Star-Telegram staff writer
The gated Pecan Plantation development south of Granbury has an equestrian center, a golf course, a grocery store and a private airport for its 5,000 residents.It also has a new neighbor: an $80 million natural gas processing plant that some homeowners say threatens their quiet enclave.
Noise, pollution and -- since a worker died last month in an explosion -- safety are among the concerns of those residents, who say they were caught by surprise when the plant went in next door.
About 20 residents protested the Quicksilver Resources plant Wednesday in downtown Fort Worth.
"We moved to Pecan Plantation for the peace, quiet and serenity," resident Don Saint said. "We don't even like to sit out back anymore."
Quicksilver officials say that they have tried to address concerns raised by the Pecan Plantation Homeowners Association board, and that only a small fraction of residents protested on Wednesday. Hood County commissioners voted to rezone the land and approved a tax abatement for the plant several years ago.
"You'll always find people with different opinions," said Rick Buterbaugh, a vice president at the Fort Worth company. "Quicksilver strives to be a good neighbor."
Caught off-guard
Quicksilver bought the land from a private owner and began building the plant in 2005, Buterbaugh said. The plant started operating in May 2006.
Hood County commissioners rezoned what had been agricultural land to commercial and voted to give Quicksilver a tax abatement of 75 percent for the first two years and 50 percent for next two, said Hood County Judge Andy Rash. The land had been earning only about $30 per year in taxes, he said.
"Any time you can add millions to your tax base, it helps," Rash said.
He said he didn't recall any public opposition to the plan.
Bob Newton, who organized Wednesday's protest, said many Pecan Plantation residents were unaware of the plant plans until they saw construction across the river.
"With all the gas drilling around here, most people probably thought they were putting up a drilling rig," he said. "That we could have lived with -- they drill for a week or two, we're inconvenienced a little, they move on.
"But this plant isn't temporary. We have to live with this."
One worry is that the plant's 160-foot tower is in the flight path for pilots arriving at the Pecan Plantation airstrip and could cause an accident, Newton said. The development has a lot of retired pilots who keep small planes in hangars.
Buterbaugh said the spot for the plant was chosen for a combination of factors, including proximity to existing pipelines and power lines. The tower is properly lit and meets all regulations, he said.
Behind schedule
As with many drilling rigs around the Barnett Shale, noise is among residents' chief complaints.
The processing plant has nine compression units, which strip liquids from the gas before it is shipped out in a pipeline. Eventually, there will be 11 units, Buterbaugh said.
The rumbling of the compressors drives some residents indoors during the mornings and evenings. The noise "tremendously affects" residents who live near the river, said Gary Guffey, president of the Pecan Plantation Homeowners Association.
"It sounds like a freight train," resident Reece Johnson said.
Quicksilver officials have met several times with the homeowners association's board of directors, Buterbaugh said. The company has paid for technology to make the gas flare, which burns at the top of the plant's tower, almost invisible during the day.
At a meeting in September with plantation residents, company officials promised to limit noise by building enclosures around the compressors by May, they said.
Heavy spring rains have delayed construction, however, and Buterbaugh said the enclosure is now expected to be completed in the fall.
"We can't control the weather," he said. "We want to have them up as quickly as possible."
Guffey said he considered Quicksilver an "honorable company" and expected it to complete the project. The homeowners association was not involved in Wednesday's protest, he said.
"I think Quicksilver will live up to their word," Guffey said.
'A good neighbor'
Newton said about 60 residents turned out for a previous protest in Pecan Plantation. He said Wednesday's demonstration was held in downtown Fort Worth instead of at Quicksilver's offices on Rosedale Street because residents thought it would get more attention.
Protestors walked up Main Street with signs, some reading "One death is enough."
On May 25, a 27-year-old Quicksilver worker was killed by an explosion, which fire officials say occurred when two employees lit a hot oil heater. Newton said the incident raised fears that a larger explosion could endanger the entire area.
"It would be a catastrophe," he said. "How do we know that place is safe? What's the plan if something serious happens?"
Buterbaugh suggested that the protesters were exploiting an isolated accident.
"It was a tragic loss and, I think, very inappropriate for this group to try and capitalize on," he said.
Hood County Commissioner Dick Roan, who lives at Pecan Plantation, said he has found Quicksilver willing to resolve issues, such as agreeing to help pay for repairs to roads traveled by its trucks.
At this point, he said, it's not reasonable to expect the company to move the plant.
"I don't know what their expected outcome is," he said. "I think [Quicksilver] is doing their best to be a good neighbor."
Source : http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/136498.html
It also has a new neighbor: an $80 million natural gas processing plant that some homeowners say threatens their quiet enclave.
Noise, pollution and -- since a worker died last month in an explosion -- safety are among the concerns of those residents, who say they were caught by surprise when the plant went in next door.
About 20 residents protested the Quicksilver Resources plant Wednesday in downtown Fort Worth.
"We moved to Pecan Plantation for the peace, quiet and serenity," resident Don Saint said. "We don't even like to sit out back anymore."
Quicksilver officials say that they have tried to address concerns raised by the Pecan Plantation Homeowners Association board, and that only a small fraction of residents protested on Wednesday. Hood County commissioners voted to rezone the land and approved a tax abatement for the plant several years ago.
"You'll always find people with different opinions," said Rick Buterbaugh, a vice president at the Fort Worth company. "Quicksilver strives to be a good neighbor."
Caught off-guard
Quicksilver bought the land from a private owner and began building the plant in 2005, Buterbaugh said. The plant started operating in May 2006.
Hood County commissioners rezoned what had been agricultural land to commercial and voted to give Quicksilver a tax abatement of 75 percent for the first two years and 50 percent for next two, said Hood County Judge Andy Rash. The land had been earning only about $30 per year in taxes, he said.
"Any time you can add millions to your tax base, it helps," Rash said.
He said he didn't recall any public opposition to the plan.
Bob Newton, who organized Wednesday's protest, said many Pecan Plantation residents were unaware of the plant plans until they saw construction across the river.
"With all the gas drilling around here, most people probably thought they were putting up a drilling rig," he said. "That we could have lived with -- they drill for a week or two, we're inconvenienced a little, they move on.
"But this plant isn't temporary. We have to live with this."
One worry is that the plant's 160-foot tower is in the flight path for pilots arriving at the Pecan Plantation airstrip and could cause an accident, Newton said. The development has a lot of retired pilots who keep small planes in hangars.
Buterbaugh said the spot for the plant was chosen for a combination of factors, including proximity to existing pipelines and power lines. The tower is properly lit and meets all regulations, he said.
Behind schedule
As with many drilling rigs around the Barnett Shale, noise is among residents' chief complaints.
The processing plant has nine compression units, which strip liquids from the gas before it is shipped out in a pipeline. Eventually, there will be 11 units, Buterbaugh said.
The rumbling of the compressors drives some residents indoors during the mornings and evenings. The noise "tremendously affects" residents who live near the river, said Gary Guffey, president of the Pecan Plantation Homeowners Association.
"It sounds like a freight train," resident Reece Johnson said.
Quicksilver officials have met several times with the homeowners association's board of directors, Buterbaugh said. The company has paid for technology to make the gas flare, which burns at the top of the plant's tower, almost invisible during the day.
At a meeting in September with plantation residents, company officials promised to limit noise by building enclosures around the compressors by May, they said.
Heavy spring rains have delayed construction, however, and Buterbaugh said the enclosure is now expected to be completed in the fall.
"We can't control the weather," he said. "We want to have them up as quickly as possible."
Guffey said he considered Quicksilver an "honorable company" and expected it to complete the project. The homeowners association was not involved in Wednesday's protest, he said.
"I think Quicksilver will live up to their word," Guffey said.
'A good neighbor'
Newton said about 60 residents turned out for a previous protest in Pecan Plantation. He said Wednesday's demonstration was held in downtown Fort Worth instead of at Quicksilver's offices on Rosedale Street because residents thought it would get more attention.
Protestors walked up Main Street with signs, some reading "One death is enough."
On May 25, a 27-year-old Quicksilver worker was killed by an explosion, which fire officials say occurred when two employees lit a hot oil heater. Newton said the incident raised fears that a larger explosion could endanger the entire area.
"It would be a catastrophe," he said. "How do we know that place is safe? What's the plan if something serious happens?"
Buterbaugh suggested that the protesters were exploiting an isolated accident.
"It was a tragic loss and, I think, very inappropriate for this group to try and capitalize on," he said.
Hood County Commissioner Dick Roan, who lives at Pecan Plantation, said he has found Quicksilver willing to resolve issues, such as agreeing to help pay for repairs to roads traveled by its trucks.
At this point, he said, it's not reasonable to expect the company to move the plant.
"I don't know what their expected outcome is," he said. "I think [Quicksilver] is doing their best to be a good neighbor."
Source : http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/136498.html
