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Conroe council authorizes up to $250,000 for outside counsel and engineering review of Blackfin compressor station
Summary
After extended public comment raising safety and evacuation concerns, the Conroe City Council voted to hire outside legal counsel and an engineering consultant — not to exceed $250,000 — to address the proposed Blackfin Pipeline compressor station near Interstate 45.
The Conroe City Council on Aug. 26 authorized the city administrator and city attorney to retain outside legal counsel and an engineering consultant related to the proposed Blackfin Pipeline compressor station, approving spending of up to $250,000.
The decision followed more than an hour of public comment from residents who said the facility, sited near Interstate 45 inside Conroe city limits, poses risks to public safety, hurricane evacuation routes and local quality of life. The council recessed into a closed executive session under Texas Government Code chapter 551 to receive legal advice before taking action.
Residents urged the council to act. Howard Leap, a Crichton Ridge resident and retired control-systems engineer, told the council: "This facility does not belong in the city of Conroe. It poses a clear threat to public health and safety. It will produce constant noise. It will emit flammable, noxious and explosive gases." Leap also asked the council to "do everything within your legal and political power to stop this project in its tracks and compel the company to relocate it to a more appropriate industrial environment, not surrounded by families, homes, schools and businesses."
Another resident, identified in the record as Mr. Ataya, described personal experience evacuating during Hurricane Rita and warned of regional consequences if a major incident occurred on I-45 during an evacuation: "If a similar evacuation were to happen again, Interstate 45 would be the primary route for millions of people fleeing Galveston, Houston and the surrounding counties. If [the compressor station] were to have an upset, a fire or an explosion during that time, the result could be catastrophic." He urged the city to coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions.
Nick Bonas, a Bridal Ridge resident and retired oil-and-gas worker, criticized company communications and emergency plans, calling a recent notice from Whitewater (named in public comments as connected to the project) "simply a PR response" and asking where a comprehensive risk assessment and response-mitigation plan was. Bonas cited 2018 TxDOT figures for the I-45 North corridor — "244,000 to 275,000 vehicles per day" — to illustrate how quickly highway congestion could occur if responders or residents were blocked.
Franz Kopp asked the council what steps it could take to require Blackfin to relocate the compressor station, whether the city planned to engage the company in dialogue, and what documentation and approvals supported the development permit for the site. Several speakers also said they could not find a public notice or records of required preconstruction meetings and raised questions about who signed and approved the permit documentation.
A commenter identified as Ms. Avery raised an unrelated but contemporaneous legal issue involving Willis ISD and provided a case reference (25-0812681), asking the city to ensure water issues affecting the school were fully resolved.
After the closed session, an unnamed council member moved "to authorize the city administrator and city attorney to engage outside legal counsel and an engineering consultant related to the Blackfin pipeline not to exceed $250,000." The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote; no opposing votes were recorded.
The council's action directs staff to retain outside expertise to evaluate legal and engineering issues tied to the project; the motion does not itself impose conditions on the permit or order construction work to stop. The council did not provide specific deadlines for the consultant work in the public record at the meeting.
City officials present during roll call included the mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Wood, Councilman Harrell, Councilman Hardman, Councilwoman Porter and Councilwoman Arthur. Speakers asked the council to escalate regional coordination, including contact with Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, Galveston Mayor Craig Brown, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
The council adjourned at 11:37 a.m.
