city officials have said they are worried about gasoline leaking from the pipe into the area’s water supply. Wolverine’s proposed 26-mile route would run near Interstate 96 for about 22 miles, which minimizes the possibility of the pipe being damaged by future development.
Lansing Board of Water & Light representatives presented 21 negotiated requirements for Wolverine if the city is to approve the company’s request. Both the city and the company’s board of directors must approve the agreement.
Joe Pandy, Board of Water & Light general manager, said the board does not endorse the project, although the negotiated safety requirements minimize risks.
“If the world were perfect, we’d prefer not to have it,” he said.
The provisions include asking Wolverine to construct barriers around pipe valves to protect them from out-of-control vehicles, provide various safety test data to the board and relocate the company’s data monitoring system to Portage, so it will be closer to Lansing.
Wolverine executives said they will comply with the requests.
But some council members still were not totally convinced the safety precautions would prevent a disaster.
“Twenty-one agreements sounds good, but it’s only paper,” Councilmember Tony Benavides said. “When it comes to the construction of it, who knows what human error can occur? I’ve been around 65 years. I know when I’m being taken.”
Because the highway is owned by the state and the Michigan Public Service Commission approved the project, it’s not clear if Wolverine needs the city’s approval to begin construction.
If the council votes to deny consent, Wolverine can come up with a new route, sue the city or ignore the decision, City Attorney Jim Smiertka said. Ignoring the city’s denial would force the city to go to court, he said.
Leslie Cole, Wolverine’s vice president and manager, wouldn’t speculate on what the company would do if the council denies the request but said city officials shouldn’t be making an arbitrary decision. He compared the company’s request to applying for a building permit.
“Just because they don’t like the individual doesn’t mean they can deny consent,” Cole said.
Wolverine executives and the city council will meet again Thursday and discuss the five miles of the pipeline that would go through Lansing as it passes near a mobile home park, a YMCA branch and other homes and businesses.
Councilmember Sandy Allen originally wanted to place only a denial vote on tonight’s agenda, but objections from other council members led to longer consideration.
“We haven’t had any time to read through these pages of information,” Councilmember Geneva Smith said. “This issue’s too important, and I have constituents in the fourth ward who want me to make an informed decision.”
