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4.22.06 Ruling against gas main upheld The Metropolitan Utilities District will study other ways to use a natural gas transfer station in southern Sarpy County now that it has run out of appeals on its first plan, a company official said. The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday against the publicly owned utility's attempt to extend natural gas service into the undeveloped area. The decision upheld a lower court's order for M.U.D. to stop building a gas main along Highway 50 and Fairview Road. Both courts concurred with an earlier decision by the Public Service Commission, which found that the pipelines were not in the public interest. The main was intended to connect a gas transfer station that M.U.D. built at 174th Street and Fairview Road in Sarpy County, not far from the Sarpy County landfill, with the utility's existing pipelines. A gas transfer station is where natural gas is pulled off an interstate pipeline for distribution into a community. Tom Wurtz, president of M.U.D., said he had expected the Supreme Court decision. Now that it has been delivered, he said, the utility will look at two or three options for using the transfer station. One possibility would be going back to the Public Service Commission with a plan to build supply mains only, rather than pipelines that could be used to serve retail customers. Another would be using the transfer station capacity to take care of needs in nearby Springfield, which already is served by M.U.D. Some combination of the two may be possible, Wurtz said. "We're going to utilize the (station) but we don't know how," he said. "It won't be stranded." Wurtz said he expects to return to the Public Service Commission with a new proposal within 90 days. The case began in 2003 when Aquila, a privately owned company and M.U.D. competitor, filed a complaint with the Public Service Commission about M.U.D.'s proposed expansion. The commission concluded that M.U.D. was trying to "leapfrog" into a prime growth area and that the expansion was not in the public interest. The utility said it wanted to reduce a safety risk at another transfer station in central Omaha. Kevin Jarosz, Aquila operations manager for the Omaha metropolitan area, said the company was pleased with the Supreme Court ruling. A state law passed last week will require the Public Service Commission to approve almost all proposals for extension and enlargement of natural gas service areas, mains or services. M.U.D. would not have to seek approval for growth within Omaha or its zoning jurisdiction. |
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