Dooley’s to open renewable natural gas pipeline to public customers in west central Minnesota – West Central Tribune

MONTEVIDEO

— Dooley’s Natural Gas will allow residential, farm, and commercial properties along the route of its proposed renewable natural gas pipeline to connect to it as customers, company President Randy Dooley announced Tuesday.

Dooley made the announcement as the

Chippewa County Board of Commissioners

hosted a public informational meeting on the proposed 28-mile pipeline.

Dooley’s Natural Gas is seeking to build the estimated $13.9 million pipeline to carry renewable natural gas to be produced by anaerobic digesters at the four large Riverview Dairy operations — Meadow Star, East Dublin, Swenoda and Louriston — that are located in Chippewa, Kandiyohi and Swift counties.

About 11 miles of the pipeline will be located in Chippewa County. Just over 50 potential customers are along the route, according to Dooley. It’s possible extensions could be built to connect high-volume users, he added.

Dooley said the recent decision to open the pipeline project to public customers is “kind of an infield change,” but one that was desired from the start.

The company could not open the pipeline to customers until it determined that it would carry a sufficient volume of gas and that the quality of the gas met standards, he explained.

“It’s just a matter of making sure of the reliability of the system,” he said, adding shortly after: “Our intention was always to hook it up; we just couldn’t commit.”

A public pipeline also fits the company’s business approach. It’s in the business of both transporting and selling fuels, he pointed out.

Dooley’s Natural Gas is planning to place about 99% of the pipeline in township and county road right of way to minimize the impact on landowners and the environment.

The decision to open the pipeline to public customers is critical to the use of the public right of way.

Jeremy Gilb, Chippewa County engineer, said Chippewa County would put millions of dollars of federal road funds at risk if it were to approve placing a private pipeline in its road right of way.

Gilb said the Minnesota Department of Transportation accommodation manual does not allow for a private gas line to be placed longitudinally in its right of way.

If Chippewa County were to act in contradiction to MnDOT, it would risk losing somewhere $4 million and $5 million in federal funds it is expecting in upcoming years for an 18-mile repair project to County Road 13, a main east-to-west artery in the center of the county.

Micah Revell, an attorney with Stinson LLP representing the Dooley’s Natural Gas project, said the company does not want to put road funding in a compromised position.

Initially, the company approached the

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for a permit

for the pipeline, he said. It learned from the PUC that it would need utility permits from each of the three counties for the low-pressure portion of the line, which is nearly its entire length.

The PUC has jurisdiction only over an approximate 100-foot high-pressure segment that will connect the compressor station to the Alliance Transmission Pipeline.

Revell emphasized that the company had always intended to obtain local permits for the pipeline and is now following the required dual track process to obtain permits from the state and three counties.

The gas will be injected into the Alliance Transmission Pipeline for use as transportation fuel, according to a presentation made to the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners in October 2023 by a representative for Amp Americas. Andy Dvoracek told the commissioners at that meeting that California and the federal Environmental Protection Agency offer credits to incentivize the use of renewable natural gas for transportation.

Renewable natural gas is a biofuel that is fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas,

according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dooley and project team members Tim Hulscher and Nate DeLeeuw indicated on Tuesday that Amp Americas has not raised any objections to allowing public customers along the route. Amp Americas is also in accord with plans to strip away about 20% to 30% of the gas produced by the digesters for use in the operation of the digesters, they said.

Dooley assured the county commissioners and township officials attending the Chippewa County hearing that the company would be responsible for any costs associated with the pipeline.

It would be responsible for replacing tile lines that might be damaged during construction. It will also be responsible in the future for moving the line should its presence affect any future road work along the route.

He noted that the company had to commit to $500,000 in relocation costs for its pipeline along Minnesota Highway 23 when the North Gap project between New London and Paynesville was constructed.

The company estimates that it will pay $16,500 per year in property taxes to Chippewa County for the pipeline.

Dooley’s Natural Gas owns and operates more than 300 miles of natural gas lines serving more than 2,000 customers in five counties and nine different communities. It also injects renewable natural gas from a dairy near Paynesville into its natural gas pipeline system.

The requested permits for the pipeline in Chippewa, Kandiyohi and Swift counties involve the four existing Riverside dairies. Riverside is planning to construct a 10,500-head dairy in Grace Township of Chippewa. It could also be connected to the pipeline, but would have to go through a separate permitting process, according to information at the hearing.