EEECHO Submits Motion to Intervene in Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and Southern Natural Gas Company Projects

The Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate, and Health Organization (EEECHO) has submitted a motion to intervene in the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and Southern Natural Gas Company projects, raising concerns about the proposed South System Expansion 4 (SSE4) and Mississippi Crossing (MSX) pipeline projects. The organization, based in Mississippi, primarily serves vulnerable populations that will be disproportionately impacted by the pipeline projects. EEECHO is seeking to intervene in the projects to protect the interests of its constituents, who are Mississippi taxpayers and ratepayers of Mississippi Power Company.

Key Takeaways:

• EEECHO is a Mississippi-based non-profit organization with partnerships throughout the state, primarily serving vulnerable populations that will be most adversely impacted by the pipeline projects.
• The proposed South System Expansion 4 (SSE4) project would increase the amount of methane through the existing pipeline network by about 33%, exacerbating environmental health and economic disparities in already overburdened communities.
• EEECHO has served thousands of Mississippi residents, consumers, landowners, and residents within the vicinity of the SSE4 and MSX pipeline, who will be directly impacted by the projects.
• Methane gas is a polluting fossil fuel that poses significant health risks, including cancer, birth defects, heart disease, stroke, asphyxiation, and respiratory issues, particularly for disadvantaged communities.
• The proposed pipeline projects pose a considerable risk for water contamination, threatening local ecosystems and drinking water quality in the Chickasawhay and Sucarnoochee Rivers and their surrounding tributaries.
• EEECHO argues that investing in risky fossil fuel projects will continue to disproportionately burden low-income and communities of color, who have contributed least to anthropogenic climate changes.
• The organization is seeking a fair, equitable, and just transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner, safer, and renewable energy sources, which will provide energy democracy to all communities.

Statistics:

• The proposed SSE4 project would increase methane through the entire pipeline network by about 33%.
• Methane gas power plants release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• Pipelines leak dangerous amounts of methane, posing significant health risks to communities.
• The 210-mile-long Chickasawhay River originates in Clarke County, Mississippi, and its tributaries drain into Western Alabama.
• The proposed MSX pipeline project would jeopardize areas along the 49.5-mile long Sucarnoochee River, which drains an area of 607 miles in western Alabama and eastern Mississippi.
• Poor ratepayers already pay a disproportionately higher cost with traditional fossil fuel energy, including health impacts and economic losses from mounting climate disasters.

Sources:

• EEECHO's Motion to Intervene in Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and Southern Natural Gas Company projects (doc-less)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Dockets CP25-514-000 and CP25-517-000