Say NO to a Fossil Fuel Superhighway across the South!

Two harmful, unnecessary, and expensive methane gas pipeline projects—the South System Expansion 4 (SSE4) and Mississippi Crossing—are currently being proposed to cut approximately 500 miles across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, threatening communities and some of our most beloved landscapes.

In Georgia alone, the proposed SSE4 pipeline impacts 6 river watersheds—places where people fish, swim, farm, and get their drinking water. In some communities near compressor stations like Macon and Columbus, the pipeline will increase air pollution and expose communities to a greater risk of asthma, cancer, and heart attacks. Communities would also be exposed to possible gas leaks and even potential explosions. This is not to mention the threats to habitat and endangered wildlife.

These projects are part of a much larger expansion of methane gas across the South at a time when cleaner options are increasingly available and often cheaper. Utilities are proposing dozens of new gas-burning power plants to attract energy-hungry data centers and their profits. Utilities can earn big by building these expensive projects on the backs of billpayers. Georgia Power was recently approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to build 5 new methane-gas power plants across the state to support a 10 GW energy expansion—that’s equivalent to five Hoover Dams worth of energy. To make matters worse, much of this projected data center demand is speculative, if not outright implausible.

Hence why Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL), alongside partners in several states, including Science for Georgia, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Blackbelt Women Rising, Energy Alabama, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, are opposing these projects. With the help of attorneys at the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), we formally intervened at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to stop this fossil fuel superhighway.

We are disappointed in FERC's August 2026 decision to blatantly disregard its statutory obligation, authorizing two pipeline proposals that would bring more than 500 miles of unnecessary methane gas pipelines across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.

However the fight isn't over!

On behalf of GIPL and other concerned parties, the Southern Environmental Law Center plans to challenge the authorization before FERC, and we're asking you to stay connected to get updates on where to take action next.