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DTE seeks easements at Delta County fairgrounds to reroute gas lines for MDOT project; board delays decision
Summary
DTE told commissioners it must relocate high-pressure and distribution gas lines for MDOT’s US‑2 reconstruction and requested a 20-by-30-foot SRT site and a 10-foot pipeline easement on fairgrounds property; the board asked staff to prepare easement language and deferred action to the next meeting.
DTE representatives told the Delta County Board of Commissioners on April 21 that a planned MDOT reconstruction of U.S. 2 requires relocating several high-pressure steel and distribution gas lines, and asked the board to approve easements on fairgrounds property to site a pressure-regulation station and a distribution corridor.
Chris Hackbarth, DTE’s regional manager for Northern Michigan, said the MDOT project requires utilities within the footprint to move assets. His presentation described phased work starting in spring: a high-pressure steel replacement phase and separate distribution relocations. DTE asked for a roughly 20-by-30-foot easement to place an SRT (station regulation/transition) and a 10-foot-wide corridor to run distribution piping along the western edge of the fairgrounds to tie into existing piping on 14th Avenue.
Matt Logan, DTE public-improvement coordinator, and Tim Wolf, design vendor from Waitrium, explained the plan seeks to keep high-pressure steel off fairgrounds property and place only distribution-pressure piping within the fairgrounds footprint. DTE said work would be coordinated with the city, MDOT, county building committee and fairgrounds staff; Miller Pipeline is the identified installer. DTE representatives estimated construction phases to run from May through the remainder of the year, with some work scheduled after fair season to avoid conflicts.
Several commissioners raised concerns about specific easement language that would allow grantees to remove structures, vegetation or buildings. County staff and DTE agreed the land-division team would refine legal descriptions and revise easement language to require communication with county administration before any removals. Commissioners also asked for comparative routing options and confirmation that the SRT location avoids future MDOT work.
The board did not approve the easement at the meeting. Commissioners asked administration to prepare draft easement documents and return the item at the next meeting so the board can review language and technical plans in the packet prior to making a decision.
Why it matters: The easement would allow DTE to reroute gas infrastructure off US‑2 to accommodate MDOT’s reconstruction and protect access and safety, but it places county property — including fairgrounds operations — into the chain of future utility maintenance and access that commissioners wanted clearly limited by easement terms.
What’s next: County administration will work with DTE’s land staff to draft easement descriptions and language addressing county concerns and include the documents in the next meeting packet for formal consideration.
