Mulch a benefit of pipeline work

Allen County Landfill has a growing pile of chopped wood mulch, free for the taking.
“We’ll even load it up for people,” Bill King, director of Public Works, told commissioners Tuesday morning. “They bring out a pickup loaded with trash, we’ll fill up the truck with mulch when they leave.”
The mulch is from brush a crew is clearing in what will be the pathway for the new 36-inch Enbridge crude oil pipeline through Allen and adjoining counties.
“They’re cutting up in Linn and northern Bourbon County right now,” King said, which is resulting in a couple of loads a day of both mulch and tree limbs being carried to the landfill.
Limbs will be burned periodically, as will what mulch isn’t claimed by area residents.
King anticipates daily hauls to the landfill will increase when the crew gets closer and the disposal journeys aren’t so long.
U.S. Pipeline will put down the Enbridge line, which is expected to cost $3.2 billion in construction over the 600 miles from Flanagan, Ill., to Cushing, Okla., where there is a massive storage facility. Once oil arrives there, from fields in Montana, the Dakotas and western Canada, it will be redirected to refineries.
To date, King said Enbridge and companies working with it had gone out of their way to be cordial.
“They’ve kept us on top of what they plan to do and when,” he said.
When pipeline construction reaches Allen County, King will monitor cuts of rock roads and borings under hard-surfaced thoroughfares. Also, the pipeline will be taken under creeks and the Neosho River, just north of the U.S. 169 bridge north of Chanute.
Construction of the pipeline will have security issues. Enbridge officials told the Register earlier that the company wanted to ensure that onlookers, welcome at a distance, would be safe from heavy equipment.
Also, the company wants to keep resources secure. Area law enforcement officers have been contacted by a security company that is putting together a detail to watch over construction zones, day and night.

KING noted four miles of hard-surfaced Delaware Road, starting five miles east of Humboldt at what popularly is known as the Zillah Curve is being turned to a rock road.
That is the first stage of rebuilding the road — scheduled for 2014 — after large portions were damaged by heavy traffic and became safety hazards. The four miles currently have a load limit of 15 tons, which will be lifted later this year, and speed is limited to 45 miles an hour, which will remain in effect until it is rebuilt.
Ron Holeman, courthouse maintenance supervisor, received permission to plant six trees this fall, to replace ones that were removed because of disease or storm damage.

COMMISSIONER Jim Talkington wondered if the county and Iola, both of which have self-financed health insurance plans for employees, might be better served if they formed a pool.
Carl Slaugh, Iola administrator, said if would be worth “looking to see if there would be advantages.”
He said Iola’s total cost for its plan decreased 6 percent last year, because of fewer claims, and at this point it appeared reduction in cost might be greater for 2013.
During the conversation, it was mentioned that having all public entities in the county, including the hospital, in a health insurance pool might result in savings.
No specific plans for pursuing the idea occurred, however.