As Houston-based company Kinder Morgan moves ahead on a proposed 430-mile underground natural gas pipeline that could bisect Hays County, local landowners worry the project could harbor a negative environmental impact.

Bill Johnson, owner of the historic Halifax and 6F ranches and whose land could be affected by the project, said he opposes the pipeline as it encroaches on land that has been nearly untouched for generations.

“I’m very upset about the idea of them coming to something that’s treasured and sacred as the Hill Country and coming through with a huge 42-inch pipeline,” Johnson said. “I’m horrified by the idea of it.”

The Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), crafted by Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline and EagleClad Midstream Ventures, is a $2 billion project designed to transport up to 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas through a 430-mile pipeline that stretches from far west Texas to the Houston area.

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