Denton’s gas drilling code overhaul has entered a new phase after the city’s official task force finished its initial work, passing more than 40 proposals that could form the basis of a new ordinance.
City staff members are busy writing new code language based on the proposals with hopes of presenting it to the Planning and Zoning Commission next month. Under that timeline, the City Council could get the ordinance June 5, two days before a moratorium on gas well permits is set to expire, said Darren Groth, the city’s gas well administrator.
Council members will have a chance to weigh in on the schedule, possibly during a May 15 work session, Groth said. He acknowledged a June 5 council vote would be “pushing it,” since each of the proposals faces review by legal and scientific consultants, the planning commission and the council.
Also, the task force will hold at least one more meeting to review the proposed language.
“There are a lot of pieces still at play yet,” Groth said.
Council members have said the 120-day moratorium passed in February could be extended if needed. Industry representatives criticized the first moratorium and aren’t pleased by the prospect of another wait.
“I think it is problematic,” said Ed Ireland, a city task force member who works as executive director of the industry-funded Barnett Shale Energy Education Council. “It’ll continue to delay the permitting process.”
Denton is in the second phase of an ordinance review after passing changes in 2010 that included higher permit and inspection fees and larger buffers between gas wells and homes. City officials said the second phase would focus heavily on health and environmental issues.
In interviews, task force members and residents offered different opinions on whether task force recommendations were too industry-friendly.
The panel’s five voting members included two industry-related representatives and three residents. Supporters of more regulation said one of the residents, retired petroleum engineer John Siegmund, sided too often with the industry, resulting in 3-2 votes to kill stricter rules for noise, well casings, public notification and other industry activities.
Even when the panel endorsed stronger regulations, it often added qualifiers such as “where feasible,” said Cathy McMullen, a resident who served on the independent Denton Stakeholder Drilling Advisory Group, which issued a report in December supporting stronger regulations.
McMullen supported a grass-roots petition opposing the city task force because it included nonresident industry representatives as voting members. After several meetings, she stopped attending out of disgust, she said.
“I felt that the task force was so blatantly industry-friendly that to go to those meetings would almost be to validate it,” McMullen said. “And I don’t think anything they did was worth validating.”
During deliberations, Siegmund, Ireland and member Don Butler, a project manager for an oil and gas consulting firm in Fort Worth, often questioned the need for more rules beyond what the city, state and federal governments already impose. Vicki Oppenheim, a task force member and environmental planner, led the drive for stronger regulations and typically found support from member Tom La Point, an environmental researcher.
Oppenheim declined to comment for this story, and Butler and La Point did not respond to interview requests.
Siegmund said he saw himself as a “renegade” and swing vote, not an industry lackey.
“I haven’t talked to an oil company in 30 years,” said Siegmund, who worked for the oil and gas industry for three decades before ending his career as a bank executive. “My No. 1 personal priority is quality of life. I’m an old man.”
Siegmund pointed to votes where he joined the majority in supporting new regulations, including a ban on open waste pits, a mandate to use “best practices,” and a requirement to recycle fracking water “where applicable.”
Siegmund, who publicly criticized the Denton Stakeholder Drilling Advisory Group as too narrowly “environmental,” said he has nothing against environmentalists.
“In fact, I’m an environmentalist, but not about silly things,” he said.
Ireland said focusing on split votes distracts from the fact that most decisions were unanimous.
Of the 44 approved action items, 75 percent passed unanimously, according to a Denton Record-Chronicle analysis of city records.
“I thought we had very productive discussions, and I think those discussions were fruitful in moving most of the task force in the same direction on most of the votes,” Ireland said. “I think that indicates that the ordinances that come out of this will be fair and will satisfy the Denton City Council.”
Elma Walker isn’t counting on it.
Walker, a resident of Robson Ranch in far south Denton who regularly attended task force meetings, said she’s preparing her own proposal for the council to consider. Her plan is based partly on ordinances in Southlake, Flower Mound, Grand Prairie and Fort Worth, she said.
“My proposed regulations are more extensive than what the task force is recommending,” Walker said. “I don’t think the task force was specific about solutions.”
Council members have said the task force recommendations won’t stop them from considering ideas from the public, dissenting task force members or other cities. Staff members are posting task force deliberations and public comments online to preserve the diversity of views.
“The council wants options,” Groth said.
LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.
TASK FORCE VOTES
The following is a list of the 44 action items approved by Denton’s official gas drilling task force during its three months of meetings. The list does not include proposed action items that were tabled, rejected or combined with approved items.
AIR QUALITY
No electricity generation onsite. Vote: 4-1, Ed Ireland against.
Vapor recovery units. Vote: 5-0
Green completions. Vote: 3-2, John Siegmund and Ireland against.
Best practices for gas drilling and production. Vote: 5-0
Air monitoring as a compliance tool through a monitoring program. Vote: 5-0
Reference other applicable local, state and federal rules, laws and regulations. Vote: 5-0
Incorporate compliance timetables. Vote: 5-0
Regulate compressor stations, collection stations, or tank farms in city. Vote: 5-0
City staff is outfitted with necessary equipment to carry out task force goals and they are trained properly to use the equipment. Vote: 5-0
Consider requiring operators to submit evidence of compliance with state and federal air permitting regulations, upon request. Vote: 5-0
WATER
Require closed-loop systems in the city and extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. Vote: 5-0
No saltwater disposal wells allowed in the city or ETJ. Vote: 4-1, Ireland against.
Expand best management practice requirements to minimize sediment runoff. Vote 4-1, Ireland against.
Use existing action item language for similar newly proposed actions. Vote: 5-0
The city gas well inspector, or his representative, should be given joint inspection/
enforcement jurisdiction over existing and future city water quality ordinances, that are under the purview of other city departments or inspectors. Vote: 5-0
Require operators to submit private water well testing results of those wells within a 1,500-foot radius for property owners who agree to the tests and that the costs shall be borne by operator and testing conducted by independent, certified third party. Vote: 5-0
Require proximity maps to surface waters and surface drainage assessments with the emergency response plan. Vote: 3-1-1, Ireland against, Siegmund abstaining.
Require operators to provide verification that site personnel are trained in and in compliance with the submitted emergency response plan. Vote: 5-0
Approve a well upgrade incentive program for drilling and production sites.
Require water recycling technologies where applicable. Vote: 5-0
Consider requiring operators to submit evidence of compliance with state and federal permitting regulations, upon request. Vote: 5-0
COMPLIANCE/INSPECTION FOLLOW-UP
Establish procedures and a timeline for bringing unpermitted/platted wells and related facilities into compliance based on legal review. Vote: 5-0
Operator shall provide testing data as required by the city of Denton. Vote: 5-0
Establish reasonable time period for operators to respond to city after receiving notice of violations from the city and clarify enforcement penalties for noncompliance. Vote: 5-0
The city will investigate trigger mechanisms for compliance modifications. Vote: 5-0
Disclose inspection results to residents and public on city website either in list or on map; possibly establish a report card system. Vote: 5-0
Require plan on how operator will respond to violation and the time period. Vote: 5-0
Take the recommendations of the task force and see if Denton Development Code Sections 35.1.10.4 and 35.22 could be revised to be specifically tailored as applicable to gas drilling and production. Vote: 5-0
OTHER GAS DRILLING-RELATED FACILITIES
Encourage the city review the pipeline ordinances from Flower Mound and Grand Prairie for applicability to Denton in regards to public health safety and welfare. Vote: 4-1, Don Butler against
Require enhanced emergency preparation for city departments and coordination with pipeline companies, as well as emergency drills. Vote: 5-0
PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS
Require operators to meet with the public prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting for any specific-use permit applications. Require notification (via regular U.S. mail) to residents, property owners and businesses within 1,500 feet. Vote: 5-0
Require operators to notify surrounding neighborhood for any new drilling activity or gas related facility, even if only requiring a gas drilling development plat or site plan. Require notification (via regular U.S. mail) to residents, property owners and businesses within 1,500 feet. Vote: 4-1, Siegmund against
Staff will prepare an annual report that summarizes the history of gas drilling in Denton. Vote: 5-0
ONSITE REQUIREMENTS
Evaluate current gate and security requirements for gas drilling and production sites. Vote: 5-0
Evaluate creating maximum levels for low frequency outdoor noise levels at building walls of protective uses, possibly at 65 decibels, and equipment that would be needed and testing procedures. Vote: 3-2, Butler and Ireland against
Evaluate requirements for a reclamation plan at the time of application and incorporate future requirements and identify the current condition. Vote: 4-0, Butler absent
Require screening at all gas well production sites, in accordance with Denton Development Code Section 35.13. Vote: 4-0, Butler absent
Look into requirements to prevent pooling water and mud on driving surfaces onsite. Vote: 3-2, Ireland and Butler against
Review Denton Development Code Section 35.22.5.A.2.K to make sure it is adequate to keep mud and rocks off public roads and rights of way. Vote: 5-0
Review and clarify the definition of a lightning arrestor system. Vote: 5-0
CITY INFRASTRUCTURE/OTHER
Review the fee schedule in the city’s road damage remediation agreement and update as appropriate. Vote: 4-0, Butler absent
Within the gas well drilling and production ordinances in Subchapter 22, the city should consider cross-referencing other city ordinances specific to other departments’ requirements that are outside that of the current gas well drilling and productions ordinances yet are germane to gas well permitting, drilling, operations, abandonment, etc. Vote: 4-0, Butler absent
Review the types of seismic surveys to promote the best available technology and require a permit for impact-based exploration. Vote: 4-0, Butler absent
Request staff to provide hard copy to each task force member of a draft of the complete gas drilling ordinance prior to submission to the City Council. Following a realistic period of time for task force members to study the draft, schedule a task force meeting to discuss it. Vote: 5-0
SOURCE: city of Denton, staff research
