Thousands of Comments Opposing the Desert Southwest Pipeline Submitted to FERC

Albuquerque, N.M. — Today marked the conclusion of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) scoping period in which it sought input on what the agency should consider when conducting its environmental review as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Energy Transfer Partner’s Desert Southwest Pipeline. The pipeline would ship methane gas from the Permian Basin to supply energy guzzling data centers in New Mexico and Arizona, and will have significant impacts on the region’s environment, including its scarce water resources.

In response, a coalition of environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Environmental Law Center submitted comments to FERC, calling on the agency to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project, instead of a less rigorous Environmental Assessment (EA). The comments also call on FERC to fully analyze the pipeline's plans to use horizontal directional drilling to install the pipeline under major rivers in the region, including the Rio Grande, San Pedro River, Gila River, and others. The drilling impacts on each of these waterways risk severe erosion, destruction of aquatic habitats, and contamination from fluids and debris.

If built, the Desert Southwest Pipeline, which the company says is an extension of its existing Transwestern Pipeline, would transport methane gas 516 miles from the Permian Basin in West Texas, across southern New Mexico, to Arizona, supplying gas to power plants and proposed data centers across the region. The project would include another 186 miles of laterals and 8 new compressor stations. 

“The Desert Southwest Pipeline is a serious threat to communities in the Southwest,” said Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Director, Sandy Bahr. “This massive pipeline threatens our water resources, our fragile desert ecosystems, and increases our reliance on fossil fuels at a time when we need to be transitioning away to renewables. Even worse, the pipeline would allow tech companies to move forward with their data center buildout, which our communities continue to fight to stop. FERC has a big task ahead – conducting an environmental review of what would be a massively destructive pipeline. We call on the Commissioners to take their time and get this one right, for the health and wellbeing of all our Southwest communities.” 

"FERC absolutely must prepare a full environmental impact statement for this proposed pipeline—not a more superficial environmental assessment," said Morgan O'Grady, staff attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. "With more than 700 miles of mainline and lateral pipeline as well as eight new compressor stations, any argument for cursory review cannot be taken seriously."

"Communities deserve to see a detailed analysis of the environmental harms the proposed Desert Southwest project may cause, including harms to environmental justice communities and cumulative impacts like air and water pollution and degradation of sensitive ecosystems,” said Lexi Smith, Associate Attorney at Earthjustice. "FERC must meaningfully engage with the public at every stage of the review process before it could even consider moving forward with this massive pipeline."  

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