Commissioners Approve Policy Regarding Kinder Morgan’s Utility Permits

On Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners considered a policy for the consideration of utility permit applications for crossing or boring under county roads.

The discussion came after amotion was made by the Hays County Commissioners Court after an Executive Session on April 21, 2020, to rescind any and all permits issued by Hays County to Kinder Morgan related to road cuts across and/or drilling under roadway for the Permian Highway Pipeline.

Instruction was given to the staff to develop a policy for approval by Court that, in the event that karst features or geology are present, Kinder Morgan should be made to perform ground penetrating radar (GPR) studies to identify voids, caves, crevices or other features that could pose the risk of loss of drilling fluid and identify neighboring groundwater wells, which shall be reviewed by Hays County prior to any permit activation. 

“This effort is by no means to be misunderstood as this pipeline is going away,” Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said. “We have serious concerns with the way things are unfolding, and we care very much about the pipeline’s management of their boring and the effects on our groundwater among other things.”

Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the policy, which does not kill the project or affect any others in the county.