A Different Perspective

I saw a terrific response on another web site to a comment that there is already a gas pipeline in Flower Mound and that 24" high pressure, gas pipelines are simply part of the "modern conveniences we all enjoy, like water service, trash service and sewer lines" and that "we will regulate it responsibly and learn to live with it and benefit from it."

Response:

Perhaps a difference in perspective … the pipeline you speak of was there BEFORE the subdivision. It wasn’t added after the fact, after the folks who live near it bought their homes. One can argue that those folks were, or at least should have been, aware of the pipeline in their neighborhood. This isn’t much different than someone who chooses to buy a house next to a busy airport or freeway.

On the other hand, we are talking about the building of new gas wells in, or very near, residential neighborhoods. Most folks living here did not buy their homes with the notion of having a gas well “in their backyard.” Many will tell you that had that been a probability at the time they bought their homes, they might have opted to purchase their homes somewhere else … adding wells now changes the “rules” after the fact, much as adding an airport next door would change the rules.

Let’s take the discussion a step further … many / most of us have easements through our property now for utilities … gas, electric, cable, telephone, etc. We purchased our homes with the knowledge of these easements and their location a known quantity. With the gas wells come at a minimum the requirement to build a pipeline from the well site to one of the existing lines you speak of. The drilling companies have the right as a utility to seize property through eminent domain so they can build their pipelines to get the gas out. That means that ANYONE’s property that sits between a well and a transport line potentially could have a pipeline run across it, creating new easements, etc.

Again, the rules of the game are being changed after the fact, and that is what most folks are objecting to … how would you like it if they decided to run a line through your yard, cutting down your trees, etc.??? What would that do to the value of your house??? …

Oh, and by the way, one way for the drilling company to get the millions of gallons of water that they contaminate during the drilling process away from the well site is to build yet another pipeline.

Would I love to have the “free money” for the gas under my house? Sure, but not at the expense of my quality of life, and I don’t want it if it is at the expense of my neighbors in the town of Flower Mound , either. I am no hypocrite. I own my minerals …. Many folks here do not, so they won’t even stand to benefit. They could have wells and pipeline, but no cash. I guarantee you that no one thought about wells in their backyards when they signed on the dotted line.

So no, I do not want a well in my backyard. I do not want a pipeline run under my property. But I adamantly believe that NO ONE in a populated, non-rural area should be forced to have them either. We need the gas … OK. Find a way to get it that doesn’t put wells a few hundred feet from someone’s backdoor and doesn’t force someone to have a pipeline a few feet from their house.