Fuel pipeline from the Kaskaskia River to Scott Air Force Base under consideration

The Kaskaskia Regional Port District will conduct a $350,000 study at the start of next year to determine if building a fuel pipeline from the Kaskaskia River near Fayetteville to Scott Air Force Base is feasible.

Located about 15 miles southeast of Belleville, the Fayetteville terminal would receive the fuel from barges and then ship it roughly 16 miles north to the base.

Overall, the study would determine if the project is feasible and how much it would cost, including environmental issues, said Ed Weilbacher, general manager of the port district.

“We want to make sure it's environmentally safe,” Weilbacher said. “Then, we want to make sure it's cost-effective.”

The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, will cover $315,000 of the study cost, and the Illinois Department of Transportation will pick up the remainder, Weilbacher said.

In the next few weeks, the port district will start searching for qualified companies to do the study. Weilbacher said he hopes it will be complete by the end of 2024.

“They want reliable, redundant and resilient facilities at a base,” Weilbacher said. “That’s where this pipeline comes into play.”

The need for the pipeline, or an alternative way to transport fuel to the base, goes back to the 1990s — when the Defense Department considered closing the base as part of a national effort to streamline military operations.