Pipeline, transmission line opposition heard by Holt County leaders

Seats in the Holt County supervisor’s chamber at the courthouse in O’Neill were all occupied and additional chairs were taken in, when the leaders met Monday.

Many audience members voiced concerns, during the 10 minutes set aside for public comment, regarding TransCanada’s route across the county, as well as a new transmission line that will also cross the county.

Diane Steskal of Stuart presented a letter to the supervisors, signed by herself and her husband, Byron Steskal, regarding the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route. She read the letter for the record as well.

The Steskals requested, citing the Freedom of Information Act, notification within three days of receipt of any correspondence between TransCanada and county officials.

She also asked Bill Tielke, supervisor chair, if he intended to leave the room during any meetings involving TransCanada, due to a conflict of interest.

“I don’t have to answer this question,” Tielke said. “But, I checked with the legal part of it and I can stay in the room. I just can’t participate in any comment one way or the other.”

Tielke filed a conflict of interest statement with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission in July, stating, “Keystone XL pipeline has an easement to cross my land. I have been fully paid (for) all damages and easements. But they do say they will pay me around $49,000 after project is completed if I work well with them.”

The supervisors were also reminded by an audience member that they had signed a resolution in 2013, banning tar sand and oil pipelines from the county. Several townships had filed similar declarations.

Comment was also made regarding potential damage to gravel roads during construction. The supervisors were asked to honor their votes on the 2013 resolution.

Supervisor Don Butterfield clarified that the resolution referred to “any pipeline larger than 10 inches in diameter.”

Landowners were reminded there is still a possibility of an injunction being filed to stop the project.

Paul Brune, Nebraska Public Power District project manager, presented an update on the R-project transmission line that will cross the southern part of the county, near the border with Wheeler County.

The 225-mile project starts at the Gerald Gentleman Station at Sutherland, proceeding to Thedford, then east through southern Holt County, for approximately 15 miles near the county line.

The construction contract was awarded to Forbes Bros. Timberline Construction of Rapid City, South Dakota, in January. Brune said construction would begin in April.

Field activities are planned over the winter, including relocation of existing distribution lines, relocation of water and irrigations wells, staking route and access areas, development of material and fly yards and purchase and delivery of material to those yards. He did not know the location of the yards and said there would be about five material yards, but no fly yards are projected within the county. The Holt County transmission lines will be held mostly by tubular poles, which will have concrete foundations. Fly yards are used to store material used for helicopter installation of lattice towers in areas with limited road access. They use steel anchors that are driven into the ground by excavators.

He said easements have been voluntarily signed for 81% of right-of-way. He declined to release reasons the remaining easements were unsigned but said NPPD continues to negotiate with landowners. Construction may begin before all easements are acquired.

When asked if eminent domain would be used to facilitate the remaining ROW easements, he said, “We may. At this point, we are hoping we don’t have to.”

Tielke asked Brune to address the list of questions presented to the board earlier in the meeting. He said no tax dollars will be used for the project because NPPD is not a tax-funded entity. His reply to “Why build a transmission line for power outside Nebraska through the Southwest Power Pool that does not benefit Nebraska?” was twofold. He said it is an interconnected grid for many states. NPPD sells excess power outside the state with the revenue helping to keep Nebraska rates lower. When a power plant is “lost,” the utility provider depends on neighboring states to help. He had no answer regarding potential increases in electric rates to pay for the project.

O’Neill resident Larry Wewel pitched his dream for creation of a new national park along the Niobrara River to the supervisors, asking for their support in his endeavor.

He said he was not looking for funding, asking only for the supervisors to adopt a resolution supporting the project.

The 175,000-acre Great Plains National Park, proposed by Wewel, would include the Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge near Valentine and run 30 miles south on both sides of the river. The proposal includes a portion of the Niobrara River designated as a Wild and Scenic River by the U.S. National Park Service in 1991.

The process to create a national park can be a long, costly process, including a Congressional act for a study to be completed by the National Park Service, with a price tag between $150,000 and $500,000, after which Congress would make the decision.

Wewel claimed the proposed national park would generate “tens of millions” of dollars in tourism revenue in the area, which would enable replacing funds currently raised by property taxes with those generated by sales tax and daily admission fees.

He projected 0.5 million visitors annually, who would pay $25 each to visit the park, raising an approximate $12.5 million, along with a national average of $400 per day each family would spend in the surrounding area, extending from Norfolk to Valentine. In addition, he said the population of Valentine would double or triple due to increased tourism.

He claimed the park would also double or triple income for local food, gas and other recreation-related businesses, creating thousands of jobs.

Wewel said support was also being sought from leaders in Rock and Boyd counties. He outlined a plan that includes a January “show and tell” in the old Nebraska Senate chamber, along with a press conference at the Omaha Press Club and a presentation at the Lied Center in Nebraska City, before heading west to promote the concept.

Wewel said property would be purchased by the State of Nebraska and given to the federal government for the park, claiming landowners might expect to receive double or triple their land’s current market value.

“I happen to own some ground there, have for 40 years and I’m not going to sell it to you at any price,” said one landowner whose property lies along the scenic river.

When asked if he had considered how much property tax would be lost by the county, Wewel suggested there are several ways to structure a project to retain fees and tax revenue within the counties.

Supervisor Steve Boshart asked if the federal government could care for the land better than local landowners. Wewel answered, “No.”

“So why in the world would we do that?” Boshart asked.

The proposal drew more skepticism than support from residents in attendance. The supervisors took no action.

Tielke said, “It’s an interesting concept, but for right now, it looks like we need a little more information.”

A proposal for a possible $52,000 lease-purchase of a skid loader for use with his department’s tree shredder, brought to the table by Bill Babutski, weed superintendent, was tabled after a lengthy discussion. Supervisor Bob Snyder of Ewing objected to spending taxpayer funds to purchase equipment for the weed department to do “road work.” Boshart countered funding came from the weed department budget. Road superintendent, Gary Connot, was questioned about similar equipment leased by the road department.

The matter propagated discussion on landowners’ responsibility for removing trees from ditches and enforcement of same, along with enforcement of requirements for roadside mowing and irrigating roadways. Connot presented a map with unmowed roadsides noted by road workers for the supervisors’ review.

Discussion on maintenance of township roads was also tabled after questions were raised about township work performed by the county and corresponding rates. A review of rates and potential contracts with townships will be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

The supervisors gave Connot the nod to participate in a Nebraska Association of County Officials training program that will utilize experienced motorgrader operators to train new operators in other counties. Training materials provided will be utilized as a resource to improve local training as well.

Connot reported on a “pre-construction” tailgate meeting with the state’s contractor for a project that includes the Page Highway and Ashfall Road. He said the two sites are now expected to be completed at the same time, resulting in both being closed, potentially for one year. He said at the request of Boshart, prices were being sought for a temporary hard-surfaced road to reduce county maintenance issues on the alternate route.

The road superintendent also explained potential issues with coding FEMA claims he heard at recent district NACO meetings. He said there were no local technicalities with claims but he was having engineer consultants review documents to assure compliance and indicated the county is about 30% through the process for reimbursement.

Connot brought several road and bridge projects to the table, including one deemed an emergency by the supervisors in order for work to be completed before winter.

Three locations of asphalt roadway that were patched after the flood did not turn out very smooth, according to Connot. He said the structure of the bidding process lacked specification for smoothness, due to being completed in “somewhat of a rush.” Although the six-inch hot-mix application was considered acceptable workmanship for a patch, the county engineer suggested overlaying with a thinner layer to smooth the rough areas. Safety concerns were voiced. Connot presented a proposal from Stone Paving Company from Norfolk and North Platte, to overlay the rough patches located east of Atkinson and north of Chambers.

The board approved a motion to declare the project an emergency in order to proceed without letting bids and to accept the $123,162 proposal from Stone Paving.

The highway superintendent was given the go-ahead to proceed with repair of three of five additional segments of asphalt roads that sustained damage related to the March floods. Connot believes FEMA will reimburse the estimated cost of $170,000. The other two projects sustained damage due to additional traffic caused by the closure of Highway 281. The state has denied responsibility due to the roads not being on a designated detour. Repairs will delayed until determination for reimbursement is made.