TPWD: March 28, 2013 Commission Meeting Agenda

March 27-28, 2013, Commission Meeting Agenda

Work Session

Commission Agenda Items

Item 2
Item 3
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Item 5
Item 6
Item 7
Item 8 — WITHDRAWN
Item 9
Item 10
Item 11

Commission Agenda Item No. 9
Presenter: Ted Hollingsworth

Action
Request for Pipeline Easement – El Paso County
0.55 Acres Plus 1.77 Acres in Temporary Work Spaces
Transmission Pipeline at Franklin Mountains State Park
March 28, 2013

I. Executive Summary: Magellan Pipeline Company, L.P. requests an easement to install a fuel transmission pipeline at Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso County. II. Discussion: Magellan Pipeline Company L.P. (Magellan) proposes to construct an eight inch (8”) diameter pipeline to transport refined diesel and potentially other fuels, 36.7 miles from its existing pipeline terminal at El Paso Junction, to a rail yard facility near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Two-tenths of a mile (0.2 mile) of the route is proposed to cross the northeast corner of Franklin Mountains State Park, adjacent to an existing pipeline corridor. As negotiated with TPWD staff, the permanent new easement would be twenty feet (20’) wide, with temporary workspace of up to 65’ in width adjacent to the new easement to be made available to Magellan for pipeline installation upon coordination with park and natural resource staff. Installation will be by conventional open trench. The size, location, and access to the project area are designed to minimize impacts to the state park. Magellan will pay damage and easement fees consistent with those in the most recent “TPWD Damage of Fee Schedule.” III. Recommendation: The staff recommends the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopt the following motion: “The Commission adopts the Resolution attached as Exhibit A.”

Attachments – 5

Exhibit A – Resolution
Exhibit B – Location Map
Exhibit C – Vicinity Map
Exhibit D – Site Map
Exhibit E – Detail Map

Commission Agenda Item No. 9
Exhibit A

A Resolution by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Regarding the Granting of an Easement Covering Approximately 0.55 Acres of Real Property and 1.77 acres of Temporary Workspace in El Paso County for a Fuel Transmission Pipeline Crossing Franklin Mountains State Park

Whereas, Magellan Pipeline Company L.P. (Magellan) proposed to construct a 36.7 mile long pipeline for delivering refined fuels from its El Paso Junction terminal to a rail yard facility near Santa Rosa, New Mexico; and,

Whereas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) owns and operates Franklin Mountains State Park for a variety of recreation and conservation values, including conservation of desert ecosystem and preservation of the rich aesthetic and biological diversity of the Franklin Mountains; and,

Whereas, Magellan has requested a permanent twenty-foot wide easement occupying 0.55 acres and approximately 1.77 acres of temporary workspaces adjacent to an existing City of El Paso easement that clips the northwest corner of the park (the Easement); and, Whereas, Magellan plans to construct a single eight inch (8”) diameter pipeline to transport refined diesel and potentially other fuels within the easement; and,

Whereas, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (the Commission) finds that as required by Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 26, notices of today’s hearing of this matter were published at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in newspapers of general circulation which are published at least six days a week in the communities nearest to the state park in which such newspapers are published (the El Paso Times in El Paso County), with the last day of publication being not less than one week or more than two weeks before the date of today’s hearing; and,

Whereas, staff of TPWD have worked with Magellan to plan a route and construction methodologies that minimize temporary and permanent impacts to the natural and cultural resources of the state park and state park operations; and,

Whereas, Magellan has agreed to compensate TPWD for damages and for the Easement, consistent with the current TPWD Damage and Fee Schedule; and,

Whereas, TPWD staff believe that alternative routes and installation methods for the pipeline are likely to result in greater net impact to the state’s fish and wildlife resources, and therefore granting of an Easement to Magellan is not inconsistent with the mission of TPWD; and,

Whereas, the Commission finds, in accordance with Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 26, that (1) there is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use or taking of such land (Easement); (2) the program or project that requires the use or taking of land (Easement) includes all reasonable planning to minimize harm to the land (Easement); and,

Whereas, the Commission finds, in accordance with Section 13.009 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code that conveyance of the Easement subject to conditions that will minimize the overall impacts of the Easement on the state park is in the best interest of TPWD; and,

Now, therefore, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission authorizes the Executive Director to take all necessary steps to negotiate terms and conditions under which an Easement may be granted, and to grant an Easement to Magellan Pipeline Company L.P. for the purposes and subject to the conditions described herein and in the motion approved in this Resolution.

Adopted and approved this 28th day of March 2013.

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T. Dan Friedkin, Chairman

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Ralph H. Duggins, Vice-Chairman

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Antonio Falcon, M.D., Member

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Karen J. Hixon, Member

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Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., Member

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Bill Jones, Member

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Margaret Martin, Member

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S. Reed Morian, Member

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Dick Scott, Member

Commission Agenda Item No. 9
Exhibit B

Location of Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso County