EA required for Longhorn pipeline start-up

Longhorn Partners Pipeline LP (LPP), Dallas, will have to perform an environmental assessment (EA) of its 700-mile pipeline before it can ship refined motor fuel products from refineries on the Gulf Coast to markets in El Paso and further west.

The agreement to conduct the comprehensive EA was outlined in a settlement agreement last month by a U.S. District Court in Austin. Plaintiffs in the suit were the Lower Colorado River Authority, the city of Austin, and a group of Kimble County, Tex., ranchers (OGJ, Aug. 31, 1998, p. 15). The defendants included LPP, the U.S. Depart- ment of the Army, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Depart- ment of Transportation.

It was later discovered that Navajo Refining Co., Artesia, N.M., was fronting funding for the ranchers' lawsuit, and LPP filed its own countersuit against Navajo, its parent company Holly Corp., and Austin law firm George, Donaldson & Ford LLP (OGJ, Sept. 7, 1998, p. 42).

LPP completed a 250-mile pipeline spur between Crane and El Paso, Tex., in December 1998. The spur connects with an existing 450-mile, 18-in. crude line between Crane and Houston that LPP acquired from Exxon Corp.

LPP will use the system to initially move 72,000 b/d of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to El Paso and other areas of West Texas (OGJ, July 20, 1998, p. 36). LPP is currently completing wiring work on its El Paso terminal, said Longhorn CEO and Pres. Carter Montgomery.

EA content, scope

The EA will be conducted under the direction of the EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety and will involve an environmental assessment analysis and other safety and technology tests.

Independent contractor Radian In- ternational LPP will prepare the EA within 120 days (dating to the Mar. 5 settlement) under the direction of EPA and DOT.

The EA will include:

An identification of the Longhorn project.
An identification of alternatives to the proposed actions, including a "no action" alternative, a rerouting alternative, and any appropriate mitigation measures.
A description of the affected environment, including environmentally sensitive areas, densely populated areas, and populated areas within the jurisdiction of Austin, including neighborhoods near the pipeline.
An analysis of the safety and environmental effects, including health effects, of the proposed actions and reasonable alternatives.
Consideration of relevant information submitted on a timely basis by the parties, cooperating agencies, or the public.

The scope of the EA will include an identification of the resources-such as water, land, or vegetation-that may potentially be affected by Longhorn's operation. The EA will also evaluate the integrity of the line and assess the potential environmental effects of the system.

The EA draft will then become available for a 30-day period of public comment. Radian will then have 30 days to prepare a final EA for EPA and DOT approval.

Following the EA's completion, EPA and DOT will issue a "finding of no significant impact" or a notice of intent to formulate an environmental impact statement.

Delay

LPP has agreed not to transport any products through the line until 30 days after the EA decision, excluding that for maintenance, construction, or testing.

When asked about the settlement, Montgomery said: "I am pleased to have gotten a settlement that will answer (the plaintiffs') concerns about the pipeline. I'm pleased to be working closely with the federal agencies in a study, which has a timeframe that will allow (Longhorn) toellipseaddress the plaintiff's concerns and get product up and moving through the pipeline."

Montgomery said that an EA would require less time than would a full environmental impact statement. Also, he said, the EA will address the specific concerns of the plaintiffs in much greater detail.

Longhorn expects to see the final EA by September and have product flowing through the Longhorn system by fourth quarter 1999.