The Dallas County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) held its first meeting of 2019 on Wednesday morning at the Dallas County Commission Chambers.

The LEPC meets bi-annually, in March and September, to discuss local matters of public safety and proper procedures.

Dallas County EMA Director Toya Stiles began the meeting with a financial report.

Stiles said the balance in the account is $2,133.87, the amount in the account is up $1,000 due to a check from International Paper.

Wayne Jones, a representative from Williams Pipeline, was the meeting’s guest speaker.

Jones gave a brief presentation about day-to-day duties and activities that occur at the pipeline.

“Most of our work occurs inside the [pipeline] stations,” said Jones. “But we also attend to the right-of-way, which is the clearing on either side of the pipeline.”

Jones said that the right of way is regularly maintained so that the pipeline is easier to inspect and that problems are easier to identify.

A current problem the Williams Pipeline faces are logging trucks.

When a logging truck has to cross the pipeline, the weight of the truck must be determined so that coverage can be acquired for the pipeline.

Another problem that can occur at the pipeline is leaks. Jones said leaks can be found by a discoloration of vegetation along the pipeline as well as a hissing noise and unpleasant smell.

Jones said that natural gas by itself has no odor, but a chemical called mercaptan is added to give it that “rotten egg smell”.

The unpleasant odor makes the gas easy to identify.

After Jones spoke the meeting was adjourned.