$48,000 GRANT AWARDED TO FORT WORTH LEAGUE OF NEIGHBORHOODS FOR GAS PIPELINE STUDY
The Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods has been awarded a $48,000 technical assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The grant will be used to produce a “State of Gas Pipelines in Fort Worth” report for dissemination to Fort Worth residents, elected officials and natural gas drilling operators.
One of the fastest growing cities in the nation, Fort Worth is at the center of unprecedented urban gas drilling activity with a large number of pipelines being installed throughout the city at a rapid pace. The scope and speed of the new pipeline activity has challenged the citizens, their elected officials and the longstanding planning mechanisms of the City.
The year-long project will engage gas drilling pipeline and policy experts who will participate in a series of public meetings designed to provide a better understanding of pipeline placement and safety, the impacts of land development near pipelines, and other environmental issues brought about by pipelines. The League’s pipeline project will include an educational component for local communities to learn about pipeline hazards, help citizens know where gas pipelines are, what to do if they observe pipeline safety violations, how to air grievances on pipeline issues to operators and to the City, and how to improve the communication process about pipeline safety and placement. A central focus of the project will be the relationship between planning and pipeline placement.
The Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) program, first authorized in the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, offers new opportunities to strengthen the depth and quality of public participation in pipeline safety matters. Section 9 of the Act, titled “Pipeline Safety Information Grants to Communities”, authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to communities and groups of individuals for technical assistance in the form of engineering or other scientific analysis of pipeline safety issues and to help promote public participation in official proceedings.
The $48,000 DOT grant will allow the League to continue its commitment to community education on emerging urban gas drilling issues. In 2008, the League, in association with the Tarrant County League of Women Voters, presented to the public five educational gas drilling programs featuring experts on topics such as use of eminent domain and environmental practices and impacts of urban gas drilling.
The Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods, founded in 1985, is a non-profit civic umbrella organization of Fort Worth neighborhood associations representing more than 300,000 citizens who have identified gas drilling and attendant issues as a top concern for their communities.