Dec 3, 2007 6:38 pm US/Central
Fort Worth Considers Gas Pipeline Regulation
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Fort Worth is scrambling to get a handle on the latest fallout from the natural gas expansion. The problem isn't with the drilling rigs, but the miles of gas pipeline lacing the city with no city regulation.
It was only recently that leaders in the City of Fort Worth realized they have no control over gas pipelines and in many cases don't even know where the lines are.
One of those gas lines runs right next to a residential neighborhood in southeast Fort Worth.
"I was just really concerned because it was just so close to our house… and all the noise and then the dust," said homeowner Shirley Price. "My car, I can't ever keep it clean because it's always coated with dust."
While the pipeline is in the buffer zone of neighboring I-35W, it's not a line that the city has control over. "It's just too close to the neighborhood," Price said.
The City of Fort Worth spent months outlining regulations for drilling rigs, but there is nothing the city has on the books about pipelines. There are no safety requirements or regulations about materials used. In fact, the gas companies don't even tell the city exactly where the lines are.
Some city leaders are also concerned. A gas company wanting to put a line through Trinity Park was the eye-opener. When the company wouldn't even tell the city where the gas line would go, talk about new laws began.
"I think it's very, very important information for the city to have at its disposal," said Councilwoman Wendy Davis. "If we don't have that information then we are operating at an extreme disadvantage in terms of our future planning."
The Town of Flower Mound has regulated pipelines in their city limits. Fort Worth council members say they will look at the laws there as they begin crafting their own.
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