Need more honesty from Kinder Morgan

For all of the time and money that Kinder Morgan is spending on fliers, print advertisements and community fish fries — all intended to distract those who are in harm’s way due to the Permian Highway Pipeline Hill Country route — it sure would be nice if Kinder Morgan could at least tell the truth.

A recent promotional advertisement that was included in the Wimberley View touted 100 percent benefits but exaggerated and stretched them. What’s worse, the company did not and will not disclose the risks. Since Kinder Morgan is addressing Central Texans under the guise of “prosperity” and “safety,” it’s good to remember a few basic facts:

When it comes to all of those promised jobs, keep in mind that they are temporary at best. As previously reported, Kinder Morgan is promising fewer than 20 permanent positions.

Likewise, when it comes to all that pipeline revenue, nobody will benefit from the pipeline more than Kinder Morgan executives and their investors.

So as Kinder Morgan claims to contribute hundreds of billions to the Texas economy, we’ve got to ask: What’s the benefit to Texans when the 42-inch oil and gas pipeline leaks or explodes?

Kinder Morgan doesn’t disclose that. Fortunately, they give little hints at the cost in their annual investor reports. In 2017, for example, Kinder Morgan set aside nearly $300 million in contingencies for environmental risks due to their pipelines.

Last, the threat and the risks from having a giant 42-inch pipeline routed through our karst topography and communities has the potential to irreversibly pollute our karst aquifers and watersheds, as well as threaten our community and environment, including the sole source drinking water that millions of Central Texans depend on. This is thanks to the fact that there’s one incident for every 100 miles of Kinder Morgan pipeline.

To be sure, the Permian Highway Pipeline will be a real boon to some. Unfortunately for our community and other Hill Country communities, the cost of that pipeline highway on our water, our community and our future is only full of threat and risk.

David Baker