Northwestern's Pipeline Plan Faces Federal Review
Author: Harley Robertson, Boulder Monitor
Northwestern's Pipeline Plan Faces Federal Review
Harley Robertson
Boulder Monitor
This article was originally published in the Boulder Monitor Online on June 17, 2025. It is published here courtesy of the Boulder Monitor.
https://www.boulder-monitor.com/features/northwestern-pipeline-plan-faces-federal-review/article_68f82a51-4a01-4a57-80a7-62fd853d29b9.html
An expedited federal review of NorthWestern Energy’s (NWE) proposed 74-mile gas pipeline likely to cut through northeast Jefferson County and East Helena’s new Prickly Pear Park is expected to be released next week.
Running from Helena to Three Forks, the project aims to help NWE boost capacity to meet growing demand and reduce costs to customers, according to NWE media contact Jo Dee Black. NWE’s nearly 40 percent price increase for electricity, from around $91 in mid-2022 to a proposed $127 next month, has already prompted considerable pushback in Montana in recent weeks.
According to a preliminary Bureau of Land Management report, the pipeline will begin in East Helena, then pass through Jefferson County northeast of Montana City before entering Broadwater County west of US Highway 12, turning west just south of Townsend and ending up in Gallatin County east of Three Forks. Black said the exact route will be finalized once the project has gained all the necessary approvals.
Set to start in 2027 and finish in three years, construction will require NWE to acquire easements from cities, landowners, the BLM and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to Black. Currently, BLM is working on an expedited environmental assessment of the project, which it expects to complete June 24.
The expedited assessment comes after President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14156, which declared a National Energy Emergency, and a corresponding memorandum from the Department of the Interior on Apr. 23 outlining an “alternative National Environmental Policy Act compliance process to allow for more concise documents and a compressed timeline.”
The BLM must environmentally assess the project because the pipeline would go through approximately 7.2 miles of BLM-administered land to the west and northwest of Townsend, as well as 1.6 miles of land held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The BLM must assess how vegetation, soils, certain animal species, scenic qualities of the environment, and whether the BLM’s ability to operate would be impacted by the project before permitting construction on their land.
A specialist who has worked on similar pipeline projects in Montana said the environmental impact of a natural gas pipeline tends to be minimal, and that most people would never notice its presence. There is possible concern of weeds spreading because of disturbed soil, but companies that build pipelines often work with landowners to renew disturbed areas in accordance with the owner’s wishes.
According to BLM media contact Brittany Jones, the pipeline would be built within an existing utility corridor on the 8.8 miles of federal land to minimize ecological disruption and ground disturbance, with its centerline built 75 feet from the centerline of the existing Yellowstone Pipeline. BLM’s preliminary assessment document indicates that most of the pipeline on non-federal lands would follow a similar path along the Yellowstone Pipeline. Nearly all of those non-federal lands, accounting for 64 miles of the proposed pipeline’s total length, are privately owned, meaning easements would be needed for each residence.
The pipeline would cross under multiple bodies of water including Indian Creek on BLM land, the Gallatin and Missouri Rivers, and four smaller tributaries. For those crossings, horizontal directional drilling will be utilized to limit disturbances on the surface, according to BLM’s preliminary report. Horizontal directional drilling allows pipes to be installed without digging trenches along an arced bore pathway.
The report also states that existing roads and trails would be utilized wherever possible on non-federal lands and only minor delays are anticipated because of construction traffic. The pipeline would also pass through Prickly Pear Park, where construction methods would be tailored to the park’s unique terrain and environmental features, according to Black. Horizontal directional drilling might be used in the park where needed and access to the park may be temporarily limited at some points during construction, she said.
In a statement to the Monitor, Black assured that the company was considering environmental impact carefully. “As with all our infrastructure projects, this work is guided by environmental and cultural resource studies, stormwater management plans, and a strong commitment to preserving the character and integrity of each location along the route,” she wrote.
For more details on the new pipeline, visit https://www.northwesternenergy.com/about-us/our-projects/helena-to-three-forks-pipeline-project.
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