Utah rezoning advances Ruby project

El Paso’s proposed Ruby pipeline project has taken a step forward in the wake of the Cache County (Utah) Council’s approved a required rezoning for part of the planned route. The $3-billion project calls for the construction of a 42-in. pipeline that would run 680 miles from Wyoming to Oregon, via Utah and Nevada. Eighteen miles will traverse southern Cache County farmland, with Avon and Paradise being the communities closest. The council voted 6-1 in favor of a utility overlay zone allowing the pipe to run through the primarily agricultural area. According to a report in the Herald Journal (Utah), El Paso has paid property owners for the land the line will cross. Current plans call for a 2010 construction start and an early 2011 completion.