Pleasant Prairie reaches water pipeline agreement with We Energies
PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. - Pleasant Prairie and We Energies announced an "in-place abandonment" agreement for water pipelines after a coal-fired power plant was demolished Saturday, Aug. 6.
The power plant was in operation from 1976 to 2018, and We Energies began decommissioning the site in 2020. Throughout the abandonment process, the village said, the two parties worked on a plan to address the pipelines, which connected the former plant to Lake Michigan.
On Aug. 8, the village board approved the agreement to abandon three water pipelines in place, including:
- An original 30-inch intake line that was shut down in 1988
- A replacement 30-inch intake line that was in use until 2018
- An 18-inch line that was used intermittently to discharge rainwater after the plant was shut down
Instead of filling the lines with slurry, We Energies provided an alternative pipeline abandonment plan to Pleasant Prairie. The agreement allows We Energies to abandon the waterlines without fill or removal.
"The village plans to remove the abandoned water pipelines as needed," said Jean Werbie-Harris, Pleasant Prairie community development director. "The water lines are well constructed and not at risk of failure, which gives the village sufficient time to approach the project cost-effectively."
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We Energies will make a one-time payment to the village of Pleasant Prairie, totaling $412,500. The village will assume ownership and responsibility for the portions of retired pipelines within the public right of way.
Additionally, the agreement states We Energies will retain responsibility and obligations for the sections of retired waterlines within private property, per the village.