BLM NEWS RELEASE
The U. S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) signed a decision amending the right-of-way grant (ROW) and plan of development for the Ruby Pipeline Project on Dec. 7. The changes are in consideration of agency comments and with the concurrence of the U.S. Fremont Winema National Forests. The changes include construction of four above ground cathode sites to control pipeline corrosion and 15 small roads to main line valves. The four above ground cathode sites and 15 small roads are in Utah, Nevada, and Oregon.
The pipeline project includes an approximately 678 mile, 42-inch interstate natural gas pipeline that crosses 368 miles of Federal land beginning near Opal, Wyoming, extends through northern Utah and northern Nevada, and terminates near Malin, Oregon.
The Ruby Project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission April 5, 2010 and the ROW grant and plan of development were approved by a Record of Decision issued by the BLM on July 12, 2010. Potential effects of the pipeline were analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement, released in January 2010. The BLM issued multiple Notices to Proceed for each segment after Ruby demonstrated that all conditions and stipulations had been met for a given segment.
The pipeline went into service on July 28, 2011. Construction restoration, stabilization, and final clean-up are not expected to be completed until later in 2012. The FERC and the BLM will continue to closely monitor and evaluate restoration progress along the entire pipeline ROW for several years.
Copies of the decision, as well as the original Record of Decision, are available on the on the Internet at: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/nepa/ruby_pipeline_project.html.
Questions about the Cathodes and Roads Decision may be directed to: Mark Mackiewicz, BLM National Project Manager, c/o125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501.
