On October 21st, the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods will release a major, year-long study on natural gas pipeline safety. The study is the result of a $48,000 technical assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration. The results include specific recommendations for federal, state and local governments and agencies, as well as the pipeline industry.
Read the press release HERE.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
7:00 p.m.
2720 So. University Drive
(Please park in the west lot across the street and west of the church.)
The League presents our “State of Gas Pipelines in Fort Worth Study”
The Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations (FWLNA) will present the findings of its yearlong study into the state of natural gas pipelines in Fort Worth with a public meeting Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. The presentation will be held in the Fellowship Hall at University Christian Church, 2720 S. University Drive. The event is open to the public and the media.
Study consultants and authors Carl Weimer, Executive Director of the Pipeline Safety Trust in Bellingham, Washington, and Richard Kuprewicz, Pipeline Engineer and President of Accufacts, Inc. of Redmond, Washington, will present the study results.
“Natural gas drilling in an urban setting has been a complex issue for the people and neighborhoods of Fort Worth,” said Libby Willis, president of the FWLNA. “While gas drilling represents a significant economic benefit to many, it also brings with it an increased safety risk. Trying to understand and measure that risk is often difficult and contentious. As a result, the Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations conducted this study to provide clear, constructive information and recommendations to ensure safety in our neighborhoods and our city.”
In October 2009, the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods was awarded a $48,000 technical assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The yearlong study of natural gas pipelines made possible by this grant has resulted in a 36-page report with 26 recommendations for federal, state and local lawmakers and regulators, the pipeline industry and the citizens of Fort Worth.
Weimer has been executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust since 2005. The Trust is the only national nonprofit public interest organization that focuses on pipeline safety issues. He also serves on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and the steering committee for the Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance. Weimer has testified multiple times before both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on pipeline safety issues, organized five national pipeline safety conferences, runs the national Safe Pipelines and LNG Safety listserves, which include over 700 people from across the U.S., and regularly serves as an independent source of pipeline safety information for news media, local government, and citizens nationwide.
Kuprewicz has over 35 years of experience in the energy industry, offering special focus on appropriate pipeline design and operation in areas of unique population density or of an environmentally sensitive nature. He is currently a member of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee (THLPSSC) and is the past chairman of the Washington State Citizens Committee on Pipeline Safety. He is a chemical engineer, experienced in production, pipeline, and refinery design, construction, operation, maintenance, risk analysis, management, acquisition, and hazard analysis. He has also authored many papers on pipeline safety, both nationally and internationally.
Since early 2010, Accufacts and the Pipeline Safety Trust have met with members of the FWLNA to discuss neighborhoods’ concerns about urban gas drilling and the expansion of pipelines that has followed. Accufacts and the Pipeline Safety Trust have also met with the Fort Worth City Council and city staff, representatives of the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), state legislators and representatives from the pipeline companies. From these meetings, discussions, area news stories and publicly available information, Accufacts and the Pipeline Safety Trust produced the report for the FWLNA.
P.O. Box 3088
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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