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Rep. Chip Roy Letter To Kinder Morgan

April 3, 2020

Rep. Chip Roy sent the following letter Friday to Kinder Morgan:

April 2, 2020

Allen Fore

Vice President, Public Affairs

1001 Louisiana St, Ste 1000

Houston, TX 77002

Cc: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Mr. Fore:

It has come to my attention that drilling activity near the Blanco River related to Kinder Morgan's Permian Highway Pipeline Project led to the contamination of at least two of my constituents' water supply. This is highly frustrating and concerning. Your team has been very responsive to my previous correspondence; however, this now raises further questions related to this project.

The Texas Hill Country is a picturesque landscape admired for its natural beauty, but that also comes with unique challenges and vulnerabilities. Access to a clean water supply is the one of the most critical aspects of life for my constituents, whether they live in an urban area drawing from the Edwards Aquifer, or a simple water well located on their property. Water is quite literally the lifeblood of the Texas Hill Country. Any negligent activity that threatens or endangers that is unacceptable. I hope you would agree.

Accordingly, I have questions that need to be answered at your earliest convenience, so I can act in the best interest of my constituents.

  1. What series of events led to the contamination of the localized water source? What has been done to rehabilitate this issue?

  1. What efforts have been made to mitigate the damage to the water supply of my constituents? What is the protocol for reporting impacts to affected parties/landowners?

  1. Moving forward, as your project moves across the Hill Country, what steps will you be taking to prevent a similar event from happening again?

Texans, including many frustrated by the pipeline, support American energy independence and the development of Texas's oil and gas resources to the benefit of society. Adequate infrastructure plays a key role in that production. That fact does not obviate your company's responsibility to protect property rights and a precious water supply for the region of Texas you have chosen to build the Permian Highway Pipeline through.

I welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss these matters and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,


Chip Roy

Member of Congress