Tree removal could come in about a month

Atmos Energy budged a few feet from its original plans to cut down trees within a 12.3-mile stretch in Flower Mound as part of its goal of cleaning up its right-of-way for better pipeline access.

And while Flower Mound Town Council members were hoping for more, they ultimately had to settle for Atmos' latest proposal.

Atmos' original plan last year was to remove trees within 50 feet of its easements, or 25 feet on either side. During a council work session Thursday, Atmos officials said they are willing to reduce its clearing area to within 30 feet of the easements, or 15 feet on either side. In most cases, however, the removal will be 40 feet from the easements.

Atmos first notified the town last fall of its plans to remove trees to better operate.

The pipeline system itself runs 6,000 miles, spanning from the Red River to Houston and from West Texas to Carthage in East Texas. It provides natural gas to Atmos Energy Corporation Mid-Tex Division customers and CoServ customers.

Flower Mound's portion of the pipeline equates to about 12 miles. The path starts near the Lakeside Business District in the southern end of town, and travels north through The Sanctuary, the Wellington subdivision and Tour 18 Golf Course. The Sanctuary is the first conservation neighborhood the town created and contains many old trees.

"This proposal gives us something to where it doesn't look like we went through and clear cut the trees," said Charles Yarbrough, vice president of rates and regulatory affairs for Atmos Pipeline-Texas. "And it preserves some trees. We think it strikes the right balance of saving the trees and providing safety to the residents. But you can't do the work right on top of the pipe. You need room to get the equipment in."

Yarbrough said Atmos officials will meet with the 80 impacted homeowners in about three weeks to present them with encroachment agreements and to answer questions. Two weeks later, work is expected to begin.

Council members fought against the tree removal, urging Atmos to closely examine how many trees actually need to be taken down. Atmos and the town each conducted tree surveys to get a more accurate analysis of how many trees are located near the pipeline. As a result, the number of trees set to be removed is reduced.

"This is still painful, but it's an accomplishment for us," said Mayor Pro Tem Kendra Stephenson. "We went from them planning to clearcut trees within 50 feet of their easement to 30 to 40 feet, and we're still going to be safe."

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Tree removal could come in about a month