---
title: "Environmental groups ask to unwind Kinder Morgan's $5.2 billion pipelines as it pitches a $1.3 billion one"
description: "On October 1, environmental groups and landowners asked a federal appeals court to unwind Kinder Morgan's $5.2 billion Mississippi Crossing and South System Expansion 4 approvals. In Middle Tennessee, the company is already securing land for the next $1.3 billion leg."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Energy"
published: 2026-10-14T20:36:09.098Z
modified: 2026-10-14T20:36:09.098Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/environmental-groups-ask-to-unwind-kinder-morgan-s-5-2-billion-pipelines-as-it-pitches-a-1-3-billion-one
language: en
keywords: "Kinder Morgan, Pipelines, Natural Gas, FERC, Energy Demand"
---

# Environmental groups ask to unwind Kinder Morgan's $5.2 billion pipelines as it pitches a $1.3 billion one

> On October 1, environmental groups and landowners asked a federal appeals court to unwind Kinder Morgan's $5.2 billion Mississippi Crossing and South System Expansion 4 approvals. In Middle Tennessee, the company is already securing land for the next $1.3 billion leg.

Landowners across ten Middle Tennessee counties are getting [letters and follow-up calls](https://www.carthagecourier.com/2026/10/13/officials-say-billion-dollar-natural-gas-pipeline-needed-with-demand/) this month from Kinder Morgan land agents seeking permission to survey for the Southeast Connector, a proposed $1.3 billion natural gas pipeline [1]. The terms are concrete: $500 to let a survey crew onto a parcel, a 50-foot easement, and [a route that touches 99 properties in Coffee County alone](https://www.tullahomanews.com/news/2026/10/13/natural-gas-pipeline-to-cross-coffee-county/) [6][7].

## A corridor assembled one county at a time

The line would be laid by Southern Natural Gas (SNG), a 50/50 venture between [Kinder Morgan](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/kinder-morgan) (NYSE: KMI) and Southern Company (NYSE: SO), running about 150 miles of 48-inch pipe to tie the Tennessee Gas Pipeline system into the SNG network [6][7]. Kinder Morgan calls it "market driven" and "no cost to taxpayers" [1]. It is the newest segment of a corridor the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) certified in August when it approved the $5.2 billion [Mississippi Crossing and South System Expansion 4](https://theinference.org/article/ferc-approved-5-2-billion-of-gas-pipe-on-data-center-forecasts-a-court-will-now-ask-who-needs-it) pair, $1.7 billion plus $3.5 billion [2][5]. [KMI's project backlog stood at $9.6 billion on June 30](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/KMI-N/pressreleases/3411587/kinder-morgan-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial-results/), roughly 92% of it natural gas and more than 60% tied to power generation, funded almost entirely from the company's own cash flow [5].

## The demand case the CFO is making

[Chief Financial Officer David Michels told a late-September fireside chat](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/kinder-morgan-sees-6b-7b-160247061.html) that requests to connect large loads at Southern Company, Dominion, Duke, Florida Power & Light and TVA exceed 200 gigawatts, with more than 50 gigawatts far enough along to equal over 8 billion cubic feet a day of gas if fired entirely with it [8]. The 219 South open season, marketed at up to 530,000 dekatherms a day (about 510 million cubic feet), [drew a "very strong and positive" response](https://marcellusdrilling.com/2026/10/kinder-says-tgp-219-south-pipeline-could-be-multiple-times-bigger/), and the final project could be multiple times bigger [3][8]. The Connector's own open season closed on October 7, with results promised on the next earnings call [8].

## A court petition and a two-day outage

On October 1 the Southern Environmental Law Center, [Sierra](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sierra) Club counsel, ten community and environmental groups and two landowners [asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to set aside the certificates](https://marcellusdrilling.com/2026/10/called-it-big-green-takes-kinders-msx-sse4-pipelines-to-court/) for that $5.2 billion pair [2]; [SELC's front page now runs a campaign against a "$5B+ pipeline we don't need"](https://www.selc.org/news/) [9]. The system also showed a seam: [Tennessee Gas declared force majeure on October 6](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-08/kinder-morgan-lifts-force-majeure-on-us-mexico-gas-pipeline) after isolating pipe feeding the Rio Bravo and Cenagas meters in Mexico, lifting it on October 8 and renewing Mexican worries about reliance on U.S. gas [4]. Kinder Morgan's spending says which way it is betting: [quarterly capital expenditure hit a 12-quarter high of $982 million in the second quarter](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001506307), up 52% in a year [11].

*Chart: **Quarterly capex hit a 12-quarter high in Q2 2026, up 52% year over year** Line chart of Kinder Morgan quarterly capital expenditure from Q3 2024 to Q2 2026, rising from about $0.66 billion to $0.982 billion.*

*Quarterly capital expenditure in US dollars from Kinder Morgan's SEC filings, not annualized; the peak quarter coincides with the sanctioned Southeast build. [11]*

## What October 21 decides

[KMI reports third-quarter results on October 21](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/kinder-morgan-announces-third-quarter-123000088.html), and Michels has promised Southeast Connector detail on that call [8][10]. [FERC pre-filing opens this quarter](https://www.lebanondemocrat.com/maconcounty/news/southeast-connector-project-will-run-through-macon-county/article_f9e24cf0-1d9e-5aac-9c9c-70d31174cba9.html), with the formal process starting in December [7]. Kinder Morgan is securing the next route before the first certificate has survived review.

## Takeaway

Kinder Morgan is spending like the Southeast gas corridor is settled: capex at a 12-quarter high, a $9.6 billion backlog and a $1.3 billion route being secured, even as a court petition seeks to unwind $5.2 billion of the approvals underneath it.

## Sources

1. [Carthage Courier, "Officials say billion dollar natural gas pipeline needed with demand", 13 October 2026](https://www.carthagecourier.com/2026/10/13/officials-say-billion-dollar-natural-gas-pipeline-needed-with-demand/)
2. [Marcellus Drilling News, "Called It: Big Green Takes Kinder's MSX & SSE4 Pipelines to Court", 5 October 2026](https://marcellusdrilling.com/2026/10/called-it-big-green-takes-kinders-msx-sse4-pipelines-to-court/)
3. [Marcellus Drilling News, "Kinder Says TGP 219 South Pipeline Could Be Multiple Times Bigger", 5 October 2026](https://marcellusdrilling.com/2026/10/kinder-says-tgp-219-south-pipeline-could-be-multiple-times-bigger/)
4. [Bloomberg, "Kinder Morgan Lifts Force Majeure on US-Mexico Gas Pipeline", 8 October 2026](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-08/kinder-morgan-lifts-force-majeure-on-us-mexico-gas-pipeline)
5. [Business Wire via The Globe and Mail, "Kinder Morgan Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results", 22 July 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/KMI-N/pressreleases/3411587/kinder-morgan-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial-results/)
6. [Tullahoma News, "Natural gas pipeline to cross Coffee County", 13 October 2026](https://www.tullahomanews.com/news/2026/10/13/natural-gas-pipeline-to-cross-coffee-county/)
7. [Lebanon Democrat (Macon County), "Southeast Connector Project will run through Macon County", 30 September 2026](https://www.lebanondemocrat.com/maconcounty/news/southeast-connector-project-will-run-through-macon-county/article_f9e24cf0-1d9e-5aac-9c9c-70d31174cba9.html)
8. [MarketBeat via Yahoo Finance, "Kinder Morgan Sees $6B–$7B Growth Runway as Southeast Gas Demand Surges", 30 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/kinder-morgan-sees-6b-7b-160247061.html)
9. [Southern Environmental Law Center newsroom, front page featuring "Federal agencies are pushing a $5B+ pipeline we don't need", accessed 14 October 2026](https://www.selc.org/news/)
10. [Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, "Kinder Morgan Announces Third Quarter '26 Earnings Webcast", 14 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/kinder-morgan-announces-third-quarter-123000088.html)
11. [Kinder Morgan quarterly figures from its SEC filings (via company_series), retrieved 14 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001506307)


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Environmental groups ask to unwind Kinder Morgan's $5.2 billion pipelines as it pitches a $1.3 billion one — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/environmental-groups-ask-to-unwind-kinder-morgan-s-5-2-billion-pipelines-as-it-pitches-a-1-3-billion-one