County continues to review pipeline ordinance

     Jones County Land Use Administrator Whitney Amos and County Attorney Kristofer Lyons met with the Jones County Supervisors during the March 12 board meeting to further discuss a countywide pipeline ordinance.

   Jones County Planning and Zoning Commission has been working on the ordinance for some time now.

   The draft ordinance proposed by P&Z includes a quarter-mile setback rule for all pipelines constructed, not just CO2 pipelines.

   Supervisor Jeff Swisher informed his fellow supervisors that the Iowa Legislature is working on a bill that would make all counties' pipeline ordinances "null and void."

   Supervisor Ned Rohwedder said the quarter-mile setback makes it "almost impossible" for pipeline companies to come into Jones County and build. He said a half-mile "makes it impossible." He'd like to see maps showing a 1,000-foot and 6,600-foot (an eighth of a mile) setback.

   "If we make it very difficult for the companies to find a route through Jones County, we have no (court) cases to stand on," explained Rohwedder.

   Supervisor Joe Oswald asked if P&Z considered two different setbacks for the rural and urban parts of the county, the less populated and more populated areas.

   "P&A wanted this to be uniform," offered Lyons. "The original draft had a 2-mile setback for the cities and 6,600 feet in the rural areas."

   "From an emergency standpoint," added Oswald, "you'll have more issues in the more populated areas versus the rural areas. But, all lives are important here."

   "Your rural areas would have less of an impact because of the population concentration," said Lyons.

   Swisher asked Lyons if other counties' pipeline ordinances were under litigation at all. Lyons said he honestly has a hard time recommending the board adopt the ordinance when other counties are being taken to court over theirs.

   "But I don't believe there are any pending lawsuits in the Northern District," he said of the District Court system.

   "Regardless we need to keep moving forward on this and be ready versus sitting back and waiting," urged Oswald.

   The board opened the discussion up to public comment. Sherrie Thurston asked how the pipeline ordinance came to be, and the logic behind it.

   "Every county put together their own ordinance," answered Lyons. "But I'm concerned we're singling out the CO2 pipelines. We need to make it clear we're not trying to prohibit that particular use through zoning because it won't legally be upheld (in court)."

   "The science behind CO2 pipeline explosions and gasoline are quite different," said Thurston, citing an NPR article. "We don't want that for our county."

   "We're all on the same page," Oswald said of protecting the residents of Jones County.

   The board said they would review more setback maps and make a determination soon.