Western Pettis County, northern Benton to get natural gas line

Residents around Green Ridge, Cole Camp, Lincoln and Warsaw will have the option to connect to a new natural gas line that Missouri Gas Utility Inc. is installing this summer.

Missouri Gas Utility plans to start constructing the main distribution line June 1 to serve parts of Pettis and Benton counties, where propane has been the only gas option for years. The company intends to install a 40-mile main distribution line through western Pettis County into northern Benton County, District Manager Bret Brown said.

Green Ridge Mayor Allan Rohrbach said the utility company will begin laying the pipe at the tap just north of Green Ridge and connect to an old pipe near La Monte. Rohrbach said “we have been all propane forever,” and the community is excited about the prospect of adding alternative gas options for its residents.

“With the new line, they can maybe get a cheaper source of energy, or at least have an alternative,” Rohrbach said.

Brown said Missouri Gas Utility also is proposing to connect anyone near the main line to the natural gas source without charge.

“Anyone that is within 200 feet of our gas main, both residents and businesses, we will run them a service line for free,” Brown said.

The company, with headquarters in Colorado and a regional office in Hamilton, is also working with the Public Service Commission on the possibility of converting appliances free of charge once the line is completed.

Missouri Gas Utility primarily serves areas in northwestern Missouri and Colorado. The company recently started investigating areas in Missouri that did not have natural gas, before deciding to construct a line in Pettis and Benton counties.

Rohrbach said the company approached him last summer seeking approval for the construction project. He said the city approved a franchise agreement in order to open up alternative energy sources for its residents.

The company is still required to receive permits for crossing the Katy Trail and going under railroads, along with other construction permits from Pettis and Benton county commissions, the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Corps of Engineers. But Brown said the permit process has been going smoothly and should not delay the project.

“All of the agencies have been great to work with, and we feel certain we’ll get work started by June 1,” Brown said.

Pettis County Presiding Commissioner Rusty Kahrs said the natural gas main is a “good thing for the folks who live along the route.”

He expects the commissioners to issue a permit once they see the final project plans. If the proposal meets all guidelines and specifications, there should be no delays in the start of construction.

“This is one more company that is seeing a value in Pettis County, and they are willing to make an investment in our community,” Kahrs said.

Construction work is projected to be completed by Sept. 15, and Brown said the goal is to have the line ready for service in most areas by Nov. 15.

Missouri Gas Utility will divide the project into three zones. The company will hire separate contractors to work in each zone in order to speed up the large undertaking, Brown said. Two of the sections should be ready by November, but he said work is expected to continue around Warsaw until the summer of 2010.

“Any time you have people coming in to lay pipe, it is going to be a little disruptive,” Rohrbach said. “But I really don’t think it is going to be that big of a disruption.”