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Project Description for Harvester Development

Jasper and Marshall Counties, IA

Consumers Energy received approval from Jenson Design Group to proceed with the natural gas facilities in February of 2000 after going through a bid process with at least one other natural gas utility. Jenson Design is the owner of The Harvester Development.

In order to meet the requirements of the project, Consumers Energy contracted with Midwest United Energy (MUE), which is a natural gas engineering and project management company headquartered in Colorado with operations in several Midwestern States. The contract with MUE was to construct 10.3 miles of 6", 3.4 miles of 4" and 1.3 miles of 2" polyethylene pipe (PE) to serve The Harvester Development and several homes along the route. Consumers Energy took over ownership and operation in January 2001.

The 10.3 miles of 6" PE (transmission) starts at the Northern Natural Gas (NNG) Mingo, Iowa, Town Border Station (TBS) in Jasper County and terminates at the district regulator station serving The Harvester in Marshall County. The construction began on September 25, 2000, and was completed on November 2, 2000. In addition to the PE pipeline, approximately 40' of 2" Grade B seamless Schedule 80 steel pipe and a regulator station were also constructed inside Northern Natural Gas (NNG) Mingo TBS.

The 3.4 miles of 4" PE starts at the district regulator station at Tthe Harvester and parallels Highway 330, 330th Street, Carver Avenue, McCormick Avenue and terminates at 340th Street. There are 4" and 2" laterals installed on the road leading to the planned club house, 2" laterals installed on the Diamond Grove Circle, Tuskegee Circle, Virginia Circle, Rockbridge Circle and Raphine Circle. The construction began on July 10, 2000, and was completed on October 21, 2000.

The 6", 4" and 2" pipeline system was purged and filled on November 1, 2000.

Pipeline Safety

According to Department of Transportation and Iowa Utility Board (IUB) codes, it is mandatory that Consumers Energy have an Operation and Maintenance Plan in place to operate natural gas systems. This plan provides operating and safety guidelines to insure a reliable and safe natural gas system. Components of this plan are scheduled operating and maintenance activities (i.e. line patrols, leak surveys, regulator maintenance, odorization and equipment calibration, etc.), emergency procedures (i.e. line hits, gas or carbon monoxide calls, training, public education, etc.), and construction practices (i.e. pipe installation, material handling, inspection, etc.). These plans are reviewed annually with employees of the company. In addition, the Iowa Utility Board conducts an annual inspection of the records and natural gas facilities.