Hays County Residents Express Concerns Regarding Permian Highway Pipeline Project

Staff Reports

On January 29, many Hays County residents attended a public community meeting hosted by Hays County and voiced their many concerns about the Kinder Morgan Permian Highway Pipeline slated to cut through Hays County on its way from Coyanosa, Texas, to Gulf Coast locations west of Houston.

Hundreds of residents were in attendance to hear and share concerns with Hays County Commissioner Pct 3, Lon Shell, who had organized the event. The Permian Highway Pipeline is projected to be a $2 billion, 430-mile project, which will stretch from the Waha natural gas pipeline junction to the Gulf Coast markets.

Sixteen Texas counties are expected to be impacted by the pipeline’s potential route based on a preliminary map. Currently, the proposed route includes a path through Hays County between Kyle and San Marcos.

Kinder Morgan has released a website for the pipeline containing preliminary information at https://phpproject.com/ and according to Kinder Morgan, will be updated with new information as soon as it becomes available.

Shell said, “The pipeline route as proposed will travel through environmentally sensitive areas of the Hill Country and Hays County, potentially impacting our aquifers, springs, and livelihoods, and subjecting our land to environmental damage. Residents have concerns, rightly so, about their property values, water and air pollution, noise pollution, and disruption to their lives.” 

A panel of local officials included Lucy Johnson, former Mayor of Kyle, Hays County General counsel, Mark Kennedy, David Baker of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, Austin-Based Attorney Jeff Mundy and Matt Lara, Vice President of the Hill Country Alliance. Johnson’s family owns property that will be affected by the pipeline.

Kinder Morgan had representatives present at the meeting to hear the community’s concerns. However, Allen Fore, Vice President of Public Affairs for Kinder Morgan, did not address the public.

The company is scheduled to host several public meetings in the upcoming weeks to speak to the community and address concerns. Negotiations between landowners and Kinder Morgan are ongoing. 

Representatives of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District were among the speakers to address the public Tuesday night.

“Right now we still have a lot of unanswered questions, but we are working on this issue every day,” Shell said. “Landowners who are approached by Kinder Morgan representatives have the right to negotiate rights of entry onto their land, engage a lawyer, and negotiate monetary and non-monetary terms for any easement requested by Kinder Morgan.” 

Shell said Kinder Morgan would be given the community’s written comments from the meeting.

Kinder Morgan will host its first community meeting on February 12 at the Wimberley Community Center. Kyle residents will have the opportunity to attend a meeting Feb. 13 at Wallace Middle School. A  schedule of Kinder Morgan’s community meetings can be found here.

Officials said, to help residents stay informed about the pipeline project, the county plans to set up a webpage with information from meeting as well as updates.