Several hundred Sterling residents could finally get hooked up to natural gas later this year.
Enstar is hoping to hook up an additional 750 lots later this summer, says the company’s Director of Business Development, John Sims.
“The pipeline itself, in Sterling, is going to be running south along Swanson River Road to Scout Lake Road, extending down Husky Street to the banks of the Kenai River.”
Enstar has submitted a plan to the Department of Natural Resources to install a plastic pipeline underneath the Kenai River at that point.
“It’s about a 1,000 foot bore underneath the Kenai River. And once we’re done with that, we look at installing about 13,000 feet of six-inch plastic (pipe) that will distribute gas to about 750 lots across the river.”
He says the plan is to be done with the project by August. Lot owners in the area are working to get special assessment districts drawn up.
“Currently the lot owners are working on two separate utility special assessment districts; one on the east side, one is on the west side after we’ve crossed the river. The east side USAD is about 10.5 miles of distribution pipe. And then on the west side is about another 10 miles.”
He says they plan on having the work under the Kenai completed before anglers hit the river.
Public comments are being accepted by the Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land and Water through February 10th.
Shaylon Cochran is a host and reporter at KDLL in Kenai. He’s reported on fishing, energy, agriculture and local politics since coming to Alaska in 2011. He has worked at KDLL/KBBI on the Kenai Peninsula, where he picked up lots of new hobbies, like smoking salmon, raising chickens, skiing and counting RV’s. He holds a bachelors degree in Journalism from Iowa State University.
