Surveyors for HF Sinclair fanned out across northern Utah this month as the oil and gas company plans to expand and move a pipeline connecting central Wyoming to Salt Lake City.
“That line … is the Pioneer Pipeline, which travels from Sinclair, Wyoming, to the north Salt Lake terminal,” HF Sinclair Senior Manager for Government and Public Affairs Jeremy Price told Emigration Canyon residents Sept. 15. “We are looking at potential routes to expand this line to add capacity to meet growing demand in the region.”
Sinclair calls it “Project Westline Connect,” and Price said the goal is to use existing pipeline routes wherever possible.
But the Dallas-based company is looking for some new routes to avoid mountainous terrain. Price said Sinclair is communicating with local governments along the way.
“[We are] trying to find areas where we should pay special attention to, whether it's conservation easements or wetlands or navigable waters,” he said. “We see this as a collaborative approach. We want to hear from the public and we want to hear from elected officials and regulators.”
Sinclair told KPCW in a statement Friday it’s in the “evaluation stage,” so the route isn’t final.
According to Summit County Community Development Director Peter Barnes, an existing pipeline route crosses the 910 Ranch, the 8,800-acre property Summit County bought with the help of a $40 million U.S. Forest Service grant and covered with a conservation easement.
“One of the conversations we've had is, rather than follow the easement that directs you through the 910 Cattle Ranch, it would be a lot easier if you paralleled [Interstate] 80 through some of those sections and followed that route,” Barnes said at a Sept. 14 Snyderville Basin Planning Commission meeting.
County civil attorney Lynda Viti told planning commissioners, if Sinclair crosses the 910 Ranch, it could run afoul of the county’s grant agreement.
Barnes said Sinclair is aware the federal government was involved with the ranch acquisition. He added that the company was speaking with the Utah Department of Transportation about the I-80 route this month.
UDOT did not comment in time for this report, and Sinclair did not comment specifically on the progress of those talks.
Sinclair jointly owns the Pioneer Pipeline with Phillips 66, and Phillips is the operator. It moves 60,000 barrels of refined gas per day, and Sinclair wants to expand that to 95,000.
The company says increased demand has increased its reliance on trucking, a less reliable form of transport.
Barnes indicated the county government does not ultimately have a way to veto a new pipeline route. It will play a regulatory role if Sinclair wants the expanded pipe to cross waterways like the Weber River.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
