The Courier of Montgomery County reports that in connection with a 240-mile natural gas pipeline planned to go through Montgomery County, Conroe has denied surveyors access to the Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Designed to transport up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day, the Mustang Express Pipeline is a $2.3 billion project by ARM Energy Holdings.
Construction is scheduled to get underway in 2028. At present the project is in the planning, survey and right-of-way acquisition phase. By late 2028 or 2029, the pipeline is planned to be in service.
Assistant City Administrator Norm McGuire said during Thursdays meeting of the council, “We are standing steadfast here that we don’t have enough information.” He said the staff can’t recommend “any of this project to move forward.”
McGuire added that he wants to not repeat what happened with the Blackfin Pipeline project which included a high-pressure natural gas compressor station near Interstate 45 and Loop 336.
Just a day before the council was set to decide whether to rescind building permits for the Blackfin project, officials in October with the Blackfin Pipeline agreed to relocate its high-pressure natural gas compressor. Concerns about the pipeline location had been sent to the Houston Chronicle in a letter, which company officials said prompted their relocating of the compressor.
According to information from the city, documents given to the city by the Mustang pipeline company “continue to introduce compressors and other major facilities,” while officials at the Mustang Pipeline Express third-party land acquisition firm said that the portion in Conroe would not include a compressor station.
The city has not approved any permits or plans, according to McGuire, for the Mustang Pipeline Express to date.
Councilwoman Marsha Porter expressed the view that the council and city had “learned a lesson” with the Blackfin Pipeline issue. Porter also said a bullet had been dodged with Blackfin, and she said she would “caution future councilmembers to be suspect of any pipeline in the future.”
