Plains All American Pipeline LP said Thursday it will press forward with plans to build a 20-inch pipeline to carry crude oil from Cushing, Okla., to Memphis.
But spokesman Brad Leone said the company has yet to finalize the pipeline's route and is still waiting for the permits necessary to begin construction.
"We're moving forward with plans to construct the project," he said, adding that he expects the route to be finalized in a few months.
In a news release, Plains All American said it plans to start construction on the $900 million project next year and expects to finish by late 2016.
The 440-mile line will be designed to carry up to 200,000 barrels per day of light crude from the company's terminal in Cushing to Valero Energy Corp.'s refinery in Memphis. The oil would come from the Permian Basin in Texas and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota.
The Valero refinery produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for eastern Arkansas and Memphis.
The company will need permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arkansas Public Service Commission, Leone said.
A spokesmen for the Public Service Commission could not be reached Thursday for comment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not received permit applications from Plains All American, said Laurie Driver, an agency spokesman.
The Corps of Engineers will need an application to assess the impact the route would have on navigable waterways, Driver said. Each crossing is separately investigated, she said, so the agency needs to know the pipeline's route. Early maps from the company showed at least one Arkansas River crossing.
In March, state wildlife officials said they were concerned about a proposed pipeline route that went across three wildlife management areas: Raft Creek Bottoms, Rex Hancock Black Swamp and Henry Gray Hurricane Lake.
Officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette at the time that the agency wants to prevent damage to wildlife habitats because of construction. They also said they were concerned about the environmental impact of a potential pipeline rupture.
Exxon Mobil's Pegasus pipeline ruptured in Mayflower in March 2013 and spilled tens of thousands of gallons of oil into a residential neighborhood and Lake Conway.
Plains All American is taking steps to make sure the proposed pipeline safely transports crude, Leone said.
"The route will be developed to minimize the impact to the environment during construction and reduce potential threats during operation," the news release said.
The company plans to bury the pipeline deeper than required to decrease the risk of damage by a third party, Leone said.
Plains All American said construction will create about 15 full-time positions along the route of the pipeline and generate about $11 million per year in property tax revenue for the communities along its path.
Business on 08/22/2014