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Warren W. Schaber July 1, 1985 Page 6 easement rights in 1997, they will have to deal with Ramsey County as the fee owner of the property. At that time. the County would not be legally obligated to renew the easement and could force them to move off the park property. It should also be noted that while pipeline companies possess condemnation powers, they cannot be exercised against lands devoted to a public purpose. See Minn. Stat. X117.48. Consequently, they could not use that right to maintain their present Location. There has also been considerable pask discussion regarding lowering and/or relocating this pipeline. As you are aware, the beach parking lot has been redesigned by the Parks and Recreation staff so that lowering of the pipeline in its present locatior, will not be required. In addition, discussions have continued with representatives of Wi1Lia.ms Brothers regarding a voluntary relocatior. before 1997 and they currently are. considering that option. Another area of concern has been the safety of the pipeline in its present location in view of Williams Bros. history of leakage problems and the age of the Line. This was discussed at a meeting with William Bros. representatives within the last several months and the County was assured that leakage in this particular line should not be a problem due to the type of pipe used and a special protective coating. Furthermore, primary legal responsibility for any damages caused Ramsey County or others as a result of leakage would be with William Bros. for they are the owner and operator of the pipeline. For the above reasons, Ramsey County is not assuming any significant legal responsibilities by the existence of the pipeline within 'the park boundaries except the slight risk of damage to park property which may be caused by leakage. voluntary removal is being persued and forcible removal is legally possible upon expiration of the current easement rights. 4. LONG LAKE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION ENVIRQNMENTAL LAWSUIT5 In 1982 a group of homeowners on Long Lake sued Ramsey County, the City of New Brighton and the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (MEQB) alleging that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be prepared on the proposed park, that the City had no authority to convey the park property to the County and that the proposed park development was not environmentally sound. The environmental concerns raised by the park included: beach and picnic area noise, the number of parking spots available far motorised boats, location of the ~f