Seismic, access concerns emerge at gas-spur meeting

March 8, 2005

DAWN De BUSK /Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Access to recreational areas, depletion of natural resources and seismic faults were the main topics that concerned 25 people who brainstormed Saturday at the Palmer Depot over maps of a proposed corridor for one segment of a natural-gas pipeline spur that would bring gas from Glennallen to Palmer.

The people who attended the meeting came to the conclusion that their biggest worry was that they were being denied access to an area sought after for recreational purposes. On the other hand, a road over the underground pipeline on state-owned lands might allow such easy access that increased traffic would deplete natural resources.

"The big deal is access. While they're doing surveying, will they block off access? While they're doing construction, will they block off access? This is a three-year project and if access is closed off, that's unacceptable," said Larry Ramage, a Wasilla resident who uses an all-terrain vehicle to explore and play on state land north of Palmer.

The discussions were facilitated by Bristol Environmental & Engineering Services Corp., a company hired by the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority to gather information about recreation on state-owned lands in the spur corridor.

The segment of the proposed spur discussed Saturday runs parallel to the Glenn Highway, from Squaw Creek along Caribou and Boulder creeks to Chickaloon.

The spur line would hook into an all-Alaska Liquid Natural Gas pipeline, which would extend from the North Slope to Valdez. The LNG project and the spur line are currently under consideration as a way to bring LNG from near Glennallen to the existing Enstar gas system in Palmer, according to a flyer BEESC sent to recreational groups in the Valley and in Anchorage.

"Mini-industrial complexes, where gas would be used to generate electricity and to bottle propane for local use, would be located at each end of the project," according to the flyer.

Those who turned out for Saturday's discussion broke into groups of four to six people per table. Each table had a map of the proposed spur line. The groups had about 20 minutes to come up with positive opportunities a road over a buried pipeline might provide for the area.

One person wrote down those ideas and presented them to all the participants.

Next, the groups were asked to write down concerns about the project. The concerns could easily be divided into two categories: concerns about the area if the proposed pipeline is constructed and concerns over the proposed route for the natural-gas pipeline. BEESC kept all the input for ANGDA to evaluate.

The most common concern was that a major thoroughfare over the buried pipeline would create easy access for a greater number of people than use the area now. That increased use might affect wildlife, the water shed, the other trails that connect to the corridor and mining claims.

"Any time there's an attraction like this natural-gas pipeline will make, the number of people increases and you deal with the abusers," said Alan L. Larson, a resident of Palmer who owns 100 acres near Rush Lake. His property is about a mile from the proposed spur line.

Participants were concerned about maintenance of the area. Who would be responsible for plowing snow, picking up trash, supplying toilet facilities and maintaining the trails? Residents of the area claimed these tasks have fallen to them so far.

Another concern stemming from the creation of a giant road with access to the state-owned lands is that many recreational users will cross private property.

Nancy Taylor, a Chickaloon resident, said one of her group's concerns was "the inability to restrict access of right of way on private land and creation of peripheral trail crossing private lands" adjacent to state land.

The group Lila Taylor, a member of Mat-Su Rock and Mineral Club, represented expressed concerns that increased use might bring in people who would break into privately owned cabins.

That group, consisting of Taylor and her husband, Donovan, from Lazy Mountain; John Vinduska from Lazy Mountain; Harvey Bowers, a geologist who owns Agate Inn, and Jerry Hall, a Wasilla resident, worried that increased traffic would affect hunting and subsistence hunting in the area, especially for residents who rely on this area for getting their winter meat.

They also mentioned that Mud Volcano, which lies along the proposed pipeline, is a salt lick for wildlife.

"Will hunting have to be shut down?" asked Mike Meekins, representing the residents with whom he was brainstorming.

They worried about depletion of natural resources like wildlife, fish and the watershed as well as about erosion of the trail system.

"It's irresponsible to run a line into the backcountry," Meekins said.

"We don't want to lose these trails that historically people have been using," Ramage said.

Besides a larger volume of recreational users jeopardizing the natural resources and trails, the proposed route for spur-line construction also proved to be an issue for participants.

The corridor under consideration would travel near two earthquake faults, be buried under glacial streams that flood and fluctuate and into a very narrow canyon that won't sustain increased traffic.

How will a buried pipeline under rivers and creeks affect salmon-spawning areas, asked Nancy Taylor, a Chickaloon resident, who also questioned whether it was possible to bury the pipeline under stream beds.

Seismic activity from the Castle Mountain fault line could prove catastrophic for an underground gas pipeline, Lila Taylor said.

"We've been up there blueberry picking, and the ground was shaking," she said, adding that there is a West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center monitor near Granite Peak.

"I was here during the '64 quake and I remember being thankful we didn't have a gas pipeline then," said Sharon McKechnie of Sutton, who enjoys mountain biking.

"We don't like the route selection. We prefer the Glenn or Parks Highway route," McKechnie said.

The pipeline could run down the Parks Highway and serve residents of Healy, Talkeetna and Willow, Meekins suggested.

Larson said the bedrock in the area could prove problematic for constructing an underground pipeline. He said bedrock forced the oil pipeline to go above ground.

However, if the proposed corridor were approved for the NGP project, the groups found opportunities that could result from a new road system.

"It would improve the existing trail. They would have a harder surface, instead of traveling through wetlands," said McKechnie, adding that the trail systems would be better managed.

"There would be additional law enforcement to insure that people follow regulations," Nancy Taylor said.

"The right-of-way would open the area for boating," Meekins said.

The improved access would also create opportunities for guide services and recreational businesses that rent snowmachines or ATVs or canoes, Meekins said.

The state could collect user fees to help fund trail maintenance, provisions of toilet facilities and trash bins, Nancy Taylor said.

"I'm glad we had a good turnout. Everyone talked and it was productive," said Tom Arminski, senior regulatory and permitting manager with BEESC. "One of the things that is nice about this forum is there's no prepared testimony. People help each other develop concepts and share information."

Saturday's discussion was "one of many opportunities to gain information and have comments," said Dick La Fever, who directed the presentation and is co-founder of Crossroads Leadership Institute. His business provides mediation and problem-solving techniques.

ANGDA's chief executive officer, Harold Heinze, will speak about the gas-line project tomorrow at a 7 p.m. meeting of the Chickaloon Community Council, at the Chickaloon Community Center.

A bill that's currently in the state House urges Gov. Frank Murkowski to, as soon as possible, sanction, if not conduct, a study of in-state natural gas needs.