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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Mont Belvieu, Enterprise reach agreement
By Jessica Robertson
Baytown Sun Published July 18, 2007 After nearly three years of wrangling in court, the city of Mont Belvieu reached a settlement Monday night with Enterprise Products over the company’s plans to drill eight salt dome caverns there.
The debate began in 2005 when the city filed a lawsuit with the district court after Enterprise announced its plans to double its brine storage capabilities in its underground storage facilities.
Council contended that the company had not applied for a permit under an ordinance that mandates new industrial activity requiring a state or federal permit to also gain approval from the city.
But those issues are behind the city now, Mayor Nick Dixon said, after Council unanimously agreed to drop its opposition and grant city permits for the wells if Enterprise follows through to several requirements.
“It was a win-win situation,” Dixon said. “It kept us in the same situation we were in before the lawsuit. We had our ordinance in place, and it’s still in place.”
Enterprise spokesman Rick Rainey echoed Dixon’s relief that the settlement has been reached and added that the project will not only benefit the company but will also expand the city’s tax base.
“It was time to come to an agreement on this issue,” Rainey said. “We felt the settlement was also in the best interest of the homeowners that will be affected (by the project).”
In a 15-minute special session, all five Council members agreed to the terms of the settlement, which requires Enterprise to offer to purchase property in the immediate vicinity of the company’s site off Highway 146 on Loop 207.
The buyout zone includes approximately 34 homes on Sun Oil Road on the south side of the site, the Coastal Water Authority Canal on the north and east, and Highway 146 on the west.
Enterprise has 60 days to make offers, which the agreement stipulates must be at least three times the assessed value of the property or at least $150,000. If all homeowners accept the offers, the total payout would be nearly $6 million.
That amount should be adequate for each of the homeowners to relocated elsewhere in Mont Belvieu, Dixon said. The offer applies to those who owned land on the area known as “the hill” in 1986 and still own that property today.
“There’s the possibility for the ones that want to get off the hill to get bought out by Enterprise,” Dixon said. “If they were there and owned the land in 1986, they’ll get a proposal from Enterprise (by mail).”
Another major sticking point for Council was that Enterprise agree not to use any of the wells to dispose waste, he said. Although no such plans were ever formally suggested, the city wanted to be sure the condition was included in the settlement, he said.
“We wanted to make sure they were only storing hydrocarbon gas and liquid in the domes and that they wouldn’t get into the waste business,” Dixon said.
The company has no intention to store anything other than natural gas liquids in the domes, Rainey said. The location, he said, is ideal for the project, which also includes plans to enlarge the size of six existing caverns and to expand 15 others.
“The area is a giant salt dome,” Rainey said. “Mont Belvieu is the largest (natural gas liquids) hub in the world — we currently have 33 caverns out there and have storage capacity of about 100 million barrels.”
There is a growing demand from local refineries and petrochemical plants to store natural gas liquids, including those used as feedstocks, he said.
The agreement also requires Enterprise to reimburse the city for the legal fees incurred throughout the battle — approximately $118,000. Rainey stressed that although the legal process was a lengthy and expensive one, he hopes that the settlement will strengthen the bond between the city and the company.
“If you look at our relationship with the city, we’ve been there for roughly 30 years and have a long history of being a good corporate neighbor,” he said. “We also have about 500 employees out there that are actively involved in the community. We want to continue that productive relationship.”
In addition, Enterprise will purchase the lot that houses the old city hall for $1 and demolish the building. The company will grant an easement to the city for a water tower located on the property.
Although it didn’t take long for Council to discuss and agree to the settlement Monday night, the terms of the agreement have long been debated behind the scenes, Dixon said.
“In just about every meeting we’ve had for I don’t know how long, we have an executive session to discuss the settlement,” he said. “We’ve been trying to get this done for several months now.”
Only a handful of residents affected by the buyout showed up at the special meeting, Dixon said, but copies of the settlement agreement are available on the city’s Web site at www.montbelvieu.net.
For more information on which homes are included in the Enterprise buyout, contact Kyle Webster at 713-803-8206.
Baytown Sun Published July 18, 2007 After nearly three years of wrangling in court, the city of Mont Belvieu reached a settlement Monday night with Enterprise Products over the company’s plans to drill eight salt dome caverns there.
The debate began in 2005 when the city filed a lawsuit with the district court after Enterprise announced its plans to double its brine storage capabilities in its underground storage facilities.
Council contended that the company had not applied for a permit under an ordinance that mandates new industrial activity requiring a state or federal permit to also gain approval from the city.
But those issues are behind the city now, Mayor Nick Dixon said, after Council unanimously agreed to drop its opposition and grant city permits for the wells if Enterprise follows through to several requirements.
“It was a win-win situation,” Dixon said. “It kept us in the same situation we were in before the lawsuit. We had our ordinance in place, and it’s still in place.”
Enterprise spokesman Rick Rainey echoed Dixon’s relief that the settlement has been reached and added that the project will not only benefit the company but will also expand the city’s tax base.
“It was time to come to an agreement on this issue,” Rainey said. “We felt the settlement was also in the best interest of the homeowners that will be affected (by the project).”
In a 15-minute special session, all five Council members agreed to the terms of the settlement, which requires Enterprise to offer to purchase property in the immediate vicinity of the company’s site off Highway 146 on Loop 207.
The buyout zone includes approximately 34 homes on Sun Oil Road on the south side of the site, the Coastal Water Authority Canal on the north and east, and Highway 146 on the west.
Enterprise has 60 days to make offers, which the agreement stipulates must be at least three times the assessed value of the property or at least $150,000. If all homeowners accept the offers, the total payout would be nearly $6 million.
That amount should be adequate for each of the homeowners to relocated elsewhere in Mont Belvieu, Dixon said. The offer applies to those who owned land on the area known as “the hill” in 1986 and still own that property today.
“There’s the possibility for the ones that want to get off the hill to get bought out by Enterprise,” Dixon said. “If they were there and owned the land in 1986, they’ll get a proposal from Enterprise (by mail).”
Another major sticking point for Council was that Enterprise agree not to use any of the wells to dispose waste, he said. Although no such plans were ever formally suggested, the city wanted to be sure the condition was included in the settlement, he said.
“We wanted to make sure they were only storing hydrocarbon gas and liquid in the domes and that they wouldn’t get into the waste business,” Dixon said.
The company has no intention to store anything other than natural gas liquids in the domes, Rainey said. The location, he said, is ideal for the project, which also includes plans to enlarge the size of six existing caverns and to expand 15 others.
“The area is a giant salt dome,” Rainey said. “Mont Belvieu is the largest (natural gas liquids) hub in the world — we currently have 33 caverns out there and have storage capacity of about 100 million barrels.”
There is a growing demand from local refineries and petrochemical plants to store natural gas liquids, including those used as feedstocks, he said.
The agreement also requires Enterprise to reimburse the city for the legal fees incurred throughout the battle — approximately $118,000. Rainey stressed that although the legal process was a lengthy and expensive one, he hopes that the settlement will strengthen the bond between the city and the company.
“If you look at our relationship with the city, we’ve been there for roughly 30 years and have a long history of being a good corporate neighbor,” he said. “We also have about 500 employees out there that are actively involved in the community. We want to continue that productive relationship.”
In addition, Enterprise will purchase the lot that houses the old city hall for $1 and demolish the building. The company will grant an easement to the city for a water tower located on the property.
Although it didn’t take long for Council to discuss and agree to the settlement Monday night, the terms of the agreement have long been debated behind the scenes, Dixon said.
“In just about every meeting we’ve had for I don’t know how long, we have an executive session to discuss the settlement,” he said. “We’ve been trying to get this done for several months now.”
Only a handful of residents affected by the buyout showed up at the special meeting, Dixon said, but copies of the settlement agreement are available on the city’s Web site at www.montbelvieu.net.
For more information on which homes are included in the Enterprise buyout, contact Kyle Webster at 713-803-8206.