About 20 people attended a public open house in Headingley on Dec. 17 to learn about a proposed Manitoba Hydro natural gas pipeline project.

"What we were presenting was the location of the proposed pipeline," said Trevor Joyal, an environment specialist with Manitoba Hydro.

 
Joyal said approximately 200 landowners were notified about the hearing and the response was generally positive.

The project will consist of 17 kilometres of steel pipe and six kilometres of plastic pipe running west from an existing gate station for pressure regulation in the RM of Rosser into the RM of St. Francois Xavier. A new gate station is to be built on Boivin Road, and the pipeline will head south toward Highway 1 and east into the RM of Headingley, where it will connect with an existing pipeline.

Joyal said the project is part of Manitoba Hydro’s 20-year plan for future expansion and will meet the growing demand for natural gas service in Headingley and St. Francois Xavier.
Although only a short section of the pipeline will be located within the RM of Rosser, reeve Frances Smee said the adjacent Sturgeon Creek Hutterite colony could be interested in hooking up to it.

"There’s a potential benefit for Rosser certainly," she said.

Joyal said most of the pipeline will be buried on municipal roadside right-of-ways, but the route includes four sections of privately-owned land.  Negotiations to acquire the necessary land have already begun.

The project requires a Class 2 licence under Manitoba’s Environment Act. An environmental assessment is underway and the results will be reviewed by Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship.  

Manitoba Hydro is hoping to begin construction of the pipeline next May and complete it by September.