An informal meeting to provide information about a proposed natural gas pipeline through Brown County was held Wednesday at the Adams Street Community Center.

The pipeline will be known as the DeLa Express Project, and will be a 690-mile pipeline that will transport approximately 2-billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Delaware production basin in West Texas to demand markets in the Lake Charles, Louisiana area.  The project proposes to use 42-inch diameter pipe, buried at least three feet below surface.  There will also be nine compressor stations, which move the gas through the pipeline, including one in Brown County.  In our area the pipeline will run west to east through Coleman County (just south of Coleman and Santa Anna), Brown County (south of Bangs and just south of Brownwood), and across the northern portion of Mills County.

In the Brownwood area the proposed route would take the pipeline south of the Kohler Co. plant and just north of the Brownwood Country Club, running somewhat parallel with Highway 45 North.  Literature provided at the meeting states “DeLa Express developed its proposed pipeline route to meet the Project objectives while minimizing environmental impacts and adhering to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) guidance for pipeline routing.  Where practical, DeLa Express intends to utilize existing utility corridors for the Project’s routing.”

The literature also says that the project is expected to create a temporary workforce of about 5,300 jobs during the construction phase, some of which could be local, and 380 full-time jobs.  Local businesses that could benefit from the project include hotels, restaurants, service stations, materials suppliers, sub-contractors, etc.

The project is currently in the “Pre-Filing Request” stage with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  As the approval process moves along, landowners along the route will be contacted, probably in late 2025.  The literature states “DeLa Express will need to acquire both temporary and permanent easements over portions of certain properties for the construction of the pipeline facilities that are a part of the Project. When it is appropriate to begin negotiations, DeLa Express will negotiate with landowners in good faith for those necessary property rights.  DeLa Express’ offer to acquire those rights will be based on the fair market value of the property and an equitable assessment of any impacts to the property.”

Another informational meeting will be held Thursday, June 27 in the Ballinger Community Center, 200 Crosson Avenue, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m.

The proposed schedule for the project shows an expected approval of the project in 1st quarter 2026, construction beginning in 2nd quarter 2026, and pipeline construction complete and in-service by the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2028.

DeLa Express is a subsidiary of Moss Lake Partners LP “an independent, midstream energy and logistics company focused on developing strategic infrastructure to source, transport, and store critical energy commodities.”  For more information, contact information is below.

GENERAL INFORMATION

DeLa Express website:  https://www.DeLaExpress.com/

Toll-free Phone:  1-877-335-2397

Email:  [email protected]

LANDOWNER INFORMATION:

Landowner Toll-Free Phone:  1-832-924-5011

Landowner Email:  [email protected]