Many Residents Seem To Support Pipeline Plans

Roosevelt County Commissioner Gordon Oelkers reports that he has been receiving positive comments from the eastern end of the county regarding the proposed Bridger Pipeline.

Last last month, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality withdrew a previous waiver, but Oelkers doesn’t feel that decision will create much of an obstacle for the project’s future.

“Everybody is used to oil pipelines around that area,” Oelkers explaiend.

He said a group from Baker has been dealing with a law firm regarding leases. “They are pretty happy with the lawyers about it. All the landowners have joined the group,” Oelkers said.

The commissioners noted that the landowners are all saying safety first, leases second.

He added that latest AI technology is an advancement for detecting leaks. Oelkers feels that pipeline expansion has an 80 percent chance of becoming a reality.

Bridger Pipeline’s proposed project consists of a 647-mile, 36-inch buried crude oil pipeline and associated infrastructure that would traverse federal, state and private lands in Montana and Wyoming. The project would enter the United States from Canada in Phillips County and travel through the Montana counties of Valley, Daniels, Sheridan, Roosevelt, Richland, Wibaux, Fallon and Carter. Wyoming counties in the plan include Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen and Platte.

Daniels County has recently agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. The purpose of the agreement is for preparing the Environmental Impact States for the Bridger Pipeline expansion.