By Dave Baumeister
County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – During a marathon three and a half hour meeting of the Minnehaha County Commission this week, commissioners heard people speak for and against a new “transmission pipeline” ordinance, but in the end, they were unable to take action on the measure.
And that was due to the Commission Chairperson, Jean Bender, being absent, leaving only four left to vote.
At the last Planning and Zoning meeting on April 24, planning commissioners voted unanimously to accept the new zoning ordinance amendment after a great deal of public comment.
At that meeting, most of those who spoke were against the proposed CO2 pipeline; however, they were very much in favor of the amendment, and many of them thanked the planning commission for taking definite action.
The amendment brings the term “transmission pipelines” into the regular Minnehaha County Zoning Ordinance.
A few of the pipeline specific changes include that anyone who applies for a permit with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission for a pipeline that falls in the borders of Minnehaha County, must also apply for a permit with the Minnehaha Planning Director.
While the original ordinance called for an application to be filed withing seven days of any application to the PUC, that was changed by an amendment offered by Commissioner Joe Kippley.
This “amendment to the amendment” changed the term “application” to “letter of intent” and extended the time limit to 30 days.
In the case of Summit Carbon and Navigator pipelines, filed with the PUC last year, the amendment gives them 30 days to apply with the county after the ordinance becomes effective on June 29.
The amendment also contains language that calls for maps and plans of any proposed pipeline route, including maps of any pipeline crossing of county rights-of-way, as well as the names and addresses of “all affected property owners in the county.”
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