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Feb 12, 2008 5:32 pm US/Central
Fort Worth Considers Regulating Gas Wells
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
There are now more than 1,000 natural gas wells in the City of Fort Worth and thousands of people are dealing with the problems that come with a well operating close to home.
The city is trying to catch up and plug some gaping holes in laws that were passed two years ago. One example – currently the city has no way of regulating the locations of natural gas pipelines and has no map system as to their locations.
Because of the legal loopholes, many of those living next to the gas lines have been in the dark as to what gas companies are doing in their neighborhoods.
"We haven't heard anything. Nobody come around and talk to us about anything," said homeowner Vernon Sykes.
Sykes says there are signs in his neighborhood about nearby gas drilling, but he has seen no profit from it and has gotten no response to questions about what the gas companies are doing. "We got uh, maybe a postcard from them about a year ago, saying that they were drilling and that was it," he explained.
The Fort Worth City Council wants to tighten laws to protect residents like Sykes. They're looking to force reporting of pipeline locations or even requiring that companies work with the city on where lines should go.
"They may have the power of imminent domain but we've got to work on some kind of a deal, or agreement, or something, that our citizens at the same time are not being stepped on," said Fort Worth Councilmember Chuck Silcox.
A special committee will look at implementing new rules on how far rigs should be from homes and consequences for noise violations.
As it stands, many homeowners believe that if the city doesn't respond to their complaints, the gas companies certainly won't. "It's just really frustrating," Sykes said.
The special committee is expected to report back to the city council by late spring or early summer.
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