Welcome to Skagit County

October 12th, 2011

New Draft Regulations on Pipeline Safety

SKAGIT COUNTY - On Tuesday, October 4, 2011, the Board of Commissioners asked legal staff to generate a new draft ordinance for pipeline safety that includes the following concepts:

Consultation with pipeline operators at 660 ft from transmission pipelines

Protection of pipeline easements during construction

Title notice for future property owners to understand a pipeline is present

The Board indicated it did not want the following concepts in the ordinance:

No setback requirements

No other dimensional standards or mitigation requirements

No language like "sensitive utility corridor overlay"

The new draft ordinance is now available on the Pipeline Safety Project webpage.

The Board set a public hearing for public comment on the proposal for Monday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the Commissioners Hearing Room located at 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon, and scheduled a decision for Tuesday, November 8 at 10:30 a.m. No previous drafts of the ordinance are under
consideration.

The Board also directed the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management to produce public education materials about pipeline safety and plan for emergency response coordination.
For more information, contact Linda Hammons, Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, at lindah@co.skagit.wa.us or at 360-336-9300.