Nederland approves Keystone road access issue

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November 21, 2012

Nederland approves Keystone road access issue

Mary Meaux The Port Arthur News The Port Arthur News Wed Nov 21, 2012, 10:42 AM CST

NEDERLAND — Nederland City Council has approved a temporary road access agreement with Keystone Pipeline Co. for a segment of the 1,700-mile pipeline which ends at Sunoco.

Representatives of Keystone, Sunoco and the city of Nederland have been in discussions for the past few months about the road near a Kansas City Southern Railroad crossing, which is near the city’s old landfill off Twin City Highway.

“This will allow them to utilize a crossing in order to do the installation project,” Nederland City Manager Chris Duque said.

Duque explained in a phone call that the reason council was involved is that the road is private and the crossing is designated for city use.

Judah Lopez, Keystone pipeline permit specialist, was on hand during a recent council meeting to speak on the topic. He told the council of Keystone’s intent to do improvements on the crossing.

Improvements will be needed, according to the city’s Director of Public Works Steve Hamilton, to handle 80-foot joints of pipe that will be coming in.

And while Keystone must now deal with KCS about a portion of the issue, the city is looking into tax issues related to the project.

Nederland has an in-lieu-of contract with Sunoco but a portion of the project is actually owned by Keystone Pipeline, not Sunoco.

“It’s a complicated issue we have to address since our industrial contact is with Sunoco, not with Keystone,” Duque said. “We are talking to people at Sunoco about this and we hope to reach a fair and equitable solution.”

E-mail: mmeaux@panews.com

Twitter: MaryMeauxPANews

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Nederland approves Keystone road access issue

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