BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. — Kimberly Rummage pointed to land across from her husband's grandparents' house on Rummage Road.
"This is where the pipeline will cut straight through the center of this field and limit our accesses," she said.
Her husband's family has farmed land in an area of Bullitt County for five generations, she told Spectrum News 1.
What You Need To Know
- Some landowners in Bullitt County are opposed to a proposed LG&E natural gas pipeline
- A judge ruled in May that LG&E had the right to obtain easements for the project
- The Rummage family says the pipeline would change the way they farm and use their land
- Attorneys for the landowners have asked the judge to reconsider his previous ruling and to hold another hearing
They are now leasing some of the land and recently sold their cattle because of plans for an LG&E pipeline to be built under part of the 300-acre property, she said.
"Due to the pipeline, this unknown safety, we don’t know whether or not this pipeline’s going to go through, but we’re just trying to prepare," she said. "It’s going to change the way in which we farm and how the land has been used over time."
The family is concerned that if the pipeline is constructed, they won't be able to use heavy farming equipment, Rummage said.
That’s a concern shared by John Cox, an attorney representing other landowners along the proposed route.
“You can’t raise crops on top of a high pressure natural gas pipeline," Cox said. "You can’t drive heavy machinery over it, can’t put roads in. I mean, it makes things extremely difficult and has a devastating effect on the use of the land."
An LG&E website dedicated to the project states that once construction is complete, the pipeline easement will be restored and property owners can still drive vehicles over it.
In May, Bullitt County Circuit Court Judge Rodney Burress ruled LG&E had the right to obtain easements for the project.
He wrote that the utility had “proven this route is appropriate and necessary to satisfy a public need to increase capacity and improve reliability for commercial and residential natural gas customers in Bullitt County.”
Rummage family attorney Thomas Clay disagreed.
“This condemnation proceeding should be for a public purpose and it’s my understanding that the purpose for this pipeline is to provide gas for Jim Beam’s distillery," he said.
LG&E’s attorney, Monica Bruan, argued last month that the gas would not just be for Jim Beam.
“There are 450 customers desiring natural gas service at least and those requests for services have been deferred," Braun told Judge Burress. "Jim Beam may want additional gas, but there’s a whole lot of other homes and businesses and persons in Bullitt County that would also like natural gas."
According to LG&E, the pipeline is also necessary for potential problems with the existing lines.
Rummage's family is also worried about the safety of living near a pipeline, but even if it becomes a reality, they don’t plan to leave, she said.
"It’s a pretty big family farm that we’re pretty proud of and that we don’t want to give up the rights to how and which we’ve did things over the years," she said.
Last month, attorneys for some of the landowners asked Judge Burress to reconsider his previous ruling and to hold another hearing. It is not clear when he will announce a decision.
The pipeline project is expected to cost more than $74 million.
A spokesperson for LG&E told Spectrum News 1 she could not comment on this story due to the ongoing litigation.