"WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH"
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "A child's rendering of the fracking near his home in Dec. 2013"
Photo: Denton Record - Chronicle
If this place in the heart of the oil and gas industry can’t live with fracking, then who can?
The answer, at present, is ‘no one.’
Watch: Denton Takes A Stand
"The craziest thing I’ve heard is that Denton should adopt 'reasonable regulations' rather than a ban on fracking."
It’s a fracking perfect storm: The only industry allowed in residential areas (not even bakeries have that leeway) is also the only industry allowed to emit non-disclosed, unmonitored chemicals.
The result: The most toxic and secretive industry operates the closest to places where children live and play.
... The future for Denton with “reasonable regulations” is the wholesale industrialization of neighborhoods. One Denton neighborhood sued the industry for chemical trespass that has devalued their property. Parents there had to keep their kids indoors for weeks because the toxic fumes were so overwhelming. Children got nosebleeds, breathing problems and headaches. One pregnant mother told the City Council,
“There is no escaping the harmful chemicals. … We feel like prisoners in our own home.”
This is anything but reasonable.
We can either have fracking or we can have a safe and healthy city.
We can’t have both.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "EagleRidge fracking site less than 250 ft. from homes near Vintage/S. Bonnie Brae. 1/9/14"
By Adam Briggle, July 15, 2014, Denton Record - Chronicle
I’ve heard some crazy claims about fracking in Denton.
The industry has said Denton residents are terrorists. The head of Texas’ oil and gas regulatory agency (a man who is funded by the very industry he is supposedly watching over) even implied that Russia was behind our proposed fracking ban.
Yet the craziest thing I’ve heard is that Denton should adopt “reasonable regulations” rather than a ban on fracking.
Now, actually, I used to believe that, too. For years, I worked with fellow citizens and city leaders to write rules that would make fracking compatible with our community.
But there is a problem: We already have 270 gas wells in the city limits and over 30 percent (one-third!) of Denton’s land area is platted for gas well development. Our city ordinance does not apply when existing wells are re-fracked or when new wells are fracked on these platted sites.
Like jackals circling their prey, the industry says they have the right to frack as many wells as they want in our town in perpetuity. We tried to write reasonable rules. But we were too late.
Today, fracking is being done within 200 feet of homes. And this can happen again and again. Our local rules do nothing to stop it, and the state rule-makers are too busy collecting “man of the year” awards from the oil and gas industry to protect communities.
The future for Denton with “reasonable regulations” is the wholesale industrialization of neighborhoods. One Denton neighborhood sued the industry for chemical trespass that has devalued their property. Parents there had to keep their kids indoors for weeks because the toxic fumes were so overwhelming. Children got nosebleeds, breathing problems and headaches. One pregnant mother told the City Council, “There is no escaping the harmful chemicals. … We feel like prisoners in our own home.”
This is anything but reasonable. We can either have fracking or we can have a safe and healthy city. We can’t have both.
Of course the industry ignores all the problems with fracking and speaks only to its economic benefits. I can speak to that, too, because Denton has done far more than its part for the state’s economy. Even if we crammed all of Texas’ gas wells into the 7 percent of the state’s land area that is urban, Denton would still host more than three times the number of wells as the average city in that extreme scenario. And even when the ban is in place, we’ll continue to do our part (with existing wells still in production).
Actually, maybe the craziest thing I’ve heard is that fracking is a boon for Denton’s economy. In fact, though we do more than our share for the state, we have reaped very little local economic gain.
Tax revenues from Denton gas wells amount to less than 1 percent of the city’s budget. The mining sector employs just 0.27 percent of Denton’s workforce.
And most of the appraised mineral values (a proxy for royalties) from Denton gas wells are owned by outsiders. Fracking operators, none of which are based in Denton, take over 70 percent of the wealth. Absentee mineral owners take over 20 percent more. Denton families own just 2 percent of the mineral wealth being pulled from under our soil.
Meanwhile, Denton residents are the ones paying the health costs. Gas wells emit toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Fracking causes much of the smog-forming ozone that gives Denton the worst air quality in the state and alarmingly high rates of childhood asthma.
There have been spills in Hickory Creek, and a blowout in Denton last year spewed over 1,200 pounds of volatile organic compounds (including cancer-causing benzene) for 14 hours, forcing the evacuation of nearby homes.
Peer-reviewed science verifies the harms of fracking. Shamefully, like Big Tobacco, the fracking industry is playing the denial game. Instead of investing in better practices, they invest in misinformation campaigns. With their un-neighborly ways, they have brought this ban on themselves.
As the industry looks to export American gas, driving up production, Denton’s bad situation will get worse.
It’s a fracking perfect storm: The only industry allowed in residential areas (not even bakeries have that leeway) is also the only industry allowed to emit non-disclosed, unmonitored chemicals. The result: The most toxic and secretive industry operates the closest to places where children live and play.
Even according to the industry’s own estimates, the cost of banning fracking will amount to a mere fraction of a percent of Denton’s annual budget. Yet, still all they talk about is how much revenue we stand to lose from the ban. In so doing, they are putting a price tag on us — treating us like just another commodity. They are putting a price on our children’s health and safety, our right to enjoy our property, and the livability and character of our Denton.
What are these things worth to you? And why do they think we’d sell them so cheaply?
ADAM BRIGGLE is vice president of the Denton Drilling Awareness Group, which is running Frack Free Denton. He is also a faculty fellow in the Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity and an associate professor in the Philosophy and Religion Studies Department at the University of North Texas.
Watch: Flowback and flaring continue 200 ft from home in Denton Texas
Watch: "The fight has come to this."
Nurse Cathy McMullen speaks at Denton City Council meeting - July 15, 2014
Dirty Tricks And Deceptive Polling Anger Denton Residents
By TXSHARON on October 11, 2014 in DentonThe fracking industry is covering Denton in layers of slick, deceptive mailers and now they are doing more manipulative polling calls. All this is only serving to anger Denton residents.
... You cannot believe, Dear Readers, the dirty tricks the opposition is pulling out of their sleaze bag. ... more.
Verified: Frackers Think Status Quo Is “Responsible Drilling”
By TXSHARON on October 31, 2014 in DentonYesterday residents in Denton were treated to yet another mailer from the people who support “Responsible Drilling.” This one, from the wife of one of the two board members, was particularly offensive.
The mailer reminded me of a quote I saw yesterday in a video about the BP spill.
“Somebody ought to feel something other than greed.” ... more.
Watch: Blowout at Eagleridge Wellsite Denton,TX
Denton Fracking Ban Passed In Landslide
Denton became the first Texas city to ban hydraulic fracturing Tuesday after a citizen-driven proposition cruised to a landslide victory at the polls.
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, November 5, 2014, Denton Record-Chronicle
Denton became the first Texas city to ban hydraulic fracturing Tuesday after a citizen-driven proposition cruised to a landslide victory at the polls.
The election garnered national attention, and the ban is likely to set off a long legal fight.
“The City Council is committed to defending the ordinance and will exercise the legal remedies that are available to us should the ordinance be challenged,” Mayor Chris Watts said in a written statement.
... The campaign was the most expensive by far in Denton’s history.
Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy, the leading group opposing the ban, had raised almost $700,000 since July, almost all of which came from energy companies including Chevron, XTO Energy and Chesapeake Energy.
The group Frack Free Denton, in contrast, had raised about $75,000 since July.
Resident Cathy McMullen, who helped spearhead the drive to ban fracking, said more than 50 volunteers greeted voters at every Denton polling location Tuesday despite the cool, rainy weather.
“Everybody who worked on this believed in it with their whole heart,” she said.
Representatives for Denton Taxpayers could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, said the outcome was unfortunate but ultimately will be decided by the courts. ... more.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "Frack site in the Vintage neighborhood"For our families, for our health, for our homes, and for our future.
This ban is the voice of the citizens of Denton speaking directly to the fracking industry, and local, state and national government: WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
We WON! A few thoughts from president Cathy McMullen
November 5th, 2014, Frack Free Denton
This is a victory for the citizens of the city of Denton.
For our families, for our health, for our homes, and for our future.
What does this fracking ban mean?
It means we don’t have to worry about what our kids are breathing at city playgrounds.
It means we can cheer on the Mean Green without fracking pollution blowing over the football field.
And it means we don’t have to worry about our property value taking a nose dive because frackers set up shop 200 feet away.
But this ban wouldn’t have passed without the tireless efforts of countless people concerned enough about their city to help make this happen.
Unfortunately, not all is sweetness and light.
We know the oil and gas industry is going to sue to try to overturn the fracking ban.
But we lawyered this ban every which way before launching this effort. And we consulted legal precedents for Texas home rule cities like Denton. And we’re confident it will stand up.
We know the oil and gas industry is going to try to use our own state government against us by directing its paid flunkies to overturn the ban in the legislature.
To them I say, if you vote to overturn this ban, never again say you’re against big government
Because politicians didn’t pass this ban.
This ban is the voice of the citizens of Denton speaking directly to the fracking industry, and local, state and national government: WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
So try to overturn it if you will. But know that if you do, you are on the side of corporate interests and against the people.
Because this isn’t a ban on fracking everywhere.
If YOU want fracking in YOUR COMMUNITY, fine! Keep it.
But in Denton, we don’t.
And if you force it on us anyway, that is the VERY DEFINITION of big government.
To those in industry and government who are concerned by the success of this ban, rather than try to overturn it, address why we had to pass it.
Because the ban was our LAST RESORT. We tried for years to get government and industry to work with us. And they wouldn’t. This was the only way left open to us. And so we took it.
If you want to prevent more bans, especially in towns that know drilling best, do yourselves a favor and listen to concerned citizens. Because if you don’t, you may wind up reaping what you’ve sown. ... more.
Random Thoughts With Updates About The Denton Fracking Ban
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "Frack well near Vintage/S. Bonnie Brae less than 250 ft from homes. 10/15/13"
That’s how bad the reality of fracking is. No one can live with it, not even industry’s political base.
By TXSHARON, November 5, 2014, Blue Daze
Denton is representative of Texas–a predominately Republican city that happens to have two universities–and it would be folly for politicians to ignore that fact.
Republicans voted for the ban proving that fracking is a non-partisan issue. Republicans won every race in Denton.
People drove pickup trucks with Greg Abbott stickers to the polls, voted straight Republican and still voted for the ban. Eighty plus year-old ladies voted for the ban then ranted against Obama. They voted in Myra Crownover again despite her threats to support legislation to make the ban illegal and her years of supporting industry over her constituents. It will be interesting to watch the awakening.
That’s how bad the reality of fracking is. No one can live with it, not even industry’s political base.
This is industry’s own fault.
There are some things that money can’t buy, even a mega crap-load of money. ... more.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "EagleRidge well at UNT Apogee Stadium. 10/17/13"Texas Legislature: Respect Denton’s Fracking Ban
There are consequences in a democracy when you don’t listen to the people.
By Rudolph Bush, November 5, 2014, Dallas News
The city of Denton showed last night what happens when industry pushes too far into people’s lives and too close to their homes.
In a vote that the oil and gas industry and the legislators they support should hear very loudly, the city’s residents agreed to ban hydraulic fracturing within their city limits.
What do you expect will happen next?
Will the Republican legislature, the one whose members so often decry the heavy hand of Washington, respect the will of a local populace?
... No, lawsuits will pile up against this ban. That’s certain.
But more harmful would be a legislative attempt (that will surely be successful) to diminish or eliminate the ability of local people and municipalities to control what happens within their own boundaries when it comes to oil and gas exploration.
We will probably hear lots of talk about streamlining regulation and how it’s important that everyone across the state is on the same page.
That’s double-talk and justification for taking away the power of local people to control what kind of industry is set up in their own backyards.
... Industry didn’t respect people’s legitimate concerns. So the people want them gone. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
There are consequences in a democracy when you don’t listen to the people.
But when it comes to oil and gas in Texas, the people’s concerns are a quaint impediment. And it won’t be long before we see that votes like this one don’t matter to the people who run this state. That’s not only too bad; it’s foolish and dangerous, brushing away the will and the worries of voters.
With any luck, there will once again be a political price to pay. ... more.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "Fire hydrant near Southlakes where EagleRidge pulled water. EagleRidge regularly uses 6 million gallons of water to frack each well. 1/11/14"Denton Fracking Ban Prompts Move To Stamp Out Democracy
Litigation over the passage of a hydraulic fracturing ban in Denton Tuesday night has already begun.
By James Osborne, November 5, 2014, Dallas News
The Texas Oil and Gas Association filed for an injunction in state court in Denton Wednesday morning to stop the ban from being implemented. And the Texas General Land Office, which controls oil and gas leases that fund public education, has sued the town too, calling the ban, “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.”
“TXOGA believes that the courts of this State should give a prompt and authoritative answer on whether Denton voters had the authority under state law to enact a total ban on hydraulic fracturing within the city limits,” attorney Thomas R. Phillips, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas said in a statement. “A ban on hydraulic fracturing is inconsistent with state law and therefore violates the Texas Constitution.”
Denton is the first municipality in Texas to vote in a ban prohibiting hydraulic fracturing, which is used to extract oil and natural gas from shale formations.
Similar ordinances in other parts of the country have met with limited success in the courts.
One exception is New York where the state supreme court recently upheld towns’ rights to prohibit oil and gas drilling.
Litigation over the fracking ban has been widely anticipated. And Denton city officials have said they are prepared to defend the ordinance in court. ... more.
Frack Free Denton Statement In Response To Industry Lawsuit To Stop The Ban
November 5th, 2014
Contact: Adam Briggle, dentondag@gmail.com, 940-536-8710
Statement of the Frack Free Denton/Denton Drilling Awareness Group Board
We expected the oil and gas industry to sue the citizens of Denton after we voted to ban fracking.
Unfortunately, industry has met our expectations. They have apparently learned nothing from last night’s landslide vote. They have taken no time to reflect on their own irresponsible actions that brought the people of Denton to this point.
Industry could have taken this moment to address why the ban was passed. Instead they’re going to try to squash it.
If justice prevails, and we think it will, they will lose.
More Hazardous Gases Detected At Fracking Facility In Denton
Scientific studies from research groups are finding much larger volumes of toxic air pollutants near oil & gas operations than state and federal regulators estimate, and people living near these operations are having health impacts.
By TXSHARON on November 18, 2014 in Denton
On October 18, 2014, Cathy McMullen and I took air samples at the EnerVest drill site on Masch Branch and Hampton in Denton, Texas. Wind direction was ENE at 4.5 mph.
The downwind sample detected 18 toxic and hazardous gases and methane. Benzene was detected over the TCEQ’s Air Comparison Monitoring Value for long-term exposure.
Canister #AC00848 – Downwind – 11:30am
Methane 3.2 ppm
1. Dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC 12) 0.42 ppb
2. Acetone 3.6 ppb
3. Trichlorofluoromethane 0.20 ppb
4. n-Hexane 25 ppb
5. Benzene 1.5 ppb
6. Cyclohexane 5.0 ppb
7. n-Heptane 9.0 ppb
8. Toluene 3.7 ppb
9. n-Octane 4.7 ppb
10. Ethylbenzene 1.4 ppb
11. m,p-Xylenes 3.9 ppb
12. o-Xylene 1.6 ppb
13. n-Nonane 5.9 ppb
14. Cumene 0.36 ppb
15. n-Propylbenzene 0.97 ppb
16. 4-Ethyltoluene 1.1 ppb
17. 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene 0.88 ppb
18. 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene 3.0 ppb
To learn how a mix of chemicals, even at low levels, can effect your health, see Chemical toxicology in the fracking zone and Study: Co-exposures of two chemicals at safe levels doubles chances of cancer.
The upwind sample detected three toxic and hazardous gasses and methane.
Canister #003497 – Upwind – 11:35am
Methane 3.9 ppm
1. Dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC 12) 0.42 ppb
2. Acetone 4.8 ppb
3. Trichlorofluoromethane 0.20 ppm
Map of sampling locations:
The TCEQ will dismiss this air test saying it is a one-time exposure so health effects cannot be expected. But we have FLIR videos that show these kinds of emissions are occurring over the long-term in Denton. We also have numerous air samples where benzene and other hazardous gases were detected over TCEQ limits. Most of this air testing was done by citizens or at their expense. Neither the city nor the state have implemented any kind of air monitoring program. This testing shows a pattern of long-term exposure for the citizens of Denton that is consistent with findings in other areas. ... much more.
A Town — In Texas, Of All Places — Bans Fracking
Photo: Frack Free Denton
“It says that industry can’t come in and do whatever they want to do to people, ... They can’t drill a well 300 feet from a park anymore. They can’t flare 200 feet from a child’s bedroom anymore.”
... “It’s a victory for their families’ health, for their economy, and for their future. But it’s also a victory for communities across the country.
Denton, Texas, is where hydraulic fracturing was invented. … It’s a place that knows fracking perhaps better than any other.
If this place in the heart of the oil and gas industry can’t live with fracking, then who can?
The answer, at present, is ‘no one.’”
By Lindsey Bever, November 6, 2014, Washington Post
Across the country, hydraulic fracturing — pumping water, sand and chemicals into shale to release oil and gas, also known as “fracking” — has been both highly lucrative and highly criticized. Opponents claim it is an environmental disaster that pollutes the air, contaminates the groundwater and can trigger earthquakes. Its boosters argue it’s the key to energy independence for America and creates jobs, millions of them.
Now, fracking is under fire in a state where it began: Texas.
Voters in Denton, Tex. — a college town of about 123,000 atop the gas-richBarnett Shale formation — became the first in the state to ban fracking on Tuesday when they approved a ballot measure with 59 percent of the vote.
The battle could become a “template,” it is said, for others across the country as the technology nears more densely populated areas. Although Denton has more than 270 natural gas wells, residents aren’t grappling over arguments about global warming. It’s the constant noise, traffic and toxic fumes that have been a concern since 2009, when wells started popping up near a park.
The state of Texas and the industry are beside themselves and as expected, have filed lawsuits to stop it.
Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter said in a statement this week that he was disappointed in voters who “fell prey to scare tactics and mischaracterizations of the truth in passing the hydraulic fracturing ban.”
... If the ban isn’t blocked, it will go into effect Dec. 2. ... more.
Watch: Blowout at Eagleridge #7 Denton,TX
A Wake Up Call for the Railroad Commission
Photo: Frack Free Denton
No longer can the industry claim the King’s X in Denton. And the time for empty rhetoric is over. You think you’ve got a solution and a “reasonable approach,” then spell it out. With her column, Ms. Craddick had a chance to communicate to a very educated readership. But rather than talk up to our level and to the specifics of our situation, she talked down to us with platitudes and bureaucratese.
You want to dialogue? Then get out of the armchair and catch up to us.
We are a long ways down the road.
Photo: Frack Free DentonBy Frack Free Denton, November 13th, 2014
Texas Railroad Commission chairwoman Christi Craddick has a guest column in today’s Denton Record Chronicle.
There are actually a few moments of clarity in her piece. First, she writes that economic gains from extracting minerals are “meaningless without the health and safety of our citizens and our environment.”
But where was this concern five years ago when fracking happened across the street from McKenna Park? Where was this concern a year ago when fracking happened less than 200 feet from homes? Or when Denton residents lodged over 300 formal complaints? Where was Ms. Craddick’s commission for all these years when Denton residents struggled to control an industry hell-bent on risking our health and safety for their profits? They were nowhere to be seen. What kind of “ally” acts that way?
They thought we would just get tired and give up. They thought wrong. We got angry. We got educated. We got powerful. Years of total silence from Austin and now she says we should “work together.” Years of trying to negotiate with an industry that just kept showing us nothing but the back of its hand and now she laments the absence of a “reasonable model of peaceful cooperation.” Too little. Too late.
Here is a second moment of clarity: “The voice of the people of Denton should not be overruled…In the end, a solution that keeps the local and state economies strong and the will of Denton’s residents intact is not only possible, but an obligation.”
Yet she doesn’t seem to understand that the people of Denton just voted for that solution. The ban on hydraulic fracturing within Denton’s city limits is the will of our residents and it will mean a stronger economy.
Her own words make it clear that there is no conflict between state and local jurisdictions. Her office issues “drilling permits” and “companies doing business here [in Denton] must comply with city ordinances.” That’s right. Companies can still get drilling permits. But to operate in Denton they cannot use the well stimulation technique of hydraulic fracturing. That’s what our new ordinance says. It’s simple.
Of course, most of her column is just what we would expect it to be: condescending, out of touch, and full of the same old empty rhetoric.
The worst of it is how she has the gall to talk down to us. She accuses us of “misinformation” and “sensationalism” but doesn’t point to a single claim we made. That’s probably because she never bothered to tune us in and listen to the real story of fracking in Denton. She’s still somewhere in the Shangri-La of “responsible drilling.”
So, without even listening to our actual case (bolstered by peer-reviewed studies), she rides in here and has the nerve to pretend like she’s the real expert. As if those of us who live and work here don’t know the situation a thousand-times better than she does. Ms. Craddick is an armchair General fighting a war that doesn’t exist, some imaginary battle in her head with imaginary radicals. Meanwhile, the voters — of all ages and political stripes — just won the real war.
Wake up! A Texas city that votes like the rest of the state on other issues just banned fracking. The Railroad Commission and the industry might want to take the time to actually find out why the ban passed rather than pretend that they already know.
Because it’s clear that they don’t know. Ms. Craddick talks about setback requirements as local government’s most useful tool. That’s right. Denton has a 1,200 foot setback requirement. Despite that, fracking continues less than 200 feet from homes. The fact that she does not even mention vested rights indicates her remaining cluelessness. Or worse, if she actually does know this, it indicates that she’s still trying to fool Dentonites. The industry just spent $1 million trying to ‘educate’ us. What part of “we ain’t buying it” does she not understand?
No longer can the industry claim the King’s X in Denton. And the time for empty rhetoric is over. You think you’ve got a solution and a “reasonable approach,” then spell it out. With her column, Ms. Craddick had a chance to communicate to a very educated readership. But rather than talk up to our level and to the specifics of our situation, she talked down to us with platitudes and bureaucratese.
You want to dialogue? Then get out of the armchair and catch up to us. We are a long ways down the road.
EDITORIAL: State Should Not Override Local Fracking Bans
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "An image of Southlakes rig which appears to be less than 1,200 feet from the playground at McMath Middle School. 11/5/13"
... it's not surprising that the oil industry is not happy with the Denton vote. Many want to challenge the legality of it, including members of the Texas Railroad Commission, the agency that regulates oil and gas drilling in Texas.
Chairwoman Christi Craddick even said she would continue to allow drilling within Denton because "It's my job to give permits, not Denton's."
That's a mistake. The ban was approved by Denton voters and is supported by the City Council and mayor. If fracking supporters want to reverse the ban, they need to persuade Denton voters to change their minds. If the oil industry and state officials overreact, they will look like bullies and probably invite more fracking bans.
State agencies and the Legislature should butt out.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "An image of Southlakes rig which appears to be less than 1,200 feet from the playground at McMath Middle School. 11/5/13"By Enterprise editorial staff, November 10, 2014, Beaumont Enterprise.com
To some Texans, it seemed as odd as a vote against Friday night football: Voters in Denton, a city north of Dallas that knows the oil and gas business well, voted to ban fracking on Tuesday. That's the first city in Texas to take this step, and one of the few in the nation so far.
Proponents of the measure cited various reasons for the ban, such as concerns about the chemicals emitted by the practice or even fears that it causes earthquakes. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the practice of injecting water and fluids underground to allow the recovery of oil or gas that can't be tapped by conventional drilling.
Fracking supporters say it's safe, and it has dramatically boosted domestic production of oil and gas. In fact, fracking has produced so much natural gas that the United States has become an exporter of the product instead of an importer.
So it's not surprising that the oil industry is not happy with the Denton vote. Many want to challenge the legality of it, including members of the Texas Railroad Commission, the agency that regulates oil and gas drilling in Texas.
Chairwoman Christi Craddick even said she would continue to allow drilling within Denton because "It's my job to give permits, not Denton's."
That's a mistake. The ban was approved by Denton voters and is supported by the City Council and mayor. If fracking supporters want to reverse the ban, they need to persuade Denton voters to change their minds. If the oil industry and state officials overreact, they will look like bullies and probably invite more fracking bans.
State agencies and the Legislature should butt out. In an oil-friendly state like Texas, very few communities will do what Denton did. The state's production of oil and gas will barely dip, if at all, because there's almost always another place for a well.
Find it, and drill it instead. ... more.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "Fracking rig ironically next to advertisements for nearby homes and schools, Vintage neighborhood."Elsewhere In Texas: Oil Executive Recognizes Importance Of "Town Adopted Zoning And Other Ordinances," Calls On Bartonville Zoning Ordinance To Protect His Community From Runaway Development, "Industrial Properties," Frack Truck "Noise Nuisance and Traffic Hazards" Etc.
Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson, his wife and neighbours - launch lawsuit citing “unreasonable discomfort,” “annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities,” “fear,” “apprehension,” “offence,” “loss of peace of mind,” “emotional harm,” etc.
Exxon CEO Joins Suit Citing Fracking Concerns
By Daniel Gilbert, Feb. 20, 2014, The Wall Street Journal
Residents of Dallas Suburb Fight Construction of Tower That Would Provide Water for Drilling
BARTONVILLE, Texas—One evening last November, a tall, white-haired man turned up at a Town Council meeting to protest construction of a water tower near his home in this wealthy community outside Dallas.
The man was Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp.
He and his neighbors had filed suit to block the tower, saying it is illegal and would create "a noise nuisance and traffic hazards," in part because it would provide water for use in hydraulic fracturing.
... In the wake of the election, Mr. Tillerson was among those who lined up in a windowless hall to address the council.
He told officials that he and his wife settled in Bartonville to enjoy a rural lifestyle and invested millions in their property after satisfying themselves that nothing would be built above their tree line, according to the council's audio recording of the meeting.
Allowing the tower in defiance of town ordinances could open the door to runaway development and might prompt him to leave town, Mr. Tillerson told the council.
"I cannot stay in a place," he said, "where I do not know who to count on and who not to count on."
As stated in the lawsuit:
Plaintiffs are owners of homes and real property in the Town of Bartonville, Texas. These are luxury properties worth multiple millions of dollars.
Each of the homeowners built or purchased their homes in Bartonville to live in an upscale community free of industrial properties, tall buildings, and other structures that might devalue their properties and adversely impact the rural lifestyle they sought to enjoy.
Each of these homeowners selected Bartonville because the Town had adopted zoning and other ordinances calculated to prevent undesirable development not in character with their neighborhood and the zoning of their properties.
... Each of the other homeowner plaintiffs purchased and improved their properties relying on the Town's zoning ordinance.
... Plaintiffs assert that the tower constitutes a public and private nuisance, for which the proper remedy is abatement by removing the offending structure by means of a mandatory permanent injunction.
... This monstrosity will mock the purpose of the Bartonville zoning ordinance, the primary purpose of which is to protect the citizens and their property from uses "detrimental to or endanger[ing] the public health, safety, morals, comfort, or general welfare;" from 'uses which substantially impair and diminish the uses, values, and enjoyment of other property in the neighborhood for purposes already permitted"
... Plaintiffs have and will continue to be damaged and injured by Defendants’ conduct unless Defendants are restrained and enjoined, and they have no legal remedy sufficient to protect their interests because even though the damages might compensate them for their diminished property values, damages cannot compensate fully for the substantial interference with Plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their land by causing unreasonable discomfort and annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities, and damages cannot fully compensate plaintiffs for the emotional harm they have sustained from the deprivation of the enjoyment of their property because of fear, apprehension, offence, loss of peace of mind, visual blight or other similar acts or circumstances.
… The construction of the water tower will create a constant and unbearable nuisance to those that live next to it.
A water tower will have lights on at all hours of the night, traffic to and from the tower at unknown and unreasonable hours, noise from mechanical and electrical equipment needed to maintain and operate the water tower, and creates and unsafe and attractive nuisance to the children of the area.
Furthermore, water towers can create an attractive nesting spot for invasive species of bird and other animals.
These animals will befoul Plaintiffs properties if the water tower is left to stand.
Further, upon information and belief, BWSC will lease or sell rights to third parties for the location of antennas and cell towers.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "Semi-truck traffic in the neighborhood of Vintage." Denton, TexasFurthermore, upon information and belief, BWSC will sell water to oil and gas explorers for fracing shale formations leading to traffic with heavy trucks on FM 407, creating a noise nuisance and traffic hazards.
... By constructing the water tower in direct violation of the Town of Batonville's zoning ordinance designed for the purpose of protecting Plaintiffs and their properties from uses destructive and detrimental to the neighborhood, Defendants by their conduct threaten irreparable harm to Plaintiffs property values and Plaintiffs rights to the quiet use and enjoyment of their properties. ... more.
Photo: Frack Free Denton - "EagleRidge trucks heading towards frack well sites near Vintage/S. Bonnie Brae to haul fracking waste. 1/7/14" Denton, Texas
What We Just Did: A Few Thoughts From Vice President Adam Briggle
The industry will not be running roughshod over Denton anymore.
The nightmare that unfolded in the Meadows at Hickory Creek will not be repeated.
We will have cleaner air and water and safer neighborhoods.
Our kids’ schools, playgrounds, and bedrooms will be protected.
And I do believe we will have a stronger local economy as a result of the ban.
These are the most important legacies of our efforts.
November 6, 2014, Frack Free Denton
I am still in shock. We did it? We actually did it! Against all odds.
In January, the day before fracking began in the Meadows at Hickory Creek neighborhood, the Denton Drilling Awareness Group decided to pursue the ban. After years of working to fix our ordinance only to have more fracking 200 feet from homes, we knew the writing was on the wall. What was it going to be: spend the next decade going to community meetings at fire stations and rec centers informing Dentonites that their neighborhood just became an industrial zone? Or draw a line in the sand?
We drew the line. And on Tuesday the people of Denton stood with us shoulder to shoulder along that line. We have become a force.
I don’t think we can yet fully comprehend the magnitude and the significance of what we accomplished. But I can tell you that it was ten long months. It felt like rolling a boulder up a hill. I wasn’t home very much. Family dinners are a distant memory. There are no words for how grateful I am for the support of all my girls, especially Amber. She saw me through the long nights of work and worry.
It was fitting that Election Day was rainy and windy. I stood on a street corner for 12 hours getting soaked to the bone. The wind turned my umbrella inside out. It blew my Frack Free Denton sign out of my hands. And all across the city, other volunteers were standing in the rain until it was pitch black. You see, for ten months the wind was blowing in our faces. All the powers that be were aligned against us. How much easier it would have been to turn our backs and let the wind carry us away – along the comfortable avenues of apathy into the hidden corners of collective irresponsibility.
But we stood there in the wind and in the rain. Immoveable. Have you seen the pictures of our volunteers on Election Day? The sun never appeared. It was night all day long. Yet their faces were glowing as if lit up from the inside. That is the light and the splendor of glory. It is the torch of a caring heart.
David beat Goliath (or as one of my dear friends said, David beat Godzilla). Malcolm Gladwell has this to say about that ancient story: “Giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem. And sometimes the shepherd boy has a sling in his pocket.”
It turns out that Goliath likely had acromegaly. This accounts for his enormous size. But it also gave him double vision and made him profoundly nearsighted. So, although he appears imposing and powerful to onlookers, “the very thing that was the source of his apparent strength was also the source of his greatest weakness.” He could not see things clearly.
Doesn’t that ring true about our opponents? The industry outspent us 10:1 but they couldn’t see that a barrage of slick mailers and advertisements (let alone Russian conspiracy theories and personal attacks) was no way to talk to a fiercely independent, intelligent, and unique Denton citizenry. The Board of the Chamber of Commerce couldn’t see how a backroom decision would actually alienate them and put them on the defensive. The Denton County Republican Party couldn’t see that clean air and water and safe neighborhoods are not partisan issues. The Eppstein Group that ran the “responsible drilling” campaign couldn’t see that Dentonites are smart enough to know doublespeak and empty rhetoric when they hear it.
The giant was never as strong as he appeared. And we proved that the shepherd boy was never weak. What was the sling in our pocket? What was the source of our strength?
It was Tara Linn Hunter, who hasn’t slept in weeks, because she has been coordinating a massive ground campaign by our volunteers. It was Ed Soph, who blended wisdom with a preacher’s fiery passion. It was his wife, Carol, “the hammer,” who spent two straight weeks at the Civic Center chasing down voters. It was the political wit, public health expertise, and enviable sangfroid of Rhonda Love. It was Sharon Wilson who woke us all from our slumbers. It was Cathy McMullen who is my hero.
It was Angie Holliday and Nikki Chochrek who are my inspiration. It was the lion-hearted Sandy Mattox. It was the courage of Maile Bush, Debbie Ingram, Alyse Ogletree, and Kelly Higgins. It was Ken and Nicole, who let us use the Greenhouse as command central. It was Alan and everyone else at Earthworks who believed in us and supported us all the way. It was Charlene who gave us a winning image. It was a very special local donor…I don’t know your name but I know the measure of your character. It was the leadership at UNT who protected my academic freedoms in the face of great pressure.
It was Cindy, Phyllis, Jamie, Topher, Jeff, Nancy, Ken, Misty, Mike, Michael, Susan, Pauline, Kevin, Sarah, Sara, Rosemary, Laura, Batavia, John, Marc, Devin, Jennifer, Matthew, Gena, Britt, Kelli, Keith, Bob, Ron, Corey, Heidi, George, Brooke, Elma, Shelly, Steve, Elise, Lisa, Doug, Hatice, Dan, Merrie, Keely, Riley, Elma, Bruce, Lyndi, Kate, Marshall, Phyllis, Harrison, Vicki, Selina, Calvin, Tim, Virginia, Adam, Tyler, RayAnne, Kathleen, Andrea, Christina, Emily, Karen, Kate, Katie, Anyah, Benjamin, Maureen, David, Pam, Val, Alex, Matt…
You know I could go on and on! It was everyone who knocked on doors, made art and played music (Brave Combo, are you kidding me!!), distributed flyers, donated money, put out a yard sign (or even made their own!), made phone calls, hosted fundraisers, built coffin racers (!), ‘liked’ us and encouraged us on social media, spoke to neighbors and colleagues, serenely ignored the haters, registered voters, did their homework about fracking, and of course VOTED!
We were the sling. We were the strength. What we saw in Denton was a victory for grassroots democracy – the kind of thing that’s not supposed to happen anymore in the age of big political money. Well, it just happened.
This was the most intense journey I have ever taken. Every day seemed to bring more and more weighty decisions. There were at least two times when I thought for sure we made a catastrophic error. I thought we were doomed. I am happily eating crow now and thankful for my fellow travelers who spoke wisely and judiciously throughout the campaign.
The industry will not be running roughshod over Denton anymore. The nightmare that unfolded in the Meadows at Hickory Creek will not be repeated. We will have cleaner air and water and safer neighborhoods. Our kids’ schools, playgrounds, and bedrooms will be protected. And I do believe we will have a stronger local economy as a result of the ban. These are the most important legacies of our efforts.
Given the national and international attention we have attracted, there will doubtlessly be much wider impacts. For me, this was always a Denton thing. I always said we were not laying out a blueprint for anyone else. The ban was not about what’s right for other places. It was about our right to self-determination.
So, my hope for those broader implications is that local communities are empowered. Those who are most vulnerable to the risks of fracking should have the greatest say. The petition process enfranchised the people – it gave us a voice…and how good it felt to speak! As frack sites proliferate across the world, I hope that those who are put in harm’s way are able to find their voice too. And I hope that those with power and money will listen.
I will not accept the counter argument that corporations are people with rights, until Texas executes one.
—A Denton Citizen - July 15, 2014, Denton City Council Meeting