On October 6, 2010, a panel of activists and environmental experts joined Jeff Weems, candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, and Neil Durrance, candidate for Congress in District 26, for an informative discussion on gas drilling impacting the Town of Flower Mound and Denton County.
Several residents expressed concerns about what can be done by the local, state, and federal government to preserve the Town’s quality of life, protect health, and curtail increasing impacts from gas drilling on air and water quality. One man, a lifelong Republican from Bartonville, said he will be a “poster boy” for Durrance and Weems because the incumbents in Congress and the Railroad Commission have not provided adequate protection for land owners with drilling next door to their property.
Neil Durrance responded that as a Congressman he can take a very active role in promoting investigations and oversight of the gas drilling industry to promote best practices in their operations.
He outlines what he would do to coordinate the local, state, Railroad Commission, and EPA response to this issue. Video shows (left to right) Neil Durrance, Ginger Simonson, Mayor Calvin Tillman, Cherelle Blazer, Jeff Weems, and Deborah Rogers)
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He also has a YouTube video on the four steps for addressing issues in the Barnett Shale (see below). He would support the Frac Act (that reverses hydraulic fracturing loopholes from clean air and clean water regulations) and promote rules to hold gas drilling companies accountable when they pollute nearby properties from their drilling operations. Jeff Weems reiterated that as Railroad Commissioner, he would create a RRC District just for the Barnett Shale, and be hands-on in responding to permitting and oversight concerns. He would take a tougher stance as Railroad Commissioner in protecting the health, safety, and property values during urban drilling operations. Until now, the RRC has divided the Barnett Shale into three regulatory districts overseen by three different field offices.
Ginger Simonson, organizer of Flower Mound Cares, provided a litany of issues that the local citizens have faced in getting improved oversight and permitting of gas wells in the Town. She had moved to the “bedroom community” to escape the industrial activity of other areas, but instead found that the industrial activity had followed her there, as gas drilling significantly impacts land uses in the community. She noted that property values in Flower Mound decline up to 14% near wells, the increased incidence of leukemia and breast cancer versus the national average, and the continued impacts on the environment. The Town of Flower Mound does not require a Specific Use Permit for gas drilling as is required in many other municipalities. Instead, the permits are approved administratively and variances are heard by a quasi-judicial body.
As in the gas forum held in Denton two weeks ago, Deborah Rogers provided the background on continued drilling despite considerable reserves. She also discussed her own experience in air sampling to provide scientific evidence of air contamination on her property and reiterated that anyone with gas drilling issues should spend the money for private testing of air whenever possible. Scientific evidence is the best argument for getting best practices and oversight of drilling.
Mayor Calvin Tillman showed the audience a clear plastic bottle with contaminated, murky water from a water well in Dish, Texas. He pointed out that in Pennsylvania, the gas drilling company would be assumed responsible for such contamination and would have to truck in potable water. The panel noted, however, that without clean, running water a property would be extremely difficult to sell, even with trucked in water. During his tenure as mayor in Dish, Texas, the city has done what they could to regulate gas drilling, and implemented a 1000-foot rule from homes. He has also help bring national attention to the issue with his participation in the movie, Gasland.
Cherelle Blazer of the Environmental Defense Fund again showed their extensive air quality study of the DFW area and highlighted the significant impact of air pollutants in Denton County as related to gas drilling. EDF Denton County VOC Analysis Draft 10_14 Condensate production, along with the drilling and hydraulic fracturing processes, leads to significantly higher levels pollution from hydrocarbons than the rest of the DFW area.
Condensate Production for Denton County Shown in Purple
EDF Denton County VOC Analysis as Related to Condensate (hydrocarbon liquid left over from wet gas production, gases are collected at top and condensate is stored in on-site storage tanks)
About 50 people attended the forum, “Gas Drilling in the Barnett Shale: Community, Health, and Legislation, last night in Denton.
Cherelle Blazer of the Environmental Defense Fund, Neil Durrance (Congressional Candidate for the 26th District), Deborah Rogers of Mineral Owners for Responsible Action and Land Safety, Sharon Wilson of the Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project, and Jim Wall of Flower Mound Cares were on the panel.
The audience posed questions on how they could bring about changes to gas drilling practices, get the community involved, and improve governmental oversight. There were also concerns voiced about the impacts on property values.
As Jim Wall stated, there are over 11,000 wells in the Barnett Shale and they are moving westward into Denton County like “locusts.” Flower Mound Cares had mounted a successful campaign to get a moratorium on gas drilling permits and to elect a new mayor, with the highest number of voters ever.
One audience member wanted to know about Durrance’s experience with this issue prior to this forum. He talked about his 27-year experience with oil and gas leases and legal issues, his experience on the Texas Public Utilities Commission, as well as his focus on the issue of responsible gas drilling during more than one year of his Congressional campaign. He pointed out that the local levels and Federal levels are very important for environmental regulation, since if a property is outside of a local jurisdiction, the EPA laws are applicable. As Sharon Wilson pointed out, Texas has some of the most lenient regulations in the country on gas drilling.
One property owner wanted to know how to legally hold the gas driller responsible for the condition of her property now that drilling has stopped. Until this time, she had been unable to get any response. Neil Durrance, having many years of experience with drilling leases, indicated that the gas drilling lease will show that the driller, not the land man, is most likely responsible for upholding the lease agreement.
Deborah Rogers, and economist who serves on an Advisory Committee for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, answered the question about why there is still gas drilling when there is currently a 75-year reserve of natural gas. She pointed out that the gas companies need to drill new wells because existing wells in the Barnett Shale only produce gas for about 7-8 years on average, not the 20-30 years often touted in marketing efforts to land owners for new leases. The investors on Wall Street expect continuous new drilling and production, even with dips in the price of gas. Many gas companies take on debt for drilling.
Jim Wall and the other panelists noted that distributing information person-to-person is the best way to get people active on this issue. Sharon Wilson shared her story of how OGAP and her blog has become a national source of information on responsible or “less destructive” drilling practices. She pointed out that hydraulic fracturing and other aspects of drilling are exempt from many EPA regulations for water and air quality.
Cherelle Blazer said it is a good time for citizens to write letters and emails to the EPA and the TCEQ about the gas drilling issue, given there are new laws in the works and revisions to existing air permit and environmental rules and legislation. The EDF had conducted an extensive study on Denton County that showed a dramatic increase in air pollutants associated with drilling as directly related to the increase in gas drilling activities.
The next forum is scheduled for October 6th in Flower Mound.
Many concerned citizens and members of local gas drilling activist groups gathered near the Courthouse on the Square in Denton to voice their concerns about gas drilling activities in their communities. Many took this opportunity to tell their personal stories about the environment, local organizing, and requests for better regulation and oversight.
Congressional Democratic candidate Neil Durrance also attended to voice his opinion that the gas drilling issue is not Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative, but a “people” issue and received wide applause.
The Environment and Energy Committee got some people to sign up for notifications of future events. An upcoming organizational meeting is planned.
Join the Environment & Energy Committee as we challenge Congressman Michael Burgess on his refusal to vote for safeguards to clean air, clean water and the overall protection of the environment at his upcoming Town Hall meetings at:
Flower Mound Town Hall
Tuesday, August 3
7:00 p.m.
Flower Mound High School Auditorium
3411 Peters Colony Road
Flower Mound, TX 75022
Denton Town Hall
Thursday, August 5
5:00 p.m.
Denton High School Auditorium
1007 Fulton Street
Denton, TX 76201
The EEC will meet near the entrance of the building 30 minutes before the Town Hall Meeting to discuss strategy and formulate questions to ask Dr. Burgess.
For more information please contact headquarters at (940) 566-1165.
Environment and Energy Committee of the Denton Cou 