Boone County's fiscal court is pushing back against a proposed natural gas pipeline that would cut through 2.9 miles of Petersburg-area land, offering no local benefit while threatening private wells and groundwater.

The Dearborn County Lateral Project, a 12-mile interstate pipeline proposed by Texas Gas Transmission, would carry natural gas from Indiana across the Ohio River into Boone County before terminating at Vistra Corp.'s Miami Fort Power Plant in Hamilton County, Ohio. The 20-inch pipeline would supply up to 265,000 dekatherms per day to support the plant's coal-to-gas conversion.

At the Boone County Fiscal Court meeting on Tuesday, July 14, Petersburg resident Penny Morris told officials the pipeline could contaminate drinking water for households that rely on private wells. Morris said Petersburg residents depend on the Ohio River and local groundwater, and she asked the court to assess how the Petersburg Fire Protection District would handle a rupture or explosion.

Judge/Executive Gary Moore said the county shares those concerns and questioned why the pipeline enters Kentucky at all. It originates in Indiana and terminates in Ohio, he noted, but loops through Boone County with no local benefit.

County Engineer Rob Franxman said staff had already submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission raising concerns about routing and environmental impact. Franxman added that the fiscal court does not support the use of eminent domain on private lands for the project's completion.

Moore reported that at least one Petersburg landowner had already denied a project surveyor access to his property.

Commissioner Chet Hand then proposed a motion directing staff to draft a formal letter to federal representatives and regulators opposing the pipeline's entry into Kentucky. The motion passed.

"Any pressure we can apply — maybe it moves a needle, maybe it doesn't," Hand said. "I agree with the fact that it doesn't benefit Boone County at all."

Morris said she and her neighbors are organizing to write letters to their U.S. representatives, noting that many residents received no notification about the project unless they were directly in the pipeline's path.

Texas Gas Transmission, an Owensboro-based subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipelines, filed its FERC application on Thursday, May 29, after reaching out to affected landowners beginning in 2025. FERC issued its Notice of Application on Friday, June 12, opening the federal review under Docket No. CP26-536-000. If FERC approves the project, the Natural Gas Act grants the company the power of eminent domain.

According to Boardwalk Pipelines' project website, federal review is expected to continue until early 2027, with construction beginning in spring 2027 if approved.

The FERC environmental scoping comment period closes Monday, July 27, at 5 p.m. Eastern. Residents can submit comments online at www.ferc.gov via eComment or eFiling, or by mail. FERC staff are available at (866) 208-3676 or [email protected].