Pipeline company suing county oevr pumping station

A Canadian pipeline company is suing McHenry County in federal court, alleging the county board acted illegally earlier this week by blocking its plans to construct an oil pumping station.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, asks a federal judge to grant an injunction barring the county from interfering with Enbridge Energy Co.'s plans to build the station in Seneca Township, west of Woodstock.

Enbridge filed the litigation less than 24 hours after the McHenry County Board voted 13-9 Tuesday night against granting the company a permit to build the pumping station on its 21-acre site near Franklinville and Gee roads.

Officials with the Calgary-based company say the station is necessary to increase capacity along an existing pipeline that delivers Canadian crude oil to refineries south of Chicago.

The plan, however, met outspoken resistance from nearby residents, who feared it would increase chances of a pipeline leak that would contaminate surrounding soil and groundwater supplies.

Enbridge officials called those fears unfounded, saying their plan included the addition of a retention area that could hold more than 60,000 barrels of oil should a leak occur.

"We did everything feasible to enhance the safety out there," Enbridge spokeswoman Denise Hamsher said. "The risk is minimal; as close to zero as you can get."

The lawsuit claims county officials overstepped their legal bounds by denying the permit because of safety concerns. Federal rules, the lawsuit states, prevent counties from regulating the safety of interstate pipelines.

"They went far beyond the federal regulations," Hamsher said. "We would have preferred to work with the county on this. It's too bad we had to resort to having this in the courts."

McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi said his office is reviewing Enbridge's claims as well as county board minutes from Tuesday night.

"The question will be was it denied because of safety or based on some other factors," Bianchi said.

The county has until Oct. 11 to formally respond to the lawsuit.