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Show Kern River officials to address issues By PALL CHALLIS BOUNTIFUL The City Council, on record as opposed to the proposed route of a natural gas pipeline through the Mueller Park area, has called for a public meeting to air the issue. The meeting, set for Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in city hall, will review the Kem River Gas Transmission Company's pipeline construction timetable. The City Council set up the meeting to allow Bountiful residents to ask Kern River officials any remaining questions about the pipeline that is scheduled to cross the Wasatch Variation, which includes in-cludes Bountiful's Mueller Park, on its way from Wyoming to California Califor-nia over an 800-mile route. It is expected that Kem River will take the opportunity at the public pub-lic meeting to explain the procedure and why it will not be necessary to airlift any of the pipeline to the mountainside. Recently the Forest Service announced an-nounced its decision to stay the appeal ap-peal filed by the council to stop the construction of the pipeline. The stay delays the implementation of the Forest Service decision to allow construction of up to two pipelines for 100 days until it can re-examine its decision and rule on the appeal. The Bountiful Hills Residents and Concerned Citizens Association Associa-tion has filed separate appeals which if, successful, could stop the Wasatch Variation construction. One appeal is with the Forest Service Ser-vice and the other with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Forest Service hasn't ruled on the BHRCCA appeal and the FERC appeal is pending in the 10th Circuit Court The appeal filed in July suggests the mechanism used for selecting the Wasatch Variation was flawed. FERC did not do a "proper alternative alter-native analysis or adequately consider con-sider local environmental impacts," attorney Ken ley Brunsdale said. Both Wyoming-California Pipeline Company (which has pulled pull-ed out for now from the pipeline project) and Kem River have filed morions to dismiss that appeal Although local officials are gearing gear-ing up for what they believe will be the reality of a pipeline cutting a swath through Mueller Park, some still hope the entire Wasatch Variation Varia-tion can be stopped |