Here's what it looks like today:
And so, the history of fracking in residential neighborhoods in Arlington, Texas began on October 23, 2007 with this unanimous vote:
Hmmm...only 8 total votes. Shouldn't there be nine?
Let's check the attendance.
Let's check the attendance.
It was a lovely dance, but we wonder if Mayor Cluck sat this one out because it was a tad controversial?
So interesting that Dr. Cluck was ABSENT for this vote. He certainly has been "Present" for so many of the "Approvals" in recent years.
ReplyDeleteAs a well-respected Arlington, TX medical doctor and a long-time politician, it's curious that for something that has turned out to be so important for the future of Arlington ~ this Vote on October 23, 2007 went forward without his vote. This is unbelievable.
Do you guys know the distance that is allowed between a frack site and residential home? I have read thru the RRC, they say they don't set the guidelines for distance. Waded thru pages upon pages at the City of Arlington's web-site and it looks like it's left up to the gas lease??? Using Google Earth I have found in some cases only 55 feet between a pad site and an apartment complex and 100' from the holding tanks at a site to a back yard fence where there's a swing set! Also, are there min. distances that should be between a pipeline maintenance station ( you know the ones with the chain-link fence and the signs that warn "Keep Away" "No Open Flames" "Danger of Explosion") and a residence? There's one near my kids school that is about 30' from a backyard with a kids playhouse and a bar-b-que grill! Hope that chain-link fence stops those fumes. Any info would be great....I just can't find any clear rules.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting the Fish Creek Monitor blog! Our apologies for taking so long to respond. To answer your question, the setback distance from protected use for gas wells is 600 feet. See page 37 of the City's gas drilling ordinance:
Deletehttp://www.arlingtontx.gov/planning/pdf/Gas_Wells/Gas_Drilling_and_Production_Ordinance.pdf
It is not uncommon for operators to obtain signed waivers from property owners which allows for a reduction in the setback. We recently witnessed this when Chesapeake obtained a permit to drill 359 feet from a daycare facility at the Rocking Horse Drill Site in southeast Arlington. We do not think waivers should be allowed! There are many parts of the ordinance which do not protect citizens from this dangerous practice of fracking ~ not to mention all the other infrastructure which goes along with this heavy mining operation.
There is no question ~ Arlington is in the danger zone.
Would love to hear from you again. Feel free to contact us via e-mail to discuss this issue in more detail. Thanks again for visiting!
The RRC does not set rules for setbacks ~ only a vague reference to 200ft from densely populated areas.
DeleteSince drilling was usually conducted in rural areas prior to the introduction of shale gas (around 2004 - 2005) and our NTX communities are sitting atop the shale, our cities (mostly Ft. Worth in the beginning) made new ordinances for all of it.
We, too, don't believe in "variances" after the rules have been established by our cities. But that has been the way it has gone. Our cities have done a very poor job of educating the residents. Grade = F.
Until many began questioning the "distances," the infrastructure that goes with a drilling site was often not considered in any setback distances.
DeleteThe earlier ordinances in our North TX area (prior to 2010 and 2011) were measuring from the wellhead (also questionable since there are eventually multiple wellheads on a drilling site) ~ from the wellhead to the nearest protected use's property line.(Note: protected use is defined as homes, businesses, day care centers, schools, hospitals, etc).
But as we learned in Westchester in 2010, the FRAC Pond was not considered part of any setback distance and in the case of the Corn Valley Pad site at 210 Camp Wisdom Road, a Monster fresh water FRAC Pond (for storing the fresh water necessary for the frac job) was dug out of the ground and was essentially rammed up against the fence lines of our Westchester neighbors in a 2 day construction process.
The construction shook the homes and scared the living daylights out of our Homeowner's President and her neighbors...who were not given any notice whatsoever. To say the least, that was a major motivation for our community as we witnessed the unfolding injustices. A Seismic Testing Camp with Thumper Trucks cruising through our neighborhoods was also located in the area of Camp Wisdom Road a few months prior to this.
The arrogance of this industry ~ when they want to get to the fossil fuel ~ is deplorable.