Surface-use agreements between 21 landowners and Kinder Morgan must be signed before the CO2 company can install 10 miles of new power lines west of Pleasant View, the Montezuma County commission ruled 3-0 Monday.

During an hour-and-a-half public hearing, several residents and farmers expressed concerns that the lines would disrupt farming operations and cause visual blight.

The board contemplated requiring the lines be buried but backed off, and approved the transmission line plan contingent on completed surface agreements with affected landowners.

"It weighs heavy on my mind that not all agreements have been signed," said commissioner Larry Don Suckla.

"Those agreements need to be in pocket to the satisfaction of the landowner," said commissioner Keenan Ertel.

Kinder Morgan plans to install a private, 115-kilovolt distribution line that starts at compressor station at County Road BB and 8, runs east along County Road CC, then south and west along County Road 10.

A smaller-voltage line would connect to cluster facility two miles to the southwest on CR BB.

The additional lines are needed to provide power for three new cluster facilities to be built in the area. The cluster units extract water from the CO2 gas when it arrives from the wellhead. The CO2 is then sent to compression stations and into the main pipeline.

"Our design team took the least impactful route for the transmission lines," said Matt Ammerman, a Kinder Morgan facilities engineer.

It was explained that the less-than-direct route to the three new cluster stations is due to a steep canyon and BLM terrain. The project borders Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, which is avoided by Kinder Morgan because of more extensive, time-consuming permit requirements.

KM approached Empire Electric to provide the additional power, but an agreement could not be worked out, so they decided to install the lines themselves.

"We would have had to pay 95 percent of construction (with Empire), and they wanted to charge us a retail rate, which is double our usual industrial rate," Ammerman said. "We went with our own plan."

Landowners pushed for the line to be buried. Farmers said that if it goes above ground, more accommodation is needed to keep poles out of the way of crop production.

"Kinder Morgan has a market value of $42 billion. They can afford the costs of going underground," said resident Jo Shane. "This is an agricultural community that needs protection."

Farmers Joe Lanier and Travis Daves said the poles need to be positioned so they don't disrupt irrigation.

"They need to adjust poles to avoid my center pivot and not shorten my field," Daves said, adding that long-term plans from the company need more light of day.

"The bigger picture here is that they are purchasing land to put a power plant on so they can run their own power."

Joe Lanier said it was unfair to make him cut back his field for the new lines.

"I'd prefer them to go underground," he said. "They told me I had cut off my center pivot to allow for their poles."

Daves was critical of the private status of the new lines.

"We won't have access to that power," he said. "There are multiple new wells and pipelines going in. This expansion is happening real fast."

Landowner Jim Farrier will have the new power line go through the middle of his property. He is urging the county to slow down and create a long-range impact study for Kinder Morgan expansion.

"It is very piecemeal right now. It needs a more comprehensive look so residents know what to expect," he said.

Landowner Lynn Anderson agreed.

"We need the economic development, but let's not burn down the house to stay warm," she said. "Let's not ruin historic farm use for oil-and-gas which is temporary. When its all gone, we will be left with eyesores."

In a comment letter, Sue Dusenberry was concerned about the loss of beauty in the area.

"I don't think it is too much to minimize the visual impact they will make to our scenery," she wrote. "We paid extra to put lines underground on our property, so why can't they?"

Kinder Morgan said designers will map out poles to avoid agricultural disruption.

"We will space the poles so they are not in the way of the pivot and pay damages for cropland disruption," Ammerman said. "The expansion might appear fragmented, but it is part of an overall development. The compression stations only work if the clusters are online and they need adequate utilities."

The poles will be on private land, just beyond the county road 60-foot right of way. Officials stated that Kinder Morgan has legal rights for the installation of facilities on private land, such as transmission lines, to extract underground minerals they lease.

Once surface-use agreements are in place, construction of the new transmission lines is expected to take 4-5 months. Kinder Morgan plans to install 18 new wells in the Cow Canyon field near Pleasant View over the next several years. So far seven have been permitted.

jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com