Port of Tampa sets hearing on proposed pipeline

Port of Tampa sets hearing on proposed pipeline The Port of Tampa has scheduled a public hearing 10 a.m., July 3 on a proposed work permit for a natural gas pipeline that would run across Tampa Bay.
   Gulfstream Natural Gas System LLC has requested authorization to lay a 15-mile segment of pipeline that would run from its existing pipeline near Port Manatee to the Progress Energy Bartow plan in eastern Pinellas County.
   The company and its contractor would assemble the 20-inch pipeline on barges and lay it in trenches that are six-to-eight-feet deep. The trenches would then be backfilled so the pipeline would be at least three feet below grade.
   The pipeline would cross four existing ship channels, which would be crossed by using underground horizontal directional drilling techniques. Project planners say the pipeline would be at an adequate depth at those locations to leave room for future channel deepening or widening projects.
   The project has been recommended for approval by the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission and has been deemed consistent with Hillsborough County and City of Tampa comprehensive plants after review by the City-County Planning Commission.
   The port is required to hold a public hearing on the project under the state Marine Construction in Port District law. Permits are still pending with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
   The port's hearing will be held at the Tampa Port Authority building, 1101 Channelside Drive, Tampa.