Southern Environmental Law Center
This image shows how the pipeline would cut through a drinking-water well field in southwest Memphis.
The Byhalia Connection Pipeline now has all permits needed to begin construction, company officials said Tuesday.
The 49-mile pipeline is proposed to run from the Valero refinery near Presidents Island to Marshall County, Mississippi. It’s a joint venture between Valero and Plains All American Pipeline. It would connect several other pipelines and, eventually, carry crude oil to the Gulf of Mexico.
The project needed approval from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which officials said it received. The pipeline also needed approvals from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices in Tennessee and Mississippi.
The project received those permits “as of last week,” said Katie Martin, communications manager with Plains All American Pipeline. The company notified elected officials about the permits Monday but could not release the information publicly until today, following the release of the company’s earnings.
“Following more than 10,000 hours of environmental field study and analysis, the Byhalia Connection Pipeline project has obtained the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12, a federal permit only available for projects that will have minimal impacts on the environment,” Martin said. “Obtaining the Nationwide Permit 12 is a key step in the project; we look forward to safely and responsibly building and operating a pipeline that will be a long-term benefit to the community.”
With permits in hand, Martin said the company can begin construction. Though, it hasn’t decided when construction would begin, she said. Once it begins, the company has projected construction would take nine months.
However, some properties have not yet been secured by the company. A court hearing on a lawsuit from a group of landowners was slated to begin this week.
For more information, read our previous story here.