Raúl M. Grijalva, the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Wednesday asking her to consider the national security implications of the proposed Sasabe Lateral Gas Pipeline, a 60-mile pipeline projected to cut through the ecologically sensitive Altar Valley southwest of Tucson.
The pipeline would allow the El Paso Natural Gas Company to export natural gas to Mexico.
Yuma News Now reports El Paso has requested a right of way to build a pipeline from Three Points, Ariz., to Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico. The company has proposed two potential routes for the project, both of which pass through the Altar Valley, an area home to the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and a major corridor for illegal immigration and smuggling.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the lead agency responsible for granting the right of way, is preparing a draft Environmental Impact Statement (dEIS) that analyzes the proposed routes and other alternatives.
Grijalva writes “construction of a pipeline along either proposed route would likely create a corridor for illegal activity and complicate Customs and Border Patrol attempts to keep this country and its citizens safe.”
