For nearly fifteen years, a blight has crept over our town. It started slowly in remote areas. But then it accelerated. Then it infected our neighborhoods. Our parks. Our schools.

For a long time, we were slumbering. We didn’t understand what was happening.

When we finally awoke to the dangers of fracking, it was too late to control it.

But we didn’t want to believe that. For four years (2009-13) we worked on local rules.

In some sense, we suspected it was a fool’s errand. After all, here was the only industry allowed in neighborhoods (not even bakeries get that leeway) and the only industry permitted to release non-disclosed toxins into the environment.

But still we pushed on. Maybe we can find a set of rules, we thought, that would permit fracking AND protect our health, safety, and well-being.

Though far from perfect, we got a fairly reasonable ordinance. Citizens compromised with industry members, who formed a majority on our advisory task force. The new ordinance set a 1,200 foot buffer between frack sites, homes, parks, hospitals, and schools.

The problem was that our rules don’t apply. Because state regulations favor the industry, we saw fracking less than 200 feet from homes AFTER we passed our ordinance.

The cows are already out of the barn. Those calling for “responsible” fracking know that our rules can’t control the industry. Their “responsible” is code for the status quo. There are 281 gas wells in the city limits. Over 10,000 acres are already permitted for fracking. All of it is vested under older laws that allow fracking less than 200 feet from homes.

The only responsible option they left us is the ban.

Now Denton is at a crossroads. We are writing a comprehensive plan. By 2030, our population will be doubled. Denton will build 37,000 new housing units in the gas patch with hundreds of acres already fracked and thousands more on tap.

What is the future of Denton? Without the ban: neighborhood industrialization. Less developable land and higher costs of development. Thousands more families unwittingly exposed to risks of blowouts. Easily another billion gallons of water contaminated forever. Further risks to our ground and surface water. More ozone, meaning Denton continues to have the worst air quality and highest rates of childhood asthma in the state. More chemical exposure. Denton families taking 2% of the profits in exchange for 100% of the pollution.

That’s the path they call “responsible.” Could that be because the two leaders of their group make more royalties than the entire Denton Independent School District? Our children get hazardous chemical emissions next to their schools in return for $20 per student. Meanwhile, they make off with $190,000 annually. Whose future is this all about?

Denton is in a unique situation. This isn’t about what’s right for other places. This is about our Denton. Our right to self-determination.

The ban will bring a new dawn for Denton. A new light is on our horizon – health, safety, community integrity, quality of life, protection of home values and property rights…

The guardians of the old ways want to scare us that the ban will cost Denton. Yet their own numbers show that in fact it is fracking that has been costing us all along. Every acre it claims means 4x less tax revenue for our schools and 2x less economic activity. And then we are saddled forever with land that cannot be developed. Worthless scars of the blight.

They wanted to block out the sun that is rising over Denton, but they only showed us just how bright it really is. Our future after the ban means more health AND more prosperity.

They are getting desperate. Calling us un-American. Suggesting that benzene isn’t really that bad after all.

Every time they try to block out the sun, it inches higher. It peeks over their hands and shines on more people. Those who have seen Denton’s new future are going door to door. They are hosting fundraisers. They are handing out flyers. They are ordering yard signs. They are wearing t-shirts and buttons. And they are going to vote.

They are spreading the light.

But the guardians of the old ways are powerful. Help us spread the light. If you can, donate online. If you can’t, then volunteer your time and your voice.

The future of Denton is ours to decide. Vote FOR the ban.

Dentonites need some facts about the air pollutants detected in their neighborhoods during fracking. Below are three examples

Razor Ranch Unit near McKenna Park:

The community near McKenna Park collected small donations and hired an environmental scientist to conduct several sets of air monitoring during fracking and flaring.

Note: When this air testing was conducted, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) used Effects Screening Levels (ESL) to determine exposure limits. Now they use the Air Monitoring Comparison Values (AMCV).

Benzene was detected on three different days at 4.81 ppbv, 16.2 ppbv, and 55.4 ppbv, all are exceedences of the long-term ESL exposure limit (Center for Disease Control says long-term is one year) and one exceeds the short-term limit (short-term is typically 15 – 30 minutes).

Benzene is a dangerous chemical and the World Health Organization says, “Benzene is carcinogenic to humans, and no safe level of exposure can be recommended.” But benzene was not the only chemical detected at McKenna Park. Eleven different chemicals were detected and 16 tentatively identified compounds where detected some over long-term/short-term detection limits.

Here are the results:

Razyor Ranch Gas Unit in Denton, Texas

The Blowout:

Per TCEQ:

The downwind sample detected 46 of the 84 hazardous air pollutants tested for, including benzene and ethylene dibromide, or EDB. Upwind, the sample detected 27 of 84 chemicals. Neither benzene nor EDB was detected upwind, state records showed.

Both benzene and EDB have been found to cause cancer, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Fracking at Vintage and Meadows of Hickory Creek:

Testing at the very tail-end of fracking and flowback detected benzene at 2 times the long-term TCEQ limit. Eagle Ridge was issued a Notice of Violation from the State for creating a nuisance situation when their air pollutants trespassed into neighborhood yards. This proves that even the State of Texas has deemed fracking a nuisance. You can read the violation HERE. You can read about the importance of the nuisance violation and how it factors into the taking claims being made by industry and the Denton Taxpayers for Blatty Blat HERE.

Co-exposures or why the above is so very important:

The latest research suggests that it could be the mix of chemicals rather than the concentration of a single chemical that is most important. A UT study found: Co-exposures of two chemicals at safe levels doubles chances of cancer. The UT researchers found that co-exposures of chemicals at low and safe levels creates a greater impact and can double the risk of cancer.

Also of note from the study:

“The majority of cancers are caused by environmental influences,” Singh said. “Only about 5 to 10 percent of cancers are due to genetic predisposition. Science has looked at these chemicals, such as arsenic, and tested them in a lab to find the amounts that may cause cancer. But that’s just a single chemical in a single test. In the real world, we are getting exposed to many chemicals at once.”

Toxicologist, David Brown, discusses Fundamental Chemical Toxicology with Exposure Related to Shale Gas Development/a> in a video presentation. I added a few notes I took while watching the video.

Of note:

34:20 “The major problem is the mixture problem. And I can’t overemphasize how serious that is in trying to understand what’s going on… The presence of one agent can increase the toxicity of another agent by several fold.”

And

35:10 “The question is, how often do you see an interaction?”

More than 1% and less than 10% if you put 2 interacting chemicals together. “…if it’s 1% of the time and you’ve got the list [of chemicals] that I read to you before which is roughly 30 or 40 or 50 chemicals present, the chances that you won’t have an interaction are almost ZERO.”

Remember: gas is under pressure and all gas wells leak. We can see these leaks using a FLIR camera that makes the invisible emissions visible. There are many videos of leaking and venting wells in Denton. You can see some of those videos HERE.

There are 281 gas wells in Denton.

Plus 30% of our land area is permitted for fracking (that’s 10,000+ acres). Here’s an example of a plat near the Southridge neighborhood (211 acres).

Thanks to vested rights laws, all of this is governed by old rules. And the old rules say you can frack less than 200 feet from protected uses. To be clear: fracking is permitted less than 200 feet from homes, schools, and parks. And there is nothing we can do about it short of the ban. The industry wants “responsible” fracking. We tried that. For years, we worked for a reasonable set of rules. But it was too late.

Here’s an illustration. AFTER passing an ordinance that stipulates a 1,200 foot setback. Fracking happened in this neighborhood less than 200 feet from homes. Why? Because our reasonable rules do not apply! They don’t apply to our 281 gas wells and 10,000+ acres already in place and permitted.

The cows are already out of the barn. No regulations can solve that problem. And the industry knows it. They’ve said they can frack as many wells” as they want “in perpetuity.” The only reasonable option the industry left for us is the ban. It’s the only way to protect our health and safety.

That’s enough industrialization of our neighborhoods. Vote FOR the Ban.

Here was a blowout that happened in Denton last year.

Nearby homes were evacuated. 1,200 pounds of VOCs (a class of chemicals, some of which are cancer-causing) were released. 4,100 gallons of hydrochloric acid. 5,700 gallons of “proprietary and non-disclosed ingredients.” (Not even first responders know what the chemicals are.)

Toxic chemicals gushing out of the ground for 14 hours. That could happen at any of our 281 gas wells, which can all be re-fracked. That can happen right next to kids’ bedrooms. We don’t even let bakeries in neighborhoods. Why this?!

One blowout is enough. Vote FOR the Ban.

The cancer-causing chemical benzene was detected at these sites in Denton, both right next to homes. One right next to a park and a hospital. Moms and dads report children with headaches, nausea, breathing difficulties, and nosebleeds.

Our families have suffered enough. Vote FOR the Ban.

Each fracked well contaminates 6 million gallons of water forever. For Denton, that’s over 1 billion gallons of our precious freshwater and counting.

That’s enough wasted water. Vote FOR the Ban.

Recent science shows that areas with fracking have much higher concentrations of smog-forming and asthma-worsening ozone than areas without fracking.

That’s enough air pollution. Vote FOR the Ban.

Recently, arsenic and fracking chemicals were found in groundwater wells around our area. The chemicals were not there before fracking and they were not in areas without fracking.

That’s enough water pollution. Vote FOR the Ban.

The industry’s own numbers show that fracking constitutes a measly 0.2% of our economy, 0.25% of our workforce, and 0.5% of our tax revenue. Meanwhile, Denton residents get just 2% of the royalties but 100% of the pollution. More damning for the industry, their own numbers also show that every acre devoted to residential development generates 4x as much tax revenue for our roads and schools than an acre of fracking. An average acre of land in Denton generates 2x as much economic activity as an acre of fracking. And fracking leaves behind land that is forever blighted and devalued.

That’s enough wasted economic opportunity. Vote FOR the Ban.

The industry even has the gall to suggest that Denton is not doing her part for American energy independence. Denton!? Did you see the maps of how much fracking happens here? If you crammed all of Texas’ gas wells into the 7% of its land area that is urban, Denton would still have 3x as many wells as the average city in that extreme scenario. We have done far more than our fair share. And we will continue to do so with 281 gas wells still producing after the ban.

We are doing more than enough. Vote FOR the Ban.

Clutching at their last straw, the industry now resorts to personal attacks and scare mongering. They call us terrorists. They accuse us (McCarthy style) of being un-American. They threaten us with lawsuits. But they know that the ban is perfectly legal and less restrictive than other valid ordinances in Texas.

That’s enough hate and enough fear. Vote FOR the Ban.

It’s our air and water. It’s our health and safety. It’s a new dawn for OUR DENTON!

Today Denton City Councillor Kevin Roden posted an admirable blog in response to the Denton Chamber of Commerce’s declared opposition to a fracking ban, and the fracking industry’s subsequent use of that declaration in a political mailing (“We need solutions, not political hackery: A response to the Chamber-inspired fracking mailing“).

Admirable, that is, except in one important regard.

(more…)

Denton ZBA voted today to allow 5 new gas well permits to move forward. Vantage say the Moratorium creates “undue hardships and negative impacts for Vantage and for the mineral owners” Vantage is drilling 16 new gas wells 3000 ft apart in an area that is zoned NR2.

Vantage states “granting the variance is in complete harmony with the purposes of the Moratorium”.

Vantage states “Variance will not be harmful” and “variance has no impact on adjacent uses”.

Permits will be issued for drilling.

Vote FOR a ban on hydraulic fracturing in Denton.

Early voting is 10/20/2014 to 10/31/2014 and election day is 11/4. VOTE FOR BAN!

Letters published in Denton Record Chronicle regarding personal reasons to support the ban.