Owners of drilling site grow weary of delays over pipeline in Fort Worth

By MIKE LEE

mikelee@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — As discussions continue this week on moving a controversial natural gas pipeline out of a neighborhood in east Fort Worth, the owners of the drilling site at the end of the pipeline say they’re growing impatient with the delays.

Chesapeake Energy has been trying since last summer to bore a 16-inch pipeline beneath the front yards of more than 40 homes on Carter Avenue. The only thing standing in the way is permission to cross city streets.

The pipeline has touched off protests and led to changes in state law. City Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks, state Rep. Lon Burnam and state Sen. Wendy Davis have met with Chesapeake officials over the last two weeks looking for an alternate route.

Tim Thomas and Diana Armstrong, two owners of the property being drilled on, sent letters to city officials and to the Star-Telegram on Monday, saying the delay in connecting the pipeline is costing them money. In an interview Thursday, they said they were concerned about the impact on the neighbors but also worried that the city might impose more delays, even if Chesapeake finds an alternate route.

"If Chesapeake does surveys and then they get that one all done, will the city come up with something else not to approve that one?" Thomas asked.

Hicks said she doesn’t want delays, either, but is worried about setting a precedent. "The pipeline is going under property that they don’t own," she said.

More than 2,000 gas wells have been drilled in Fort Worth since development began in the Barnett Shale field, and all of them require pipelines.

Seeking royalties

Thomas’ and Armstrong’s parents were friends, and they’ve worked together to develop the 33 acres. Armstrong and her sister inherited their acreage when their father, songwriter Marvin Moore, died in 1992. Thomas runs a telecommunications company; he and four relatives acquired their land from his father, who ran a real estate business.

The land is east of Beach Street and is sandwiched between Interstate 30 and narrow residential streets. It’s been hard to develop because of its location. The families were in discussions with a home builder when they signed a natural gas lease with Dale Resources a few years ago. Chesapeake has since acquired the lease.

The well has been drilled and fractured. Once it’s hooked to a pipeline, the two families can begin receiving royalties. Chesapeake officials say the Carter Avenue route is the most viable because it’s flatter and because the Texas Transportation Department initially refused to allow the pipeline to be parallel to the freeway.

"It’s a modern phenomenon: If we want to be energy-independent, this gas has got to be harvested somehow," Thomas said. "I don’t want anybody’s home life disrupted either."

Neither Thomas nor Armstrong live in the neighborhood. They said they were unaware of some of the controversy about both the well site and the pipeline.

"My sister and I were under the impression that some of the homeowners were paid already," Armstrong said.

Chesapeake filed eminent domain lawsuits against six homeowners, although some settled before going to court.

'A nightmare’

Some residents are concerned about safety, while others have said a pipeline right of way through their front yard would lower their property value.

"It’s been a nightmare," said Brooke Cooper, who has helped organize the protests.

A state law passed this spring requires the Transportation Department to allow pipelines along freeways. Also, the city now requires drillers to plan their pipelines and truck routes before getting permits for sensitive drilling sites.

Chesapeake officials said this month that they want to begin construction in November. Since then, though, officials with the Transportation Department have said they would be open to discussing a route along either the south or north side of the freeway. As of Thursday, city officials were working with property owners to allow Chesapeake to take surveys.

"It’s bigger than Carter Avenue," Hicks said. "This is about the future of how we deal with pipelines in this city, and we need to treat every neighborhood the same."

MIKE LEE, 817-390-7539

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