Budget would fund Funny River pipeline

The capital budget recently approved by the Alaska Legislature includes a $1.3 million line item for a small natural gas pipeline to the Southcentral community of Funny River.

The money would fund a six-inch plastic pipeline running some 13,500 feet from an existing Enstar Natural Gas Co. pipeline to the unincorporated Kenai Peninsula Borough community. The right of way would require a 1,100-foot bore under the Kenai River.

The Funny River area is home to some 928 people, according to 2012 figures from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. The area started as a homesteading community with a bulldozed trail connecting to Soldotna.

Enstar would build and operate the small pipeline. Access to natural gas would lower home heating costs by 50 to 75 percent, according to estimates from the community.

The line item still needs approval from Gov. Sean Parnell. The project would likely come online in 2014, if approved, and would require some utility special assessment districts after construction before customers would receive gas, Enstar told Petroleum News.

—Eric Lidji