DISH — Several residents are considering whether to file a class-action lawsuit against Atmos Energy for noise and noxious fumes at its compression plant, after they came away empty-handed from a town meeting this week.

Commissioner Calvin Tillman told Atmos representatives that he was disappointed that they didn’t present a plan Wednesday night, and that he was sure there was probably someone inside the company who could solve the problem a lot sooner.

“I don’t know how you sleep at night knowing that I don’t sleep at night — that none of these people here sleep at night,” Tillman said.

Atmos engineer Rick Baldwin told residents that the company wasn’t backing off its commitment to solve the problems created after they expanded their capacity at the compression plant at 2200 Strader Road.

Charles Earl, who lives close to the plant, said he’d heard enough.

“You’re just a big giant company stomping down on a small community,” Earl said.

Reaction went quickly from approval to disappointment to anger as company representatives reported their progress in addressing the residents’ health and safety concerns over both its gas pipeline compressor stations just outside the town limits.

Residents listened quietly as company officials told them that steps they took to prevent another leak, like the one on Oct. 16, seem to have worked. That night, a pressure relief valve spewed gas for 45 minutes until a Justin firefighter shut it off.

In addition, Atmos has since provided first-responders key information about handling an emergency at the remotely operated plant.

One person told company officials that residents were glad employees were getting better at turning off the bright lights because, otherwise, they lit up houses as if it were daytime.

Another resident said he was glad to hear that Atmos had installed carbon filters on mercaptan tanks, because that would address small leaks that sometimes occur before the odorant is added to the gas.

But several other residents said that periods of noxious smells persist and questioned whether the rotten egg smell was hydrogen sulfide.

Several Atmos officials shook their heads at the question, including pipeline operator Tim Wernicke, who added that while Atmos wasn’t cleaning the gas, the company couldn’t speak for other operators in the area.

“Sometimes the liquid that is co-produced with the gas, and goes into the tanks, smells bad,” Wernicke said. “Maybe other producers are doing ‘knock-out’ at their facilities.”

Hydrogen sulfide can be a highly toxic byproduct of natural gas mining, although some experts have said there’s little hydrogen sulfide coming up with the gas from the Barnett Shale. Because it’s also highly corrosive, hydrogen sulfide, along with water and other hydrocarbons, must be knocked out of the natural gas before the gas goes into the pipeline.

Of the two dozen residents in attendance, several became openly angry after Atmos officials failed to offer a plan to reduce the noise made by compression engines at the plant. Instead, company officials asked for the town’s help getting other energy companies to the negotiating table to make that plan. They said several other companies have an interest in the plant’s operations, including Energy Transfer Partners, Enbridge Gas Distribution, Chief Oil & Gas, J-W Operating Co. and a competitor, Cross-Tex.

Baldwin said that while Atmos had the findings of the noise study for only a few days, the company had learned that 85 percent of the noise was coming from the compressors, 10 percent was coming from the coolers, and 5 percent was coming from the muffler.

Former Mayor L.E. Clark said he’d been living by the plant for 35 years and it never made as much noise as it started making in the past year, after Energy Transfer Partners helped Atmos build two new engines for the compressor. Mindful that as many as 10 to 12 compression engines could ultimately be built at the plant, he asked, “How much louder is it going to get than it is now?”

Baldwin told the residents that the noise study also told officials that while adding more engines would increase the noise coming from the plant, they would not bring an additive increase.

They learned that, he said, because Enbridge’s compressors were still running when Atmos turned its off.

“The level didn’t double when we turned them back on,” Baldwin said.

While Mayor Bill Merritt said that he would work with Atmos representatives to set up the meeting, he asked how long it would take before the company could draw up and execute the plan. He also reminded them that the town was exploring legal options that may allow them to order the compressors shut down until the company reduces the noise.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com.