On Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners Court voted to file a notice of intent to sue Kinder Morgan for a second time.
The County, along with Travis Audubon Society and three other plaintiffs, will file a notice of intent against Kinder Morgan, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Additionally, the Court voted to appeal the ruling of its previous lawsuit, which was dismissed by Judge Lora Livingston last month, against Kinder Morgan, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Permian Highway Pipeline.
The notice, which comes in connection to the Permian Highway Pipeline, states that Kinder Morgan will be able to “lawfully ‘take’ federally listed endangered species during the construction, operation, and maintenance of the PHP.” As such, plaintiffs are requesting an environmental impact study be conducted on the project. This review would be conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) instead of the Nationwide Permitting verification process which Kinder Morgan currently intends to use.
