A Kentucky couple who moved into the woods hoping for peace and natural beauty instead learned that a proposed 30-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline could run through their yard.
What happened?
For Sharon Kulovsek, the pipeline proposal threatens more than trees and property lines. It also puts at risk the life her family believed they were building when they bought the home last year.
Kulovsek told the Kentucky Lantern that she and her husband were not informed about the gas pipeline proposal when they bought their property. Later, after surveyors were allowed on the land, they also learned that the proposed pipeline would require taking down large oak trees.
"We were blindsided," said Kulovsek, who moved to Kentucky from Chicago.
TC Energy, the Canada-based company with a controlling stake in Columbia Gulf Transmission, told federal regulators it plans to spend a little over $400 million on a project to supply gas to East Kentucky Power Cooperative's Hugh L. Spurlock Generating Station.
The 42-mile proposal would reportedly connect to an existing Columbia Gulf Transmission line and pass through Rowan, Fleming, and Mason counties.
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Officials in the region are split over the proposal, per the Kentucky Lantern: Democratic Rowan County Judge-Executive Harry Clark and Fleming County leaders have opposed it, while Democratic Mason County Judge-Executive Owen McNeill and Republican Senate President Robert Stivers support the project, pointing to construction jobs and electric grid reliability.
Why does it matter?
East Kentucky Power Cooperative spokesperson Nick Comer told the Kentucky Lantern in an email that the pipeline would give the utility "greater flexibility to comply with environmental regulations and to manage costs," while helping "manage carbon dioxide emissions" and supporting the local workforce by extending "the life of Spurlock Station."
Meanwhile, TC Energy said in a statement to the outlet that it has seen "strong community interest" and added that it has received "positive and productive feedback" as well as "thoughtful conversations with community members and local businesses."
However, the Kentucky Lantern reported that residents along the proposed route have also raised concerns about safety, property values, wildlife, and whether their communities are being asked to shoulder the risks while others receive the benefits.
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Coal and natural gas power plants contribute to air and water pollution linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death, while also keeping many households tied to energy sources with volatile prices instead of more abundant options such as sunlight and wind.
Justin Kulovsek, Sharon's son and a Rowan County property owner, has also questioned whether the company fully analyzed impacts on sensitive species, per the Kentucky Lantern.
In a January letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources warned that the project could impact 15 species that are endangered, threatened, or under consideration for the endangered and threatened lists, including bats, mussels, and the Eastern Hellbender.
What's being done?
Ahead of its November decision on the pipeline, the FERC is reviewing public input and preparing an environmental assessment, according to the Kentucky Lantern.
People who want to weigh in can submit comments through FERC's online filing system under docket CP26-25-000.
As for Kulovsek, she said her daughter has already built a tiny home on the family's property, and she hopes the line can at least be moved away from where people live.
"To put our homes in danger and our property in danger because of a public pipeline doesn't really make sense," Kulovsek told the Kentucky Lantern.
If the project remains on its current path, she said, the future becomes uncertain. "I don't know if we would stay here if we had the pipeline running through our front yard," she concluded.
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