Hand County planning panel approves Article 17 amendments, schedules public hearing on hazardous-liquid pipeline setbacks

Hand County Planning & Zoning on the evening approved amendments to Article 17 of the county ordinance that address hazardous-liquid pipelines and directed staff to publish a legal notice and hold a public hearing on Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.

The commission vote to approve the draft amendments and move the item toward a public hearing carried after a motion and second; commissioners present voiced no recorded opposition during the vote. Staff said public notice will be published in the county paper on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15 to satisfy the publication requirement.

Why it matters: the discussion focused on whether the county should adopt a two-mile setback from property lines for certain pipeline facilities and how federal and state regulatory regimes overlap with county zoning authority. The item would amend setback and definition language in Article 17 (hazardous liquid pipelines) and proceed to a public hearing where residents can comment before the full county commission considers the changes.

Public comment and regulatory context

Scott O'Connor, project manager for Summit Carbon Solutions, spoke during public comment and urged the board to review federal and state regulatory requirements governing CO2 and other hazardous-liquid pipelines before finalizing local restrictions. "PHMSA specifically regulates CO2 pipelines through Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 195," O'Connor said, and he listed other federal and state permits and reviews his company has submitted or will submit, including Nationwide Permit 58 and Clean Water Act Section 404 reviews with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Section 10 (Rivers and Harbors Act) and Section 106 (National Historic Preservation Act) coordination, and a joint Section 408/state DNR review. He offered to provide the board a one-page synopsis of the federal docket and to return to Hand County to brief the board and local emergency managers.

O'Connor told the board that most of the county's route negotiations are already completed and that "95% of Hand County has signed and negotiated easements with Summit," adding that, in his account, "77 tracts in this county, 74 are closed with negotiations, fair negotiations, signed easements in Hand County." He said the pipeline design efforts cover multiple pipe sizes and noted the county currently has a small (6-inch) line in place while designs could be larger in some sections.

Board discussion and next steps

Members of the planning panel and staff said they had reviewed a notice of proposed rulemaking from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) released in January 2025 and described it as a proposed document subject to change; one participant noted the proposed PHMSA language references studies and recommended setback distances, but that the rulemaking process could be altered before final action.

Board members and staff clarified the local process: the planning and zoning body approves ordinance language changes, staff publishes the required legal notices in the county newspaper on two consecutive weeks before the hearing, a public hearing is held, and the item then goes to the full county commission for consideration. The board set the public hearing for Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.; staff said notices will be published on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15.

Positions and concerns raised

Summit Carbon Solutions told the board it opposes a two-mile setback included in the draft because the company considers it "overly restrictive," and said dispersion and risk models for CO2 releases depend on pipeline size, weather and topography. Board and public speakers discussed that dispersion modeling can vary with conditions such as wind and temperature and that worst-case scenarios (cold, low wind) produce different distances than average conditions. A member of the public who had previously engaged with state officials observed that expert recommendations are minimums and that local authorities may set larger distances if they choose.

What was decided

The planning panel approved the amended Article 17 language and directed staff to publish notices and schedule the public hearing. The board indicated that additional public input and modifications can be received and considered before the hearing and that final action will follow the public hearing and subsequent full commission review.

Ending

The planning and zoning panel moved the ordinance language forward to a noticed public hearing on Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.; members and staff said the ordinance can be further revised in response to testimony at that hearing. Staff will publish the notice in the county paper on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15, per the county's publication rules.