Gas Pipeline Running Through Ladonia (Denton, West: buying, living, safe)

[dukemontrose]

Hi,

My wife wants to buy a 72-acre tract near Ladonia (and close to the proposed Ralph B. Hall Lake) for growing crops, but is having second thoughts when she found out that there's a natural gas pipeline running under a neighbor's property about .5 miles away.

Would appreciate information from anyone knows anything about this pipeline, and if it poses any danger or has negative effect on property values.

Thanks,

Duke

[GayleTX]

Try posting your question in the general forum for Texas - there will be more rural people there who have experience with gas lines and farms.

The gas lines criss-cross all of Texas (and many other states). If everyone avoided farming or living on a place with a gas line there'd be an awful lot of vacant land. The gas companies are extremely safety conscious....the lines are well-marked and we see safety people flying over the ones on our farms regularly, they walk them, they send testing materials thru them, etc., etc. We've never had any issues at all on any land we have owned - and I've never known anyone who has. And I've never heard gas lines mentioned negatively in buying/selling property for several decades in Texas. Someone else may have a different opinion, but that's been our experience in this area (I'm not far from Ladonia), in West Texas and in the Panhandle.

BTW....what are they telling you about when that lake may be built?

[dukemontrose]

Thanks GayleTX.

My only other concern with pipelines is that I know that oil/gas companies essentially have carte blanche in northern TX to seize private properties through eminent domain or obtain easement in order to lay pipelines, and there's really nothing a private landowner can do about it. But I guess that's the risk one runs by owning land in this area.

All we've heard so far is that the lake is still in "planning" stages. Supposedly the lake will only be a mile from the tract we are proposing to buy, so if it ever really gets built that should do wonders for the land value. But it will take 20-30 years to "build" the lake, so we're not holding our breath.

Duke

[TexasVines]

unless their is a large amount of new drilling in your area the chances of them needing to run another pipeline through your land based on the idea that another is .5 miles away is probably next to none

there are lines for gathering from production and there are lines for transport of quantity.....unless there is new drilling near you I doubt they would need to be running any lines for gathering from production and as far as transport unless you are near a compressor station or a collection area presently there is not many reasons they would suddenly decide to come cut into this line and add a collection point

not saying it WON'T happen, but they don't just plan major new gas lines over night either

as for distance from the existing line I believe there has been one or two ruptures from corrosion in the last 10 years or so that I can remember and I believe .5 miles away was far enough to be safe you can probably goggle it up

there was also I believe an excavator operator west of Denton that cut into a natural gas line and was able to get away before it flamed up and .5 miles from that would have been plenty safe

what crops are you going to plant there

[dukemontrose]

Thanks TexasVines.

We'll be doing a sharecrop arrangement with a local farmer, growing wheat and corn.