Unlikely alliance fighting pipeline in Texas Hill Country
Posted October 19, 2019 7:00 am
FREDERICKSBURG, Texas (AP) - An unlikely alliance has formed in oil friendly Texas against one of the longest proposed new natural gas pipelines in the U.S.
Texas rural landowners, environmental groups, and conservative-leaning municipalities are banding together to oppose pipeline giant Kinder Morgan's 430-mile (690-kilometer), $2 billion natural gas expressway from the booming Permian Basin to the U.S. Gulf Coast. They say the proposed route will pose significant environmental and safety risks in the state's Hill Country.
Kinder Morgan has long maintained that the pipeline will be safe. Spokesman Alan Fore says the company has already made 150 routing adjustments and isn't considering changing the pipeline's set path.
The company is exercising eminent domain as a nasty legal battle threatens to jeopardize future pipelines in central Texas.
Andy Sansom walks on his property as he talks about a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would pass through his ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Stonewall, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Heath Frantzen uses a map to point out the site of a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would run through his property in the Texas Hill Country, where more than 600 white-tailed and trophy axis deer graze on a 260-acre ranch his family has owned for three generations, near Fredericksburg, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Pipes for a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would pass through the Texas Hill Country are staged near Blanco, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Heath Frantzen uses a map to point out the site of a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would run through his property in the Texas Hill Country, where more than 600 white-tailed and trophy axis deer graze on a 260-acre ranch his family has owned for three generations, near Fredericksburg, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Pipes for a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would pass through the Texas Hill Country are staged near Blanco, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Andy Sansom closes the gate to his property where a proposed new natural gas pipeline would pass through his ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Stonewall, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Pipes for a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would pass through the Texas Hill Country are staged near Blanco, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Pipes for a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would pass through the Texas Hill Country are staged near Blanco, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Andy Sansom walks on his property where a proposed new natural gas pipeline would pass through his ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Stonewall, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Heath Frantzen walk on his property near the site of a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would run through his ranch in the Texas Hill Country, where more than 600 white-tailed and trophy axis deer graze on a 260-acres his family has owned for three generations, near Fredericksburg, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Heath Frantzen uses a map to point out the site of a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would run through his property in the Texas Hill Country, where more than 600 white-tailed and trophy axis deer graze on a 260-acre ranch his family has owned for three generations, near Fredericksburg, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
Andy Sansom walks on his property as he talks about a proposed new natural gas pipeline that would pass through his ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Stonewall, Texas Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. A proposed pipeline is a 430-mile, $2 billion natural gas expressway that pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has mapped from the booming West Texas oil patch to Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Associated Press
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