Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations to Release Report on the State of Natural Gas Pipelines in the City

FORT WORTH, TX, October 14, 2010 (Press-News.org) The Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations (FWLNA), an umbrella organization representing the interests the city's neighborhoods and residents, 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.

"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."

One of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, Fort Worth, situated on top of the Barnett Shale, is at the center of unprecedented urban gas drilling activity. Numerous pipelines have been installed throughout the city at a rapid pace. The scope and speed of the new pipeline activity has challenged citizens, elected officials and the longstanding planning mechanisms of the city.

"In many ways, Fort Worth has been at the forefront of what has become a national issue - what are the safest, most responsible ways to develop our nation's natural gas resources," said Willis. "It is our hope that Fort Worth neighborhoods and other cities and towns dealing with these same issues will benefit from the report's findings."

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.

The principal authors of this report were Richard Kuprewicz, president of Accufacts, Inc., and Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust. They will both attend the presentation on Oct. 21 and have media availability.

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.

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.

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.

Copies of the report will be made available to the media after the presentation of the report and a question-and-answer session. To schedule interviews with Kuprewicz or Weimer from Wednesday, Oct. 20 through Friday, Oct. 22, please call Willis at 817.838.8140 or email her at libby59@sbcglobal.net.

About the FWLNA
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. On the web at http://www.fwlna.org.