City and county leaders gathered in Manning Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the completion of a substantial natural gas pipeline expansion. It has been nearly a decade since community leaders identified limited access to natural gas as a potential hindrance to economic growth. Manning Municipal Utilities General Manager, Jeremy Carroll, said the community almost immediately began working to develop a way to increase natural gas availability to their customers. Carroll says they are now only a few weeks away from seeing the project finished.
Carroll added he is proud to say they managed to do all this without utilizing eminent domain. About three more miles of the 10-inch pipeline needs to be laid to connect the 24.2-mile expansion to the utility’s existing infrastructure in Templeton. Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Director, Debi Durham, participated in a ceremonial valve-turning to mark the project’s end. She said there are always reasons not to pursue projects or expansions, but Manning has a reputation throughout the state of being a community that finds ways to get things done.
The utility initially hoped to have natural gas flowing by no later than Oct. 1, but permitting issues slowed down construction. The pipeline should be operation by no later than the end of the month, and Manning Municipal Utilities will then begin supplying natural gas to customers in Arcadia and potentially beyond.
