Blanco landowners voice concern over Permian Highway Pipeline

Landowners in Blanco piled into the county courthouse to voice their concerns about a proposed pipeline designed to cut through the Hill Country. Leaders in Hays County have filed a lawsuit against Kinder Morgan.

The second floor of the Blanco County Courthouse was full of residents eager to learn what the construction of the permian highway pipeline will mean to Blanco and the Hill Country.

The Permian Highway Pipeline is expected to be 430 miles long from north of Fort Stockton, stretching across the Hill Country to it's destination near Houston The $2 billion pipeline will be right in Kay Pence's backyard.

"It'll be about 120 feet from our bedroom it runs off the back off of our property and so we are what is known as the incineration zone if the pipeline were to ever have a problem," Pence said. "Let me say I am not against the oil and gas industry we have to have it that's what makes Texas function but I just think there are better routes that could be taken."

Deda Divine with Blanco STP a newly formed grassroots organization said residents are uneasy about the impact the pipeline may have on the environment. The organization along with TREAD and other advocacy groups are fighting back against Kinder Morgan in hopes the pipeline route may be moved elsewhere.

"I think there are a lot of misconceptions from people that feel that if they're not a landowner they are not a stake holder and I just feel like nothing can be further from the truth," Divine said.

The project is not set in stone however construction is scheduled to begin in the fall.