VIDALIA, LA (AP) — Residents of eastern Louisiana and southwest Mississippi will hear April 13 about plans to upgrade a major natural gas pipeline.
American Midstream Partners announced last October that it will build a new natural gas pipeline that will preserve service to thousands of customers from Winnsboro, Louisiana, to Natchez, Mississippi.
The company says areas not served by the new line will be will be connected to other interstate or intrastate pipelines, other gas distribution systems, or offered conversion to propane service.
Federal regulators must approve the project.
Allysa Howell, investor relations manager for American Midstream, said the company will file for permits to construct the new pipeline with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this summer.
The Natchez Democrat’s Vershal Hogan reports American Midstream Partners will talk with local residents about the project during an open house April 13 at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center.
"This is basically an opportunity for landowners and community members to engage with the American Midstream project manager and chief operating officer," Howell said.
"It will have a map and an overview of the Natchez line project, and they will be there to answer any questions. This is not a formal presentation, but a kind of walk around display sort of scenario."
Denver-based American Midstream, a subsidiary of Boston-based hedge fund ArcLight Capital, American Midstream had originally announced an intention to abandon its Midla pipeline, a 1920s era pipeline that ran from Baton Rouge to Monroe. The company contended the existing pipeline infrastructure presents significant safety concerns because of its age.
Municipalities in the two states expressed concern at the time because losing the pipeline would cut off natural gas access to many areas including Clayton, Ferriday and Vidalia in Louisiana and in southwest Mississippi.
