A second natural gas pipeline through Lebanon Hills Regional Park is looking more like a reality after a Dakota County Board committee signed off unanimously on plans for the $50 million project Tuesday.

The Physical Development Committee, made up of all board members, directed staff to draft an agreement with Northern Natural Gas, the Nebraska company behind the pipeline project.

The 20-inch pipeline will run nearly 8 miles between Rosemount and Xcel Energy's Black Dog power plant in Burnsville, and will be built within an existing easement that Northern Natural Gas is already using for another pipeline. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2017.

The pipeline is part of the Black Dog plant's conversion from coal to natural gas — a change that Commissioner Tom Egan called "a terrific social benefit" at Tuesday's meeting.

But some locals have raised environmental concerns about the addition of a second pipeline, which would cut through the park's "preserve zone" — an area of high ecological diversity — and affect more than 400 landowners.

Eagan resident Holly Jenkins said she's encouraging locals to submit concerns to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which will receive a formal application from Northern Natural Gas in June.

Residents and representatives from Clean Water Action have asked for alternate pipeline routes to be considered. Northern Natural Gas said it examined other routes and found they're more invasive than the existing option, although Jenkins said she hasn't seen evidence of that.

"We haven't seen anything in writing," she said. "If that's the only option, then we're certainly thankful for the efforts that have been made to minimize the impact."

Northern Natural Gas' presence in the south metro predates Lebanon Hills. The company has operated a pipeline along the existing route since the 1930s.

The company plans to install the bulk of the new pipeline by boring underground, rather than the more invasive method of digging from above. The company has also pledged to plant native trees, shrubs and other plants after construction is done.

"At the end of the day, just like a good Boy Scout or Girl Scout, we [will] leave the park in better condition than we found it," Northern's External Affairs Director Mike Loeffler said.

Commissioners applauded those efforts Tuesday.

"I have to say … I am feeling a lot better about this whole aspect of what's going to happen in the park," said board Chairwoman Nancy Schouweiler. "It's not an ideal situation for a park, but as you said, you were there first."

Emma Nelson • 952-746-3287