West Texas residents are saddling up in protest against a proposed natural gas pipeline.
The natural gas pipeline would run very near the 2 thousand strong tpopulation of Van Horn, and the threat of eminent domain is just one concern.
According to the Texas Tribune, the proposed Saguaro Connector Pipeline would run from the Permian Basin to the border with Mexico, passing within one mile of van Horn, between El Paso and Midland-Odessa. Saguaro would connect to another pipeline in Mexico to take gas to a facility liquifying it for export to South America and Asia. Compared to other West Texas pipelines, Saguaro is larger in size at 48 inches diameter.
The federal government has limited oversight with much of the line within Texas borders, but residents want a federal review of the route and potential impact on climate change.
“They’re coming so close to town it just blows my mind,” Penny Self, owner of the Van Horn RV Park, who suggested the pipeline would endanger her customers told the Texas Tribune. “Who is it going to benefit? It’s not going to benefit us.”