Austin city staff reports on risks of natural gas pipeline through Edwards Aquifer 

On Aug. 28, the city of Austin’s Environmental Officer Christopher Herrington provided a memorandum to the city council regarding the planned Kinder Morgan “Permian Highway Pipeline” intended to transport natural gas from West Texas. The memo is in response to a June resolution from the council opposing the pipeline and directing city staff to “study the potential water quality impacts a pipeline transporting hydrocarbons would have on the Trinity and Edwards aquifers.” The pipeline is a project of Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline (KMTP) and EagleClaw Midstream Ventures, and would carry 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Permian Basin near Fort Stockton to Houston for processing, passing through 16 counties – including Blanco, Caldwell, Gillespie, and Hays, on its way to existing Houston-area pipelines, then to the Texas coast, primarily for export. Construction has already begun on the far western segment – work on the Hill Country segment is expected to begin this fall, with completion anticipated late next year. The pipeline route through Central Texas is south of Austin and Travis County, but does run through the Edwards Aquifer Recharge and Contributing Zones. Opposition from Austin follows in the wake of Hill Country jurisdictions, landowners, and organizations. –Austin Chronicle Read more…