First announced in Todd County through a visit by Governor Andy Beshear in September 2022, much has been made of an incoming 53-mile natural gas pipeline for south western Kentucky.
Running from Trenton and Guthrie along the Kentucky-Tennessee state line, all the way to Lamasco in Lyon County, its construction comes from the interlocal Pennyrile Regional Energy Agency and requires permanent easement of countless properties in five counties.
One of those landowners — Joe Wright — filed suit against PREA and the cities of Guthrie and Trenton Wednesday morning in Trigg County Circuit Court, through the counsel of Dan Thomas and James Adams of Hopkinsville.
According to the lawsuit, which represents just one side of the issue, Wright asserts that PREA “has no right” to take his land by eminent domain — land described as 348 acres on Old Hopkinsville Road that is currently used as residential prime farmland, leased for crop production.
Wright further attests that the suggested 16-inch line, larger if needed, is “not reasonably necessary” to meet the gas demands of the 1,800 residents in Guthrie and Trenton, and that PREA’s main goal is to create “a natural gas pipeline to reach Novelis,” Todd County’s vastly-expansive aluminum recycling plant.
The suit also calls PREA’s marketing of the endeavor “misleading,” because Guthrie and Trenton “are the only members of the agency,” and that the agency seeks to be “unregulated” by the Kentucky Public Service Commission — allowing its board of directors, all connected to Todd County, full discretion.
Wright cites a September 18, 2013, article in the Kentucky New Era in which Todd County officials rebuked the chance at a 23-mile gas line from Clarksville, Tennessee, to Elkton — because of perceived fears that the City of Clarksville would “exclusively control the natural gas supply.”
This new PREA, Wright claims, is now designed for the very purpose those 2013 Todd County officials feared: unregulated gas to Novelis, while eliminating competing areas, like Trigg County, in the race of economic development.
Wright said PREA has “recently threatened to condemn” his land if an agreement for terms and compensation cannot be reached, and that this agency has “already filed test condemnation proceedings” against “selective landowners in Trigg County.”
Wright wants the court to answer three questions:
1) What is PREA’s right to invoke the power of eminent domain, in order to condemn a pipeline easement across his property?
2) What is the authority of an interlocal agency to operate a municipal gas line across his property?
And 3) if it’s determined PREA has the right for eminent domain, local, regional and possibly state courts should enter a declaration of rights, clarifying the scope and rights of all parties pertaining to these easements.
Through various counts of infractions, Wright also stated other concerns:
— That the proposed pipeline is not a permissible extension to a gas system currently operated by Guthrie or Trenton, and instead comes as an entirely new system extending more than 50 miles outside city limits.
— That Trigg County is already receiving gas from public utilities, and the new line would create duplicate services.
— State law specifically excludes gas distribution as a scope of authority from interlocal agencies.
— That, if unregulated, PREA could use the pipeline as preference for Todd County industry, and at worst could allocate gas to preferred businesses and individuals to curry political favor.
— And that nearby agencies, like Clarksville Gas and Atmos Energy, already have the resources necessary to meet local and regional demands.
In a June 5 visit with Elkton Rotary, PREA Board Chair Eston Glover said more cities, like Fort Campbell, are looking to come forward as part of the interlocal agreement — and, thus, the size of the pipeline could change, especially when it connects to an already existing ANR pipeline.
PREA’s board is comprised of Gary Traughber (vice-chair), Johnny Knuckles (secretary), Jon Stahl (treasurer), Todd Mansfield (ex-officio), Kelli Penick, Bill Jobe and Deana Power.
Todd County Attorney Jeff Traughber and McGhee Engineering are serving as contractors for the project.
Laura Brock is expected to join PREA in September, where she will serve as the executive administrator.
