Bison Pipeline clears Bowman County hurdles

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BOWMAN — The Bison Pipeline Project, slated to move about 477 million cubic feet of natural gas per day through southwestern North Dakota, got the final OK from Bowman County Commissioners during a meeting held Tuesday.

Members of the Bowman County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the Bowman County Commission approve a conditional use and variance permit for the Bison Pipeline Project, which was in turn approved unanimously during a meeting of the county commission, which followed.

This was the last item that needed to be approved for the project on the county level, said Sandra Tivis, Bowman County auditor.

Bison Pipeline, LLC, a subsidiary of TransCanada Corp., an energy-producing company, has proposed construction of a 302.5-mile stretch of gas transmission lines beginning near Dead Horse, Wyo. The lines would then span Wyoming, southeastern Montana and southwest North Dakota, including Bowman, Hettinger, Stark and Morton counties, according to a prior Press article.

The motion approved by both commissions would allow Bison to forgo putting double pipe under the roads as well as allow them to bury the pipe 5 feet instead of 6 feet in some areas.

After moving through North Dakota, the Bison Pipeline would connect to the Northern Border Pipeline stemming from Canada.

Jerry Jeffers, chairman of the Bowman County Planning and Zoning Commission, said the pipeline will provide money for the county.

“One thing I would like to bring to your attention is this is not really something that’s going to be a detriment to Bowman County,” Jeffers said. “It’s a 12, almost 13 million dollar project here and it will return us almost a million dollars of income every year, and of course that will be split amongst the townships, the counties and the schools and however it’s split.”

Julie Rasmussen, with Bison, said there could be between 400 and 500 workers on the project in the area during peak times, some possibly bringing families.

The project is expected to begin mid- to late-summer, Rasmussen said, with gas flowing by Nov. 15.

Alan Goyne, also with Bison, said though it will be up to contractors where to house the workers, Dickinson could be a housing destination for some of the workers on the project.

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