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FORT WORTH -- Chesapeake Energy and the Texas Department of Transportation have found a "constructible route" that would move a natural gas pipeline off a residential street in east Fort Worth.
The original route, down Carter Avenue, would have required a right-of-way beneath more than 30 residents' front yards. Chesapeake's pipeline subsidiary, Texas Midstream Gas Services, filed condemnation suits in 2008 against a half-dozen owners while trying to acquire the route.Transportation Department spokesman Val Lopez said the new route, which would run along Interstate 30, could be approved in a few days once Chesapeake submits detailed plans.A Chesapeake spokesman said the company is encouraged by the process, but pointed out that there are still hurdles: The new route will still require the company to acquire a right-of-way across people's property, and the city will have to give its permission for street crossings.The department doesn't normally allow gathering lines -- the pipelines that connect gas wells to the larger network -- along freeways because those lines don't go directly to customers. The agency changed its stance under pressure from local elected officials, including Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks; state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth; and state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth.The situation has been closely watched because more than 1,000 natural gas wells have been drilled in Fort Worth, and the energy companies are building a network of pipelines to connect them."The coordinated efforts by all demonstrate what we can do when we work together," Hicks said. "The actions we have taken here are significant for other North Texas neighborhoods that are concerned about pipelines in their neighborhoods."Davis filed a bill in 2009 that would have forced the Transportation Department to allow pipelines to run along freeways, but it was vetoed by the governor. She said, though, that the bill helped bring the department to the bargaining table.Chesapeake has acquired easements from all but one resident along Carter Avenue, Steve Doeung, who has been fighting the condemnation on procedural grounds. A judge told Doeung last week that he was close to giving Chesapeake the right to build the pipeline beneath Doeung's property.Once construction begins on the I-30 route, Davis said she wants Chesapeake to return the right-of-way to the homeowners."Particularly, they need to back away from the condemnation against Steve Doeung," Davis said. "I feel like his family has suffered a lot of emotional trauma."The company has previously said it would keep trying to acquire the Carter Avenue route until the new route is in place, including property acquisition and the city street crossings."Until these steps have been completed, it is premature to speculate on the future state of easements [Texas Midstream] has already purchased along Carter Avenue or the potential construction timeline," company spokesman Brian Murnahan said Thursday.MIKE LEE, 817-390-7539
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