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Council Makes Pre-Emptive Vote Against Pipeline Plan

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By MARK HOLAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2008

TAMPA - In a symbolic vote Thursday, the Tampa City Council joined the chorus of opposition to a proposed jet fuel pipeline through central city neighborhoods.
Councilman John Dingfelder said the move would "drive a stake" through the proposal.

The 5-1 vote comes as airline officials reassess the $25 million project.

In April, Houston pipeline company Kinder Morgan announced plans for a 9-mile underground pipeline to Tampa International Airport from Hooker's Point, southeast of downtown.

A consortium of airlines at TIA called for the pipeline to supplement the 36-year-old underground line along West Shore Boulevard from Port Tampa, near MacDill Air Force Base.

Residents of neighborhoods potentially affected by the proposed pipeline, including Tampa Heights, Macfarlane Park and the historical districts in Ybor City and West Tampa, have protested through telephone calls, e-mail and petitions.

They worry about streets ripped up by construction and pipeline ruptures or explosions.

"I think there will be a lot of residents in East Tampa and West Tampa that will sleep a little better tonight," said former Councilman Bob Buckhorn, a public affairs consultant who has helped guide the opposition as a representative of Tampa Pipeline Corp., which owns the existing pipeline.

TIA spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said it could be months before the airlines make a new proposal.

"They have stepped back and they are taking a breather," she said Thursday after airport officials contacted the Southwest Airlines executive who leads the consortium.

Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Emily Mir Thompson said in an e-mail that the company is working to increase its storage capacity at Hooker's Point and "continues to evaluate alternative routes for a proposed pipeline project" to TIA.

In April, the company said it wanted to boost capacity by about 45 percent to 16.2 million gallons.

One potential alternative to a second pipeline would be to truck fuel to the airport. Buckhorn said that wouldn't be economically viable against the existing pipeline, which isn't operating at capacity.

The proposed pipeline requires a franchise agreement with the city for right of way. The deal would be negotiated by Mayor Pam Iorio's staff and voted on by the council.

Councilwoman Mary Mulhern proposed Thursday's resolution after city attorneys told the council it can't appoint a panel to monitor the negotiations.

Mulhern's resolution requires any pipeline project to benefit local public interests.

Councilman Joseph Caetano voted against the resolution, saying afterward that he opposes the process of restricting a proposal before it comes before the council.

Councilman Charlie Miranda, who represents West Tampa neighborhoods, was absent.

Reporter Mark Holan can be reached at (813) 835-2102 or mholan@tampatrib.com.

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