Natural gas flare in McAllen raises concern by neighbors, environmental activists - Monitor
He lives a few blocks away from a natural gas well site near the intersection of Dove Avenue and Bicentennial Boulevard that was permitted to flare gas this week. , a private oil and gas company based in Fort Worth, operates the well and was permitted to flare gas this week for maintenance, said Ramona Nye, spokeswoman for the Texas Railroad Commission. “Sometimes it does, you can smell that natural gas you know like it’s burning might be a little annoying for the neighbors you know — we don’t want our houses to burn down,” the 60-year-old truck driver said. Neighbors and the Lower Rio Grande Valley Sierra Club sounded the alarm about the natural gas flare, but Jetta said it’s following the rules. The flare, located near the Bicentennial hiking trail is burning off excess gas in the line so maintenance crews can work on the pipeline, according to the Railroad Commission of Texas. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Harlingen Region Office received a complaint Friday alleging that the gas well had been flaring since Thursday night, and that residents said they can taste the chemicals and feel the flare’s heat... But the TCEQ, which regulates off-site air quality of oil and natural gas operations, said that proper flaring can be a responsible way for companies to dispose of excess material. Source: www.themonitor.com
