courts:

Summerlin developer files suit to stop gas pipeline expansion

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | 10:25 a.m.

More news from Summerlin

Summerlin developer Howard Hughes Corp. went to court Monday in hopes of blocking the controversial expansion of capacity in a regional natural gas pipeline that runs through the planned community in western Las Vegas.

Hughes, a subsidiary of real estate giant General Growth Properties Inc. of Chicago, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, citing public concerns about the safety of the expansion by Kern River Gas Transmission Co.

Kern River has proposed to increase the pressure in its existing regional natural gas pipeline, which runs underneath portions of Summerlin, by 11 percent. The increase would be for the entire length of the pipe, which runs 1,680 miles from Wyoming to Southern California.

Hughes charged in the lawsuit: "a higher-pressure pipeline may contribute to marketplace concerns about safety, the mere perception of which could have an immeasurable negative impact on Summerlin's viability and appeal as a residential community.''

The Sun City Summerlin Community Association last year also protested the plan before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, citing safety concerns, but Kern River has insisted the pipeline was designed and built to accommodate the proposed higher operating pressure.

A Kern River spokesman declined comment, saying the Salt Lake City-based company does not comment on pending litigation. Kern River is a subsidiary of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

Kern River needs to install compressor stations and other above-ground equipment to accommodate the increased pressure and hopes to have those systems running by November 2010, pending regulatory approval.

In its lawsuit, Hughes said it objected to the pipeline when it was first proposed in the early 1990s, because Summerlin was planned as a residential development. The objection prompted Kern River to sue Hughes to gain an easement. Hughes said it settled the suit in 1993 by agreeing to allow Kern River to operate the pipeline at a pressure of 1,200 pounds per square inch; and that Kern River agreed at that time not to seek to increase the maximum allowable pressure.

"In reliance upon the 1993 Easement and Settlement Agreement, Howard Hughes substantially designed, developed, marketed and sold portions of Summerlin. Summerlin blossomed as the fastest growing master-planned community in the United States. Today, the pipeline easement weaves through Summerlin's residential communities, as well as the hospitals and schools that serve those communities. In addition, the pipeline easement runs directly through Summerlin Village 17, which has not yet been developed,'' Hughes said in the lawsuit.

It added that the terms of the settlement agreement are confidential. Hughes said it intends to disclose the terms to the court as part of its suit.

Hughes also noted Summerlin now consists of 22,500 acres with a population of about 100,000 people living in 19 villages, and has numerous business parks, shopping centers, parks, hospitals and schools.

Hughes, which is seeking a court order blocking the expansion through Summerlin, also revealed it has been fighting the project on a different front by seeking to intervene in expansion proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

"For the past 15 years, Summerlin has experienced significant growth as the population of Las Vegas has expanded rapidly. As a result of Howard Hughes's efforts to cultivate and expand the marketplace for premium homes in and around Las Vegas, Summerlin has become the fastest-growing master-planned community in the United States, and its population is projected to reach 200,000 by the development's anticipated completion date," Hughes said in its lawsuit.

"Consequently, the parties' agreement to limit the (pressure) of the pipeline has become increasingly important as Summerlin becomes more densely populated. Summerlin's many neighborhoods, parks, schools, golf courses, hospitals and businesses are now in close proximity to the pipeline," said the suit, filed by attorneys with the firms Bracewell & Giuliani of Houston and Smith Larsen & Wixom of Las Vegas.

Discussion: 2 comments so far…

By CynicalObserver

4/14/09 at 3:32 p.m.

Suggest removal

Comment Part 1:

In my once and prior life, my friends and I tried to stop our local school district from building a new school right next to one of these high pressure natural gas distribution mains. During the course of our fight, which we lost, we learned several key facts:

(1) Most companies which own and operate these high pressure natural gas distribution pipelines are not proactive in replacing the pipes when they corrode. Most salty desert soils, like those in Las Vegas, are highly corrosive.

(2) During the last ten years there was a massive, unexpected break of one of these massive high pressure natural gas distribution pipelines in Southern New Mexico. The pipeline blew up, for no apparent reason, immediately adjacent to a camp ground. An entire extended family was incinerated. The "blast diameter" of the fireball was 2400'. It burned for a long time before the gas pipeline operator got around to putting it out. If the explosion had occurred in an urban area, there would have been a huge, expanding fire, ala the Chicago and San Francisco fires of old.

(3) The Federal agency which is supposed to be regularly inspecting these pipelines, but isn't, was incredibly under funded, in terms of inspectors, during the Clinton Administration, and all but shut down during the Bush II administration.

(4) In the event of deaths or property damage arising out of explosions of these high pressure natural gas distribution pipelines, the insurance companies and pipeline operators litigate forever, through multiple appeals, and only settle after an average of 10 years of litigation.

(5) The State of California's Department of Education recently adopted a rule that no new school can be built within 1500' of the right of way for a high pressure natural gas distribution pipeline. They established their rule based on the "blast radius" in the Southern New Mexico explosion.
By CynicalObserver

4/14/09 at 3:35 p.m.

Suggest removal

Comment Part 2:

(6) In addition to the frailty of aging pipelines, the gas pressure itself is a tremendous concern. According to the woman who was Director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control's Enforcement Division in 2000, a high pressure natural gas main pipeline "Transfer Station" is one of the most dangerous facilities in any urban environment. With her, I stood on the ground approximately 1/4 mile from a pipeline company's "Transfer Station" for its main north-south California line, where they bleed the pipeline, test and adjust gas pressure. When they adjust the pressure by testing and bleeding the lines, the ground shakes with the vigor of a 5.5 earthquake. As a result, it is important to identify where in Summerlin or Las Vegas Valley the "Transfer Stations" for this pipeline are located, because they themselves will be all the more dangerous as pipeline pressure is increased.

Summerlin's developer and homeowners are not "barking up the wrong tree". The only question is whether it is "too late" to protect the public safety in this case.

And for everyone's information, there is another such high pressure natural gas main line running under Valley View Blvd. in the south west of Las Vegas. For those who carefully bought homes outside of the "blast radius", if the gas pressure in that line is increased, I guess you are scr@wed too.

« Previous Ten Next Ten »

Live chat: Tuesday, noon PST; Chat with Krista Creelman; Problem Gambling Center executive director Krista Creelman will answer questions about gambling addiction from Las Vegas Sun readers from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. ... Submit question