Staff Report
The Hays County Commissioners Court will likely vote on Tuesday to restore permission for the Kinder Morgam Permian Highway Pipeline to cross county roads.
Permission to do so, which was part of a utilitiy agreement the county signed with the energy giant, was rescinded April 28, one month after a contractor hit a karst feature while trying to bore under the Blanco River near Chimney Rock Road in Blanco County.
The rupture sent tens of thousands of gallons of drilling fluid — which opponents of the project charge contains carcinogens — into the Trinity Aquifer and fouling water wells adjacent to the breach.
According to the agenda item for the Aug. 11 meeting, the permission is contingent on the following terms:
1. Kinder Morgan will provide the schedule, order of the road crossing work and notify the county and HTGCD (Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District ) staff at least 10 calendar days in advance.
2. Hays County and HTGCD staff will be granted access to the construction sites during and after the boring process.
3. Kinder Morgan will notify HTGCD in the event a significant karst feature is encountered during the course bore construction.
4. Kinder Morgan provides HTGCD staff with access to all crossing activities including boring and camera imagining.
