Natural gas pipeline project opponents: Citizens have rights and a voice

Environmental groups and concerned citizens are mounting strong opposition against a proposed natural gas power plant and a 70-mile underground pipeline in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The project, spearheaded by Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper, aims to construct a gas megaproject in Canadys, Colleton County, on the Edisto River, with the pipeline extending through Hampton and Colleton counties. Opposition has been fierce since the projects were announced in late 2025, with activists like Stro Morrison III, a Hampton County forester, and Tonya Bonitatibus, Executive Director of Savannah Riverkeeper, leading efforts to inform residents of their rights and encourage participation in public input processes. The groups, including the Southern Environmental Law Center and Lowcountry Land Trust, argue that the Canadys power plant could cause significant pollution and that the pipeline would impact nearly 200 landowners and the environmentally sensitive ACE Basin watershed. Bonitatibus emphasizes that stopping the power plant is crucial to halting the associated pipeline, known as the Bridge Project, which is slated for construction by Elba Express Company, a Kinder Morgan entity. She asserts that the stated "need" for these gas projects is deceptive, claiming the gas is primarily for power generation for large customers, specifically data centers, and for export, rather than heating homes. Morrison echoed this sentiment, stating that South Carolina and Georgia are "ground zero for data centers" due to land, water, and energy availability, linking these gas projects directly to the expansion of AI data centers. Robbie Maynor, an SELC Climate Campaign Associate Attorney, added that more power plants and data centers are speculated to be planned. Opponents are mobilizing ahead of the Elba Express/Kinder Morgan's expected application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) by late 2026. Bonitatibus advises landowners against allowing surveys until a CPCN is obtained, as it could grant eminent domain power. Separately, the Public Service Commission (PSC) is holding public hearings in Walterboro and Columbia to address the Canadys power plant, where residents can voice concerns about cost, pollution, health impacts, and a preference for clean energy over fossil fuels.