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Scenes of a Debate Over Big Bend Pipeline

Two companies are teaming up to build a 143-mile pipeline to carry natural gas through the Big Bend region and into Mexico. An unlikely coalition is fighting to thwart the project. See these images related to the battle over the plan.

by Cooper Neill

A sign opposing the Trans-Pecos pipeline is shown outside the home of Suzanne Bailey and Tom Short in Alpine in June 2015. Their house sits a few feet from one of the first visible signs that the pipeline is coming: a 23-acre lot that's set to be a staging area for segments of the pipeline. The couple complained of frequent loud noise and shaking of their home as heavy machinery works to smooth the land.
Credit: Cooper Neill for The Texas Tribune
An aerial photograph of the Big Bend region near Alpine, where opposition to the proposed Trans-Pecos pipeline has grown since residents first learned of the project, which will send huge amounts of gas into Mexico.
Credit: Cooper Neill
David Keller, an archaeologist at Sul Ross State University and head of the Big Bend Conservation Alliance, looks over the Big Bend region near Alpine, where the proposed Trans-Pecos pipeline will run. Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners plans to start construction in early 2016.
Credit: Cooper Neill
An aerial photograph of the Big Bend region near Alpine, where the proposed pipeline will run, stirring concerns among landowners and environmentalists in the largely untouched region.
Credit: Cooper Neill
A view of Alpine residents protesting the pipeline on June 19, 2015.
Credit: Cooper Neill
Locals protest the proposed pipeline in downtown Alpine. In some weeks, the protests have drawn dozens of residents.
Credit: Cooper Neill
The sun sets in a neighborhood near where the proposed Trans-Pecos pipeline is planned to run outside of Alpine.
Credit: Cooper Neill
A home in a neighborhood near where the pipeline is planned to run outside of Alpine .
Credit: Cooper Neill
Alpine Mayor Avinash Rangra discusses his opposition to the Trans Pecos Pipeline during a June protest. The Alpine City Council has asked the Obama administration to deny Energy Transfer Partners' permit application to cross the Texas-Mexico border.
Credit: Cooper Neill
A general view of the landscape near where the Trans-Pecos pipeline is believed could run near Alpine.
Credit: Cooper Neill
A sign opposing the Trans-Pecos pipeline hangs in a neighborhood near where the pipeline could run near Alpine.
Credit: Cooper Neill

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