Thursday, November 1, 2001

Drilling proposal worries residents
By James Zwilling
Skiff Staff

Marion Klemet left her home in Midland for one reason — she was tired of looking out the window an oil field.

“Fort Worth is a wonderful city,” she said. “I moved because I could live on the outskirts of town, but have all the amenities of a city.”

Now Klemet, who lives in northeast Fort Worth, is among several residents expressing concern over the city’s oil and gas drilling proposal.

Despite assurances from developers and oil and gas company representatives that drilling will be focused on undeveloped areas of the city, area residents have expressed concerns about safety, compensation and mineral rights, Assistant City Attorney Sarah Fullwider said.

“We’re revising the proposal right now so that we can take into consideration some of their concerns,” she said.

Fullwider said she does not want to comment on any specific changes at this time, but she said the revised proposal should be presented to the City Council by Nov. 13.
Mayor Kenneth Barr, representatives from oil and gas companies, real estate developers, officials from the Texas Railroad Commission, City Council members and neighborhood leaders held a public roundtable discussion Oct. 22 to allow citizens to ask questions and learn more about the drilling process.

The guidelines were proposed by the City Attorney’s office after several oil and gas companies requested permits to begin drilling, Fullwider said. Fort Worth had never had any such requests, and therefore the city had no guidelines, Fullwider said.

Peter Youngston, a Fort Worth resident, said he thought the roundtable discussion was informative, but he is still not ready to support the proposal.

“I learned quite a bit about drilling at the meeting,” he said. “I know now that we aren’t going to see pumps all over the city, but I still have concerns.

“Most citizens like me are quite ignorant about all of this drilling stuff,” he said. “Who’s going to own the mineral rights? What are they going to do to make sure it’s safe? Is it safe?”

Fullwider said the City Council will tentatively address the oil and gas drilling proposal at meetings Nov. 20, Nov. 27 and Dec. 4. Times and locations have not yet been decided.

Fullwider said she hopes questions from citizens like Youngston will be answered at the coming meetings.

After a final proposal is written, the City Council will discuss the issue, which it plans to vote on early in December, Fullwider said. Citizens won’t vote directly on the issue, but are able to voice their concerns to the City Council.

Connie Pepin, a new resident to Fort Worth, said she’ll be attending the public meetings.

“I have kids,” she said. “I’m worried about their safety and the safety of other kids in the neighborhood. People need to go to these meetings. Even if you don’t think it will affect you or your neighborhood, you have a responsibility as a citizen to make sure your fellow citizens best interests are being served.”

James Zwilling
j.g.zwilling@student.tcu.edu