Thousands of Comments Shared with Governor Katie Hobbs Passionately Oppose Desert Southwest Gas Pipeline

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On Friday, the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter shared with Gov. Katie Hobbs’s office about 2,000 comments that were submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last week opposing the Desert Southwest Pipeline. The comments, mostly from the states along the route of the gas pipeline, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, were initially submitted as part of FERC’s initial comment period on the pipeline. The project would pipe methane gas from the Permian Basin to supply energy-slurping data centers in states across the Southwest, and would significantly harm precious water resources and lock in climate-heating gas for decades.

In their comments, community members and constituents call for better consideration of the impacts the project would have on communities and the climate, especially data centers and doubling down on expensive, dirty methane gas. In fact, according to the Sierra Club’s planned gas tracker, Arizona ranks as one of the top states for planned new gas-fired plants across the nation.

In southern New Mexico, the Pipeline would enable the Project Jupiter data center, an operation that would emit as much greenhouse gas as the states’ three largest cities, consume as much energy as the entire grid of the state’s largest utility, and singlehandedly wipe out New Mexico’s 29% reduction in greenhouse gases since 2005.

In May, Gov. Hobbs announced her support for the Pipeline, claiming to prioritize supporting Arizona families despite the pipeline’s impacts on community members already struggling to make ends meet. The move contradicts the Energy Task Force Report, where Gov. Hobbs acknowledges concerns with gas that weren’t mentioned in her May announcement supporting the project.

“As plans for the Desert Southwest Pipeline steamroll ahead, so does growing community opposition,” said Sandy Bahr, Chapter Director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “Communities don’t want to see Arizona’s fragile deserts and waters destroyed and resources stripped for a project that risks our dollars, health, and the climate. Our state is already contending with an outrageous gas rush – this pipeline will just feed that. We need Governor Hobbs to stand up for Arizonans, not cave in to the demands of Arizona’s biggest utilities.”

“The fight for environmental justice is intersectional—we support a system where the working class has access to good union jobs, but a gas pipeline is not sustainable nor should it be done at the expense of potential harm and negative health impacts to the land or people. Decisions like this should not be made without communication and dialogue with impacted communities. We urge Governor Hobbs to withdraw her support of this harmful pipeline,” said Vania Guevara, Advocacy and Political Director for Chispa Arizona.

“As a native Arizonan who cares deeply about the health and future of our communities, I strongly oppose the Desert Southwest Pipeline,” said Vanessa Perez, Environmental Justice Coalition Coordinator of Activate 48. “This pipeline would threaten Arizona’s limited water resources and lock us into decades of dirty energy and methane pollution to support data centers that are already using enormous amounts of water and adding more heat to our dangerously hot state. Low-income and BIPOC communities too often bear the harm from these projects. They deserve clean air, safe water, clean energy and a healthy future – not more pollution. We urge Governor Hobbs to listen to our impacted communities and reconsider support for this project.”

Featured photo by Tapas S