Fort Worth council to revisit rules on drilling

By MIKE LEE - Star-Telegram Staff Writer - Mon, Feb. 11, 2008
FORT WORTH -- The City Council will reopen its discussions about the gas drilling ordinance Tuesday.

The League of Women Voters of Tarrant County is calling for tighter restrictions on pipelines. The Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods, which had called for a moratorium on new permits until the ordinance is rewritten, is gathering input from members about what issues to push.

The drilling ordinance is important because Fort Worth is the largest city in the Barnett Shale gas field. There are more than 500 gas wells, and counting, in the city. Also, many smaller cities have followed Fort Worth's lead in creating ordinances.

City Council members will discuss two key points during an early afternoon workshop Tuesday: who gets to sit on the task force and what topics they'll discuss.

Mayor Mike Moncrief has said he wants to keep the committee focused on a few key issues and let an industry group work out a solution on saltwater disposal wells.

An exact start time for the workshop has not been set. It is scheduled to start immediately after a 1 p.m. committee meeting Tuesday at City Hall, 1000 Throckmorton St.

Online

The League of Women Voters proposal is at

www.lwvtarrantcounty.org/files/gas_pipeline_advocacy.pdf.

The League of Neighborhoods information is at www.fwlna.org.

The city has a Web page devoted to gas drilling information, including a map of well locations, at www.fortworthgov.org.

The Star-Telegram's Barnett Shale blog, startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/, has a list of previous posts about the Fort Worth drilling ordinance and links to more information about gas drilling in Tarrant County.

Read more in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram