Texas gas company challenges city's codes

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- A natural gas company is challenging a Grand Prairie, Texas, code that regulates construction of compressor stations, saying it is illegal.

Texas Midstream Gas Service, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Marketing, filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday that says "pipelines (and compressors stations) are fundamentally the sort of facilities that depend upon the ability to traverse political subdivisions without interference by local governments."

The company is challenging Grand Prairie's ordinance, that sets setback, fencing and noise-reduction standards, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The city has asked Texas Midstream to apply for a special use permit. But the company says federal and state laws trump the city ordinance, the report said.

The case could set a precedent for other projects expected with the development of gas deposits in the Barnett Shale region of Texas..

Some gas drilling is expected to take place in urban areas, the News reported.

"We're certainly not saying they can't put a compressor station in Grand Prairie. All we ask is they comply with the ordinance," city attorney Don Postell said.