The controversial Bluegrass Pipeline has come to a halt – for now.
The two companies behind the project, Williams Co. and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, posted a message to the web Monday saying they plan to freeze the project.
Joe Hollier with Boardwalk stresses, however, the pipeline isn’t dead.
"To date we've been unable to obtain sufficient firm customer commitments and are no longer making capital investments in Bluegrass Pipeline at this time. We will continue to consider all of our options," he told WUKY.
Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The pipeline has become a flashpoint for environmental activists and landowners across the state who worry the companies would invoke eminent domain to secure easements. The project even attracted protesters from a group of Catholic nuns with the Sisters of Loretto last year.
Peg Jacobs with the sisters says her group is delighted but plans to keep a close eye on the project.
"Whether we have ultimately stopped them is unknown, but we've thrown some glitches [into it] - not just us, but everybody in Kentucky here who's been working hard," she says.
If revived, the pipeline would transport natural gas liquids through 13 Kentucky counties. Williams and Boardwalk say so far they have secured only two-third of the necessary easements.
It was originally slated for completion in 2015.
