Gas Company Moving Forward with Controversial Pipeline Plans in Eastland
By: Homa Bash
Updated: September 11, 2012
If all goes according to plan, a 93-year-old pipeline will be pumping natural gas through Eastland County, under Lake Leon, and to Hanlon Gas Company's plant north of I-20, by November.
"We're going to major steps to make sure that if the pipeline does leak, it'll vent outside the water," said Rick Johnson, Hanlon's Director of Gas Supply, on Tuesday.
But it's a plan that is raising more than a few eyebrows.
"It could make everybody in Eastland sick, kill our fish, and it's our water supply, we bathe in it, cook with it, use it to drink," said Eastland resident Jay Jones. "Yeah, it would be a big concern."
But what appears to be the biggest issue is the serious lack of knowledge within the community -- people we spoke with, from county leaders to average citizens -- are not exactly sure what's going on.
The Breckenridge-based gas company bought the pipeline in 2005 -- and along with it, they say, the easements that allow them to do with it what they want.
Hanlon Gas has already started work on the south side of the lake, putting up warning signs and updating the pipeline in the area.
"It just gives me peace of mind to know they're doing everything they can to protect the water and the people around it," said Gary Lister, another Eastland resident.
Johnson said it is certainly nothing that has not been done before, and the company is taking every safety precaution they can, to reduce the risk of a leak.
"If any gas was to vent in the water, our opinion is that it would bubble up to the surface and disperse into the atmosphere."
But Johnson said as far as they are concerned, the pipe is safe as is.
"They don't know that until they get under there and inspect every inch of pipe there is to make sure it's safe and if they do that, I'd be fine with it really," Jones said.
The company said they hired a professional diver in 2011 to go bank to bank in Lake Leon and verify the pipe is buried under the lake bed and found that it was.
"However, as a next step, at our expense, we're going to install a liner inside the pipe. It's polyethylene and it's a tite-liner process," Johnson said.
City officials are not as convinced -- Eastland City Manager Ron Holliday has spoken out against the use of the pipeline, citing safety issues and possible contamination of the lake.
A liner, visual inspection, and pressure tests, and yet it seems this battle is just beginning.
The Eastland County Water Supply District, which has jurisdiction over the lake, has referred all questions to their lawyer, who said Tuesday he could not comment on pending issues.
"We're going to major steps to make sure that if the pipeline does leak, it'll vent outside the water," said Rick Johnson, Hanlon's Director of Gas Supply, on Tuesday.
But it's a plan that is raising more than a few eyebrows.
"It could make everybody in Eastland sick, kill our fish, and it's our water supply, we bathe in it, cook with it, use it to drink," said Eastland resident Jay Jones. "Yeah, it would be a big concern."
But what appears to be the biggest issue is the serious lack of knowledge within the community -- people we spoke with, from county leaders to average citizens -- are not exactly sure what's going on.
The Breckenridge-based gas company bought the pipeline in 2005 -- and along with it, they say, the easements that allow them to do with it what they want.
Hanlon Gas has already started work on the south side of the lake, putting up warning signs and updating the pipeline in the area.
"It just gives me peace of mind to know they're doing everything they can to protect the water and the people around it," said Gary Lister, another Eastland resident.
Johnson said it is certainly nothing that has not been done before, and the company is taking every safety precaution they can, to reduce the risk of a leak.
"If any gas was to vent in the water, our opinion is that it would bubble up to the surface and disperse into the atmosphere."
But Johnson said as far as they are concerned, the pipe is safe as is.
"They don't know that until they get under there and inspect every inch of pipe there is to make sure it's safe and if they do that, I'd be fine with it really," Jones said.
The company said they hired a professional diver in 2011 to go bank to bank in Lake Leon and verify the pipe is buried under the lake bed and found that it was.
"However, as a next step, at our expense, we're going to install a liner inside the pipe. It's polyethylene and it's a tite-liner process," Johnson said.
City officials are not as convinced -- Eastland City Manager Ron Holliday has spoken out against the use of the pipeline, citing safety issues and possible contamination of the lake.
A liner, visual inspection, and pressure tests, and yet it seems this battle is just beginning.
The Eastland County Water Supply District, which has jurisdiction over the lake, has referred all questions to their lawyer, who said Tuesday he could not comment on pending issues.
