John Scarffe, Boulder County. The Boulder County Land Use Planning Commission approved an alternate route for the Bobtail Tungsten Pipeline during an online meeting on Wednesday, April 15, at 2 p.m. The Commissioners also approved removal of three existing structures and construction a new 14,725-square-foot fire station on a 1.933-acre parcel at 900 Lefthand Canyon Drive and an Xcel Energy Solar Community Garden Proposal at1808 N. 63rd Street.

Xcel Energy requested an alternate for the construction of a new 8-inch diameter natural gas pipeline about two miles long that will serve as an extension to the existing natural gas pipeline delivery system that is owned, operated and maintained by the Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), an Xcel Energy company. A control valve station will also be constructed to service the new pipeline connection at a parcel in the public right-of-way along portions of State Highway 119 between the intersection of Magnolia Drive and State Highway 119 and the Boulder and Gilpin County line, which is zoned forestry. 

The applicant is Xcel Energy, Cheryl Diedrich, and Permits Property Owners are the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Department of Transportation. As part of its Tungsten to Bobtail Natural Gas Pipeline Project, PSCo requested approval to construct, operate, and maintain the pipeline and the Tungsten Control Valve Station in Boulder County. 

The proposed alignment is part of a larger project that includes installation of about 15 miles of new six- to-eight-inch high-pressure natural gas pipeline in Boulder and Gilpin counties, including areas within the City of Black Hawk, and on the Roosevelt and Arapaho National Forests, according to the proposal. The project is intended to increase gas capacity and reinforce the overall PSCo natural gas system by installing a new pipeline extension from the existing Louisville to Rollins Pass pipeline to PSCo’s existing system in Black Hawk. 

“The proposed pipeline would also provide redundancy of the existing gas system by providing multiple gas sources to this area,” according to background. Only the portion of the project within unincorporated Boulder County is included in this review. 

The project area is south of the Town of Nederland, between the intersection of Magnolia Drive and State Highway 119 and the Boulder and Gilpin County line near Los Lagos Reservoirs Number 3. Previously PSCo applied for a permit with a different alignment in Boulder County, located in right-of-way along South Beaver Creek Road. This application was approved by the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners in August 2019. 

During installation of several miles of natural gas pipeline within Gilpin County and the City of Black Hawk in 2019, PSCo realized substantial challenges would be associated with the approved alignment in Boulder County. In Gilpin County, many residents live directly on South Beaver Creek Road or access their homes through local subdivisions only accessible via South Beaver Creek Road. 

Required road closures would cause substantial inconveniences to residents. Approved construction along Colorado Highway 97 would result in the same inconveniences to Boulder County residents. Poor cell coverage in the area of the approved alignment also created concerns about conveying real-time project updates to residents. 

Within Boulder County, the proposed realigned pipeline will be located in the Boulder County road right-of-way along County Road 132 and along the Colorado Department of Transportation along State Highway 119. The proposed associated Control Valve Station will be located on approximately 0.2 to 0.3 acre of a parcel managed by the Roosevelt National Forest within Boulder County. 

PSCo has been working closely with the U.S. Forest Service since March 2017 as they complete their reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the project. Minor features outside the roadway will include natural gas pipeline markers to identify that a natural gas pipeline is buried nearby, small cathodic protection stations and galvanic anodes to control the corrosion of the pipeline. 

The project will require the use of temporary use areas in the CDOT ROW along Highway 119 in unincorporated Boulder County as well as at the Control Valve Station location. Construction has already begun in Black Hawk, and PSCo intends to put the completed pipeline in service by September of 2020. Revegetation work in the limited areas outside of the roadway may continue after that time.

 Staff recommended approval with conditions. Craig Eicher with Xcel energy lives in Coal Creek Canyon and is aware of highway problems on 72, and they will try to minimize that. Colorado is growing, and they want to have this extra feed for gas and for an alternate source to meet the demands of the community. 

“It’s important that this get built by this winter,” Eicher said. They have an obligation to meet the demand of the community, which has had a lot of cold nights up here this winter. They already built nine miles of the project and are waiting for this approval to begin construction and have it for peak heating system next year, and they will work with folks in Rollinsville and Nederland.

The Commissioners recommended the Board of County Commissioners approve the pipeline relocation with conditions as modified by the applicant. The Commissioners also approved improvements to the New Lefthand Fire Protection District Station 1 for removal of three existing structures and construction a new 14,725-square-foot fire station on a 1.933-acre parcel at 900 Lefthand Canyon Drive. 

The existing fire station has been removed and was used for a number of decades. The High Valley Ranch encompasses the property, and the Fire District owns property and entire area undeveloped.

After one comment in opposition because a neighbor will be close to the activity, Rob Davis, principal designer of the structure, said the northeast corner of proposed structure is pushed as far west as they can, and the parking lot will double in size to handle weekend trainings.

Xcel Energy requested a Community Solar Garden on an approximately 34-acre legal building lot located east of, and accessed through, the Valmont Generation Station, and west of several residential properties along North 75th Street. To the north of the subject property is a parcel of open space owned by City of Boulder. 

To the south is another residential property and an area of General Industrial zoning on Valtec Lane. Legion Park, a County open space property, used for their base of operations is also located southwest of the subject property. The applicant requested a 4 megawatt ground-mounted solar energy system which will cover approximately 20 acres of area to serve Xcel Energy’s low-income subscribers through its Solar Rewards Community Program. The facility is expected to operate for 20 to 40 years and generate enough energy to power the equivalent of 800 homes annually. 

Staff found that the proposed 20-acre ground-mounted solar energy system meets the SU standards, with the recommended conditions of approval. Xcel must fill in vegetation and landscaping, and two Osprey nests, but one has been relocated and is a better location for the nest. Staff is recommending to add a third nest around the shore line for more opportunities for nesting.

It will further the county’s energy goals. Four neighbors worried about wildlife and property decline. After much discussion about alternative locations, the Commissioners recommended the Board of County Commission conditionally approve the community garden with the 17 conditions and require that Xcel completes a screening plan that best meets the neighbor’ desires.

The Planning Commission usually meets on the third Wednesday of each month, but the next meeting has not been scheduled. For more information, go to https://www.bouldercounty.org/government/boards-and-commissions/planning-commission/ 

(Originally published in the April 23, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)