By Anita Miller
Kinder Morgan’s decision to reroute its Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) away from the Blanco River was a first step in the right direction, according to an organization that has sued the energy giant over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.
A new route for approximately two miles of the natural gas transmission line is now being negotiated.
Kinder Morgan CEO Steve Kean announced the decision in an opinion piece published in the Houston Chronicle this week.
The company halted construction of the pipeline near Chimney Rock Road in Blanco County after a March 28 breach of a karst feature as a contractor was attempting to bore under the Blanco River.
That fouled nearby water wells and led to the lawsuit filed by the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA) and the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) alleging the 36,000 gallons of drilling mud introduced to the Trinity Aquifer violated the federal Clean Water Act.
Two Blanco River crossings were along the original route, which also crosses the Pedernales River and dozens of creeks and streams.
The 430-mile, 42-inch pipeline has been controversial since the first landowners were approached by Kinder Morgan in the fall of 2018, with the opposition an unlikely coalition including property rights advocates, environmentalists and county and municipal governments.
The source of the concern has always been the route, which takes the pipeline through the part of Hays County richest with karst formations — caves, sinkholes, fractures and other features that allow rainwater to reach the recharge areas of the Trinity and Edwards aquifers.
“There is no good place for this pipeline in the Texas Hill Country, but we have been pushing to put it someplace less bad than in the Blanco River,” said Jeff Mundy, lead attorney for TESPA.
“Keeping the pipeline out of the Blanco River has been our highest priority,” added Patrick Cox, TESPA executive director.
In addition to the danger of karst breaches, residents have filed complaints against Kinder Morgan for erosion controls that proved inadequate to stand up to Texas springtime storms.
Cox said containing erosion is a good next step.
“We are working towards improved erosion control measures to protect Jacob’s Well, the Cypress Creek watershed and Wanslow Creek,” he said. “These areas have been high priority areas for water quality protection.”
“The federal government has invested millions of dollars to protect water quality in these areas, as well as millions of local taxpayer dollars to protect Jacob’s Well,” said David Baker, WVWA executive director. “We will be watching to make sure that Kinder Morgan is mindful and will protect these areas before the fall rains come.”
In his published piece, Kean said the company “deeply regrets” the incident and began “working to make it right” immediately. He also reiterated that the company doesn’t believe the drilling fluid was harmful.
In an ongoing effort to “make it right,” he said the company is making adjustments in consultation with state and federal agencies. “We carefully evaluated several alternative construction methods for crossing the Blanco River,” Kean wrote. “We have decided that rerouting around the Blanco River is the best option.”
Earlier this week, the city of Kyle issued Kinder Morgan a notice of noncompliance over noise generated by a pressure test of the pipeline.
A meeting is scheduled fTuesday, Aug. 18, for attorneys on both sides of the lawsuit.
Due to the coronavirus and other factors, it’s not likely any trial will be held soon. “Best guess is that a trial will be two years or more out,”Mundy said. Kinder Morgan has said it intends to be moving product in the PHP within a year.
