$3 billion natural gas pipeline expansion to go through the Black Belt in 2027

Part of a $3 billion natural gas line project will be coming through the Black Belt starting in 2027.

The South System Expansion 4 Project, or SSE4, calls for burying about 290 miles of natural gas pipeline from Clarke County, Mississippi east to Augusta, Georgia. That route takes the pipeline right through the middle of Alabama, much of it through the Black Belt.

The pipeline, which will mostly be buried alongside existing natural gas pipelines, will pass through Elmore, Autauga, Dallas, Perry, Marengo and Sumter counties, according to the application from Southern Natural Gas Co.

The existing natural gas pipelines have been buried in the Black Belt’s soil for many years, some as far back as the 1950s, according to Allen Fore, vice president of Kinder Morgan, the Houston-based energy company that is one of the owners of SNG.

According to supporting documents, construction is expected to begin in early 2027. The first phase that includes the Black Belt should be in service in late 2028. A second phase will come online in late 2029, Fore said.

The SSE4 project will provide up to 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of additional natural gas capacity, about doubling the current capacity. A billion cubic feet is enough gas to heat 5 million homes for a day, Fore said.

The massive construction project will provide more natural gas to homes, utilities and factories throughout the Southeast, although homes and businesses along the path won’t be able to tap into the pipeline.

Businesses along the construction path could cash in on the construction, Fore said.

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“Hardware stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, anyplace that can satisfy the needs of tired and hungry construction workers will see a benefit,” Fore said. “There will be hundreds and hundreds (of workers) on this project, and they will be there for quite some time.”

Fore said some chambers of commerce prepare welcome packets for the workers with fliers and coupons for local hotels, eateries and stores. “These projects have a big boost on sales taxes,” Fore said.

General contractors will be responsible for portions of the massive project, but Fore said there will also be some jobs for subcontractors as the project moves from Mississippi east toward Georgia.

Landowners along the path of the project will also come into some money as SNG pays them for an additional 50-foot easement on their property to accommodate the new pipes. Forty-eight landowners in Dallas County, 41 in Marengo County and 35 in Perry County are being contacted so the process can begin, Fore said. The first step in the negotiations is an appraisal performed by a local land appraiser, he said.

Southern Natural Gas will be holding public meetings along the path of the pipeline, and a public notice announcing the project is appearing in newspapers of affected counties. Electronic copies of the application are available at public libraries along the pipeline’s path, including libraries in Selma, Marion, York and Demopolis.

Several federal and state regulatory agencies will review and have oversight of the project, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, according to supporting documents posted at ferc.gov.

Information about the project is available at ferc.gov. FERC has assigned the project as docket number PF25-1-000.

SNG is equally owned by subsidiaries of Houston-based energy company Kinder Morgan, and Southern Company, which owns Alabama Power Co., and Elba Express Company, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary.