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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Mont Belvieu man decries salt dome drilling
By Jessica Robertson
Baytown Sun Published August 21, 2007 The debate stemming from Enterprise Products’ plans to drill eight salt dome caverns in Mont Belvieu isn’t over yet.
After nearly three years of disputing the legality of the expansion, the city reached an agreement with Enterprise in July that allows the company to complete the project if it follows several provisions.
The settlement requires the company to offer to purchase residential property in the immediate vicinity of the company’s site off Highway 146 on Loop 207, which includes 34 homes.
The agreement stipulates that the offers must be at least three times the assessed value of the property or at least $150,000. The buyout applies to those who owned land on the area known as “the hill” in 1986 and still own that property today.
Mayor Nick Dixon referred to the agreement as a “win-win” situation last month, but local businessman James Harrison sees it differently.
“They’ve left commercial property owners out of the equation,” said Harrison, who owns an embalming facility less than four-tenths of a mile from Enterprise’s wellhead on Loop 207.
The residential buyout could negatively impact commercial property values on “the hill,” he said, adding that he planned to sell his business and use the proceeds to open a funeral home in town.
“When they start taking the rooftops off the hill and turning this into an industrial area, it’s going to devalue our property,” Harrison said. “They’re upsetting my whole life’s work.”
He and four other commercial property owners in the defined “zone of impact” — 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 — met Monday night to discuss their legal options.
The group is upset, he said, because none of them gave written consent to Enterprise to drill the well, as is required by city ordinance for residential and commercial property owners within 2,500 feet of the site.
“Enterprise is either going to start making money considerations for us, or we’re going to intervene in the lawsuit,” Harrison said. “When we do that, it’s going to throw a wrench into everything.”
His attorney, R. Kyle Hawes from the Houston firm Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams and Martin, spoke to Mont Belvieu City Council last week and urged them to stop the permitting process for the wells.
“We requested the city not enter into the agreement until some accommodation is made for commercial property owners as well as those residential property owners that had not been accounted for in the original settlement,” Hawes said.
The decision to make buyout offers to commercial property owners is in Enterprise’s hands, not the city’s, Dixon said.
“Enterprise is handling that end, whether they’re going to get bought out or not,” he said. “It’s up to them to contact Enterprise.”
Thomas Paterson, a Houston attorney representing the company, said he has had discussions in the last week with Hawes about the possibility of commercial buyouts.
“I’ve told my client, and they’re considering in light of existing commitments to the city that have just been settled upon, the best way to proceed,” he said.
But so far, nothing has been negotiated, Hawes said.
“At the end of the day, we’re no closer to getting any answers or resolution,” he said. “My impression is the city isn’t going to do anything to jeopardize the settlement they’ve already reached.”
Harrison, who has been operating out of his Loop 207 facility since 2002, said the issue may be decided by the courts if an agreement can’t be reached.
“Nobody wants to do that,” he said. “But if they force me, we will. All we’re asking is for Enterprise to comply with the ordinance on the books and to buy us out of this zone of impact.”
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.
All five Council members agreed in July to allow Enterprise to move forward with the project under several conditions — in addition to making purchase offers on 34 homes, the company must also reimburse the city approximately $118,000 for the legal fees incurred throughout the battle.
Enterprise will also 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.
Baytown Sun Published August 21, 2007 The debate stemming from Enterprise Products’ plans to drill eight salt dome caverns in Mont Belvieu isn’t over yet.
After nearly three years of disputing the legality of the expansion, the city reached an agreement with Enterprise in July that allows the company to complete the project if it follows several provisions.
The settlement requires the company to offer to purchase residential property in the immediate vicinity of the company’s site off Highway 146 on Loop 207, which includes 34 homes.
The agreement stipulates that the offers must be at least three times the assessed value of the property or at least $150,000. The buyout applies to those who owned land on the area known as “the hill” in 1986 and still own that property today.
Mayor Nick Dixon referred to the agreement as a “win-win” situation last month, but local businessman James Harrison sees it differently.
“They’ve left commercial property owners out of the equation,” said Harrison, who owns an embalming facility less than four-tenths of a mile from Enterprise’s wellhead on Loop 207.
The residential buyout could negatively impact commercial property values on “the hill,” he said, adding that he planned to sell his business and use the proceeds to open a funeral home in town.
“When they start taking the rooftops off the hill and turning this into an industrial area, it’s going to devalue our property,” Harrison said. “They’re upsetting my whole life’s work.”
He and four other commercial property owners in the defined “zone of impact” — 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 — met Monday night to discuss their legal options.
The group is upset, he said, because none of them gave written consent to Enterprise to drill the well, as is required by city ordinance for residential and commercial property owners within 2,500 feet of the site.
“Enterprise is either going to start making money considerations for us, or we’re going to intervene in the lawsuit,” Harrison said. “When we do that, it’s going to throw a wrench into everything.”
His attorney, R. Kyle Hawes from the Houston firm Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams and Martin, spoke to Mont Belvieu City Council last week and urged them to stop the permitting process for the wells.
“We requested the city not enter into the agreement until some accommodation is made for commercial property owners as well as those residential property owners that had not been accounted for in the original settlement,” Hawes said.
The decision to make buyout offers to commercial property owners is in Enterprise’s hands, not the city’s, Dixon said.
“Enterprise is handling that end, whether they’re going to get bought out or not,” he said. “It’s up to them to contact Enterprise.”
Thomas Paterson, a Houston attorney representing the company, said he has had discussions in the last week with Hawes about the possibility of commercial buyouts.
“I’ve told my client, and they’re considering in light of existing commitments to the city that have just been settled upon, the best way to proceed,” he said.
But so far, nothing has been negotiated, Hawes said.
“At the end of the day, we’re no closer to getting any answers or resolution,” he said. “My impression is the city isn’t going to do anything to jeopardize the settlement they’ve already reached.”
Harrison, who has been operating out of his Loop 207 facility since 2002, said the issue may be decided by the courts if an agreement can’t be reached.
“Nobody wants to do that,” he said. “But if they force me, we will. All we’re asking is for Enterprise to comply with the ordinance on the books and to buy us out of this zone of impact.”
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.
All five Council members agreed in July to allow Enterprise to move forward with the project under several conditions — in addition to making purchase offers on 34 homes, the company must also reimburse the city approximately $118,000 for the legal fees incurred throughout the battle.
Enterprise will also 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.