Oct. 6--HIGHLAND -- Officials are wary of a plan to build a crude oil pipeline beneath Silver Lake, which is Highland's public water supply, but City Manager Mark Latham believes an agreement can be reached with the pipeline developer that will protect the city and its residents.

Keystone Pipeline spokesman Jim Prescott says there is little to be worried about. He says the chance of a leak that would contaminate the lake is remote.

The 2,100-mile Keystone Pipeline would carry crude oil extracted from the tar sands of northeastern Alberta to the ConocoPhillips refinery in Roxana and oil terminals in Oklahoma and Patoka, Ill. Keystone is a partnership of ConocoPhillips, based in Houston, and TransCanada Corp., based in Calgary.

"My concern is in the event there would be a leak and it would get into our water system," Shirley Lodes, a member of the city's planning and zoning board, said recently. "I realize there's a slim chance, but what would happen if it did?"

Councilwoman Peg Bellm said it would be costly to provide clean water to Highland residents and businesses if the supply from the lake were interrupted.

Built by the city in the 1960s, Silver Lake supplies water to Highland's roughly 10,000 residents, and to about 7,000 residents in smaller communities nearby.

Keystone is asking the city for an easement to run the 30-inch pipeline under the northern end of the city-owned lake.

"We know it's the water source for the community," Prescott said. "What we're proposing goes above and beyond safety requirements in the pipeline industry."

Prescott said the pipeline would be parallel to two existing oil pipelines under the lake. He said it would be 45 feet below the lake bed and monitored constantly for changes in pressure or flow that could indicate a leak.

"We can shut it down in a matter of minutes," he said. "Failures are extremely uncommon. It's the safest way to move petroleum products. There are thousands of miles of pipelines all over the country."

As for the existing ones under Silver Lake, Latham said he thought one was constructed at the time the lake was built and is now inactive. The other is in use and was built about six or seven years ago, he said.

Latham said he knew of no problems with those pipelines. He said the city had required the developer of the newer pipeline to post a $10 million surety bond.

Latham said talks were continuing on the proposed pipeline.

He said the city had suggested that Keystone bypass the lake, help the city develop a standby water source or put up a $150 million bond that would compensate the city for expenses incurred because of a leak.

"The ideal situation would be having it moved outside our watershed," but Keystone officials say that is not feasible, Latham said.

Prescott said alternative routes for the pipeline would also have potential environmental consequences.

"What we are proposing here tries to minimize the environmental impact as much as possible," he said.

The Illinois Commerce Commission has authorized eminent domain to obtain easements for the pipeline, but Highland City Attorney John Long has questioned whether public property would be subject to condemnation.

Prescott said Keystone had been acquiring easements for more than a year, and the pipeline is under construction in North Dakota and South Dakota. So far, easements have been acquired without condemnation, he said.

thillig@post-dispatch.com -- 618-624-2526

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