Letters to the Editor, October 16
Not afraid to debate
Despite Dianne Edmondson’s claim in her Oct. 14 letter to the editor, Frack Free Denton did not withdraw from a debate to be co-hosted by the Denton County Republican and Democratic parties the evening of Oct. 14. Nor, as she implies, have we refused to appear at Republican-hosted events.
To date, we have participated in four debates or forums, including one before Denton County Republicans, and one this past Saturday before the League of Women Voters.
We are scheduled to participate in at least three more, including one — again — before the Denton County Republicans.
We are not afraid to debate. Before this election is over, we will have debated three times more — on one issue in one city — than our gubernatorial candidates have debated on all policy issues for the whole state.
But in this one instance, we required that the backers of Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy — either Randy Sorrells or Bobby Jones — personally stand up for their principles and debate a member of our board. Instead, they tried to delegate that task to a trial attorney and then publicly announce our participation as if we had agreed. We did not agree.
Frankly, the way this whole thing transpired is representative of why Denton wants a fracking ban.
Industry, and its advocates, ignored the rules it didn’t like, and then tried to bully its way into getting what it wanted.
Not this time. And not come election time, either.
Cathy McMullen, president,
Denton Drilling Awareness
Group/Frack Free Denton
Next mistake
In February of this year, three gas wells exploded in Dunkard Township, Pennsylvania. These wells were among the many wells that are part of the fracking boom in the Marcellus Shale.
The explosion and resulting fire killed one worker, required a half-mile radius safety perimeter and it required five days for the flames to extinguish themselves. It took two weeks to fully regain control of the wells. Now, imagine this drilling disaster in Denton, next to a school or your home.
Oil and gas companies are hurrying to make as much money as fast as they can. Many of these companies have a long history of cutting corners when profits are at stake. Mistakes have been made in the past, and more will be made in the future.
Oil and gas companies consider catastrophes like this merely a cost of doing business
Do you want their next mistake to be in your backyard?
Gary Ardis,
Oak Point
Benefits to voting yes
Short story: Through no preference of mine, I benefit temporarily from a fracked gas well on my land. However, I shall gain long-range benefits when we vote yes to the ban on fracking.
Long-range story: Having lived in many places, I’m clear that Denton is my favorite.
Here, the arts flourish and the intellect is nourished by researched facts, and many hearts are fed more by warm relationships than by the greed of the bottom line. Here, many care about the Earth’s future and sustainable energy is taken so seriously that we get 40 percent of our energy from wind power.
Much of what I value already exists here.
So why am I so sure that fracking sabotages the future of my dreams for Denton?
Depleting water: Fracking uses fresh water in its process, even in places like Denton where it is a diminishing resource.
Derailing creative energy: Texas is the state with the most potential for turning wind power into energy.
Envision a state rich in entrepreneurs who put their creative energies into providing sustainable resources from sun and wind, rather than protecting resources that have adverse effects on the environment.
Endangering health: Often anecdotal and hard to prove, data is nevertheless steadily growing that toxicity is found in ground, air and water.
When we ban fracking, this city, by taking care of itself, will also become a model for other communities struggling with these issues. Do the right thing. Vote yes.
Jean Tunnell,
Denton
Vote to ban fracking
Peggy La Point’s letter to the editor [DRC, Oct. 2] regarding her “more than a decade” involvement to create a useful tree preservation code, not only made me sorely regret the trees lost while the city studied and recommended, but to also make a connection to the recent fracking controversy.
Fracking advocates would have us believe that we just need to give the city time to “study and recommend” oversights for responsible fracking (as if there were actually such a thing).
Wake up, residents of Denton. This city can’t even protect trees — our major source of oxygen.
Why on earth would you trust the city to act swiftly to protect our residents from fracking in their very backyard?
Today, it’s someone else, next year, it might be your backyard. If that happens, don’t complain unless you voted to ban fracking.
Danna Zoltner,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 15
Ban fracking
I write to urge the residents of Denton to vote for the ban on fracking. Besides health issues, water usage and unknown chemicals left in the ground, I am concerned about what happens to the wells in our city limits when they are finished producing.
I recently flew into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport from the west and was looking at the landscape just before landing. I was curious about what I thought was a large number of housing developments with no houses. There were roads and circles of bare spots covering the land. Then I recognized these were natural gas wells. I could not believe how many there were.
Is this what we have to look forward to in the city of Denton — city land becoming unusable for future use?
I understand there are more than 10,000 acres of land within the city limits already permitted for fracking, and this land will be devalued and can never gain permits for future building. Would you build on this land?
There is a well on Bonnie Brae Street and Windsor Drive, not out in the country, but surrounded by a church, a park and houses. Will that land ever be used for anything again?
What are we leaving for future generations? And how do we reconcile being told we need to limit our water use because we are in a severe drought, when the gas industry is allowed to use billions of gallons of water? Profits should not always be the benchmark for what is right and wrong.
Ann MacMillan,
Denton
Cockamamie stunts
So it began on Sept. 15, fracking ban advertising by our chamber. It encourages every member and employee to vote against clean air, water, child safety and a clean city environment. Thousands of dollars a week are spent on full-page newspaper ads and direct mail pieces.
Chuck Carpenter, president, and the fracking goons sure do have our best interest in mind. Perhaps they’re receiving something extra from Big Oil and Big Gas we’re not aware of.
The fracking industry has billions of dollars at its disposal and its profits are in the hundreds of millions each quarter. It does make one wonder if, maybe, there’s some fracking hanky panky at hand.
Denton can’t lose $250 million in economic activity it will never receive. It might lose 2,000 jobs when our population decreases as the frackers drive people away. UNT doesn’t need money, it has the public domain card that will force Sack and Save out of business.
Property taxes always go up regardless of whether Denton turns into America’s fracking capital or not.
Property owners’ rights are definitely violated when some fracking company drills an industrial waste-creating gas well in your backyard and ruins the water table and property values.
Yup, the pro frackers are sure putting the old political screws to Denton when it comes to the truth. Let’s see what cockamamie stunts they try ram down our throats next.
J. Aaron Cundall,
Denton
Your health or their wealth?
The oil and gas industry has been central to the Texas economy for many, many decades. I concede the state needs the revenue generated by the industry and the country needs the energy. But it should not come at the expense of the health and well-being of Denton residents. Or the value of their own property.
Mineral rights owners are howling and suing over lost revenue. They claim their drilling permits of old give them the right to frack. I live in a single-family home in Denton. Should I decide to change that already permitted residence by adding a room, city code would be all over me with a magnifying glass. Enforcement officers would enact numerous restrictions or simply deny the change outright.
I know of small-business owners who have given up expanding their businesses because City Hall was so difficult to deal with. Lost potential income for the small-business owner who lacks the legal deep pockets of the oil/gas industry. A landowner finds his property worth less because of a fracking operation next door.
My point is we all have to bend our will in some degree for the greater good of the community. Except for oil/gas, apparently. Distance between dense urban population and fracking operations should be measured in miles, not feet.
I live almost a half mile away from an Acme well. On cold, still mornings last winter, I could smell petroleum. Your health or their wealth — which is it going to be, Denton?
Jo Anne Bixby,
Denton
Think when you vote
Energy independence is a claim of the oil and gas industry, while their actions are the opposite. Cheniere Energy has a plant to liquefy natural gas (LNG) at low temperatures (2.6 billion cubic feet per day) and ship it to China and Japan. China gets the LPG, oil and gas gets the profits, and you get the pollution.
Loss of natural gas deprives the U.S. petrochemical industry of its cheap feedstock to compete with overseas labor cots. Petrochemicals and their related byproducts are our future manufacturing jobs.
Oil and gas trucks that haul away produced water are a hazard. The oil and gas lobby obtained an exemption allowing longer hours of work for truckers than other industries.
The truckers report pressure to drive even after shifts of 20 hours. One-third of the deaths in oil and gas production are related to highway crashes.
Oil and gas touts their tax support of schools. Texas gives a tax break to drill “high-cost” (fracking) wells. This exemption cost Texas $1.2 billion per year between 2004-2011 (Legislative Budget Board).
Pay a pittance and reap a fortune — nice trade.
When gas production runs low, the hole is plugged and abandoned. At some time in the future the cement will crack, the pipe will rust and the well will leak into your aquifer and bubble to the surface. Too bad — it is no longer an oil and gas problem; it’s yours. Think when you vote.
Native American proverb: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”
Tom Hayden,
Double Oak
Letters to the Editor , October 11
Historic fracking fight
Denton residents are part of a historic fight to take back their city from the gas industry. On Nov. 4, if voters pass the ordinance to ban fracking, Denton will be the only Texas city to have taken such a bold step.
Supporters of the ban have a difficult fight — they are taking on one of the richest, most powerful industries in the world. And it shows.
Someone has made erroneous, automated anti-ban calls and Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy distributed misleading fliers, which inform Denton residents that the ban would eliminate drilling in Denton and cost taxpayers outrageous sums of money.
The ordinance would not ban drilling, just fracking.
Someone has conducted push polls to make residents believe the ban would devastate Denton’s economy.
However, council member Roden’s blog explains how the ban may actually create an economic boom.
Professor Briggle’s blogs reveal how little of Denton’s tax revenue comes from fracking — .5 percent of its general fund, hardly enough to fix potholes caused by fracking tankers. Both blogs, as well as scientific research studies about fracking, are at frackfreedenton.com.
The fact that gas companies have fracked beside (as close as 200 feet) Denton homes, schools, parks and hospitals despite the ability to frack a well from miles away should make residents suspicious of any anti-fracking ban phone calls or publications.
On Nov. 4, Denton residents need to show the industry and Texas that they can take back their city. Our health, safety, well-being and prosperity depend upon this action.
Sandra Kay Mattox,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 10
Vote for fracking ban
Notice all the junk mail in your mail box? That’s what happens when Republicans, Big Oil and the Denton Chamber of Commerce bed down together and try to scare you into voting no on Nov. 4.
The benzene or any other thing they try to tell you is harmless to your health and will not affect your property values is pure devil’s triangle (Big Oil, Republican Party and the good old Chamber of Commerce) propaganda.
Don’t believe their scare tactics. Recognize them for what they are, and vote yes.
The truth of the matter is this: Thousands of people across the United States claim sickness from the fracking process being too close to their domicile.
Do you think all these people are liars? Do you think they, that vast number, are hypochondriacs?
What motive would they have to make such claims?
Thousands protest declining property values due to fracking. The pro-frackers say property values are set by the county assessor and thus fracking does not lower property values.
It doesn’t matter what value the county assessor puts on your property.
If you paid $100,000 for your home and you want to sell it because of the proximity of a fracking project, and your best offer is $25,000, county assessor or no county assessor, how much will fracking lower your property values?
The motive of the anti-fracking group is a clean, healthy Denton for themselves and future generations.
The motive of the devil’s triangle? Money. Don’t forget Nov. 4.
John Nance Garner,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 9
Responsible setbacks
For the record, I like natural gas. It’s cleaner than coal; its boom has reduced greenhouse gases, made for cheaper electric bills and less dependence on foreign energy.
What I can’t support is the drilling so close to our schools, parks and houses. About 200 feet, which the industry has insisted on here in Denton, is just too close. My family has 10 natural gas wells located within a half-mile of our house.
We have to deal with the noise and air pollution from trucks, the road traffic, the sight pollution and the health risks associated with being near wells, both when they’re fracked and flared.
Finally, let’s face it — the tactics of the “pro-drilling at any cost” groups have not exactly been community-focused. We understand most of them are not from Denton, don’t live here and don’t have to deal with the problems they’re creating.
They’re on record admitting to using pages and text from the military psychological operations manuals in order to divide us against each other.
They’ve circulated petitions by paying people to lie to us.
They’re currently suggesting that any of us concerned about Denton’s air, water and children’s health must be collaborating with Russia — not cool (or even smart).
This could all be avoided, if just the industry would agree to a moratorium on any new fracking operations within 1,200 feet of existing homes, schools and parks. That would be a responsible setback. That would be “responsible drilling.”
Doug Henry,
Denton
Restrict fracking in Denton
Dianne Edmondson [DRC, Sept. 23] had a well-written letter to the editor supporting fracking. I believe it takes some thought.
First, she claims this is “government over-reach.” What is a government for if not to protect the rights of the majority of the population when it comes to something that affects everybody? One must assume she also believes the government’s efforts to restrict secondhand smoke our kids breathe as government over-reach.
“Some claim … fracking predominantly injects chemicals … when actually 99.5 percent of the fracturing liquid is water. …” That is good news; since each well uses about 2 million gallons of water, they only pump 10,000 gallons of chemicals into the ground per well.
That’s enough to half-fill your average home swimming pool. There are 281 wells within the city limits, which means 2.8 million gallons of chemicals are already under the city.
“The industry provides jobs to about 334,000 Texans. …”
She does not mention how many of them are here, nor does she mention how many of them are within this (or any) city limits or how many of those jobs will last when the drilling (and water disposal — things you have to live with) are gone.
She closes by suggesting you can get “good, clear, factual information” from a booklet written by the oil and gas industry (one assumes she believes it is unbiased).
I believe her letter takes some thought.
I will vote to restrict fracking within the city limits.
Bill Reed,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 8
Ban fracking
“Only when the last plant has died, the last river is poisoned, the last fish is caught, will we realize that we cannot eat money.”
— 19th century Cree Indian saying
Our economy runs on energy. There are reliable, clean, safe and sustainable methods of generating energy that don’t require fossil fuels. Every time a well is “fracked,” millions of gallons of water are poisoned, and lost to us, virtually, forever. Water is the stuff of life. There is no life without it.
On Nov. 4 we will have the opportunity to vote on an issue that essentially boils down to life versus money. I say, “Vote for life.”
Vote for a ban on hydraulic fracturing in Denton.
Marshall Smith,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 7
Which is best?
If your job includes persuading job search candidates or homebuyers that Denton is a good place for them to live, or your business depends on selling goods and services to people who move to Denton, you need to have an answer ready when they ask about fracking and the environment.
Which of the following answers will be most persuasive?
Which one is best for Denton’s economic future?
A. It’s Texas. We let the drillers do what they want and trust them to be “responsible.” Everything will be OK if you live in another city with less fracking, drink bottled water and hold your breath as you go from your car to your workplace.
B. Fracking? I don’t know much about it, so I’m not worried, but then again I don’t read the local paper, or look for unbiased information about it on the Web, or think for myself.
C.* It’s a problem. It causes air, water and noise pollution. But things are getting better since the residents of Denton stood up for their rights and voted to ban fracking within city limits and we have a progressive city government that cares about all of its residents’ health and safety.
*Best answer.
John Murphy,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 6
Ban fracking
I live almost a half-mile from a fracked well. Even at that distance there were calm mornings I could smell petroleum. And then there was noise pollution I could hear inside my home. A “blowout” of a well being fracked north of the airport caused the evacuation of area homes.
While we have not yet experienced earthquakes, with intensified drilling, they will come. And, guess what, your homeowner’s insurance will not cover the damage.
Our roads are damaged by heavy water trucks delivering the hundreds of thousands of gallons to each site; plus there is air pollution caused by the idling trucks awaiting their turn.
The industry is dreaming to think it is not causing pollution of drinking water. Perhaps not directly into lakes, but half of Texas cities get their water from wells. From an environmental point, distance between wells and dense urban population should be measured in miles, not feet. Sadly, even that does not protect ranching/farming families from contaminated wells.
Financially, I think the city sees very little benefit from fracking wells. Top production from these wells is short-lived. I would much rather see tax revenue from a subdivision or retail that will contribute for many years. Soon, I can see proximity of wells being part of required full disclosure when you try to sell your home.
Please vote “yes” for the ban on fracking within the city. Oh, yes, ask Denton Chamber of Commerce members you may know if they were polled as to their opinion.
Jo Anne Bixby,
Denton
Support fracking ban
On Sept. 20, Denton residents received a misleading mailer from the same group that previously paid $2 to $4 per signature on an unofficial anti-fracking ban petition. Despite the flier’s claim, the ban ordinance would still allow gas to be procured from traditional drilling as it was for decades.
The flier encourages voters to “support responsible drilling.” I am sure, however, this group knows that the city of Denton has and will be unable to regulate its 281 permitted gas wells due to Texas’ vested rights.
Furthermore, more than 30 percent of our city’s land was permitted for gas wells prior to passage of the drilling ordinance, so industry has claimed the plats are vested, which means they say the ordinance does not apply to those, either.
Wells and fracking are beside (sometimes 200 feet from) schools, parks, hospitals and homes. And more to come. That is not “responsible.”
The circular quotes our Denton Chamber of Commerce and the “Perryman Report,” which was generously paid for by the gas industry, so is completely unreliable. Readers can see this report debunked by reading professor Adam Briggle’s blogs on the economics of fracking.
Council member Gregory’s blog described the fracking fight as “David versus Goliath,” and he was right — Denton residents supporting the ban are taking on one of the richest, most powerful industries in the world.
But Denton can win by getting the facts at frackfreedenton.com and then voting for the ban designed to protect our health, safety, well-being and prosperity.
Sandra Kay Mattox,
Denton
Irresponsible fracking
“Support Responsible Drilling” titles a slick, well-financed advertising campaign that conceals the irresponsible fracking that goes on in Denton. By contrast, Anadarko Petroleum at least tries to act responsibly in Dacona, Colorado, where it erects thick-walled barriers around fracking sites to deaden the sound and conceal floodlights.
In Denton, more than 400 large, diesel-powered trucks haul fracking materials to each well site, spewing horrible fumes, rattling pictures off walls and scaring children out of their yards, while in Dacona, Anadarko has reduced the number of trucks to 50 per site.
Drilling is so sloppy in Denton that a wellhead ruptured, releasing thousands of gallons of toxic materials into the air, while Anadarko uses the best methods and the best concrete to seal well sites.
By exchanging their consciences for cash registers, the board of directors of the Denton Chamber of Commerce irresponsibly opposed the proposed fracking ban, citing economic issues.
Almost all of the money from fracking goes outside Denton, while Dentonites are left to repair the city’s structure and clean up the mess. One hopes the chamber’s members and employees will refuse to be intimidated and vote ethically.
The multibillion-dollar oil and gas industry sounds as if the proposed drilling ban inside Denton city limits applies to all of Texas; it’s only within Denton city limits.
Outside Denton, they can frack till their hearts’ content.
Walter Lindrose,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 3
Voters to choose
This letter refers to the latest mass mailing from the Denton Chamber of Commerce with statements that are pro-fracking, as well as inaccurate and misleading.
In regards to the upcoming vote on the fracking ban, I can only comment from a personal point of view, but tell me why in the last two and a half years since the growing development of the gas well drilling in my area of town (near Bonnie Brae and UNT) I have developed pneumonia, two major pulmonary infections and long-term COPD symptoms.
I have always been a healthy and active person for my age, and up until last year rode my three-wheel bike around town every day.
The results of fracking may never be truly realized by most people for another 20 years and by then, of course, it will be too late. But for the sake of city of Denton residents, a vote to ban gas well fracking should be a necessity and not a choice.
If the true interests of the Chamber of Commerce were in the health of the residents and the positive growth of the community, it should be up to the voters to make that choice.
Nancy Fitz-Gerald Viens,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, October 1
Heavy lifting
I told the City Council when members voted no on the fracking ban, industry would start attacking us. So this is what industry and a couple of mineral owners have stooped to.
Per their website, Adam Briggle and Sharon Wilson are working with “Russia,” lies stating that the ban is for drilling when it is for fracking, a Denton Chamber of Commerce using taxpayer money to attack residents with lies and false statements — and this is just recently. I can hardly wait to see what we will be accused of in October.
The city is going to have to eventually deal with this problem of vested right. I wish we could have done this as a community with the council and mayor fully supporting us.
It seems the Denton Drilling Awareness Group and FFD is having to do the heavy lifting because of the city’s failure to address the problem of fracking close to schools, playgrounds and hospitals.
DAG and FFD are being grossly out spent in our campaign and will not stoop to lying. If we lose the vote and fracking is allowed to continue in Denton, it will be a sad day.
Cathy McMullen,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept 24
Published: 24 September 2014 05:55 AM
Ban fracking
You probably saw the ad from the frackers. Or rather, I should say the ad from their pro-fracking well-financed mouthpiece and front man — Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy.
Good sounding name — badly disguised cover.
They obviously want you to vote “no” on the “drilling ban.” But, there is no proposed drilling ban. It’s a proposed fracking ban. Not the same thing — and they know it. This “mistake” is no mistake. You should weigh this intentional misrepresentation as an important issue of credibility.
They ask you to “support responsible drilling.” Who could be against that? More to the point, remember the well-documented local history of widespread irresponsible drilling.
Their poor performance in the past is a good indicator of their future performance without a fracking ban.
If the fracking ban passes, the residents of Denton will be in a stronger position to negotiate realistic, reasonable and enforceable regulations that not only will allow “responsible” drilling, but also will help protect our health and the quality of our neighborhoods.
For your family and for your neighborhood, please join me in voting “yes” on the fracking ban.
Ken Gold,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 21
Published: 20 September 2014 08:46 PM
Take a look around
The Friday, Sept. 5, headline read that the chamber told its members to vote against a fracking ban.
Having lived in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota, I know fracking up close and personal. Polluted drinking water, compromised and poisoned water tables, fire coming out of people’s water taps, the stench of methane gas and chemicals permeating the air children are breathing daily. Destroyed roads and streets covered in filthy, greasy mud from fracking machinery. Increased crime from transient fracking crews.
The carcinogenic chemicals used in the fracking industry are well known, yet our city managers and now our chamber of commerce want to steamroll an intensely unregulated and environmentally unfriendly business down the throats of the Denton citizenry. What they don’t tell you is that very little fracking money settles here in Denton, that the employees the frackers hire to drill the wells may not live in Denton, or even Texas.
The long-term damage these wells will inflict on Denton’s population are very real. Children will get sick just like they do in the afore-mentioned states where I came from. Don’t believe me? Take a drive to Williston, North Dakota, check it out on the Web and look what it’s done to that area’s surrounding communities.
Go ahead, Dynamic Denton, unique and independent — frack your community, put a well in everyone’s yard and on school playgrounds and watch as people move away to a safer and saner place to live.
Aaron Cundall,
Denton
Letters to the editor, Sept. 19
Money vs. quality of life
In November, Denton voters will have the option to vote yes or no to fracking. The voter has to ask if money from fracking is more important than the problems fracking creates. There are many valid reasons to vote no to fracking: health issues, noise, ground movement, lowering the water table, etc.
The water table has already dropped tremendously because of the drought, and fracking has contributed to the problem. While some people may not worry about the supply of water right now, they will when it becomes a commodity. Water rates will go up for all voters.
What about those who rely on private water wells? Even city-owned water wells do not have a guaranteed lifetime supply. Wichita Falls already has a program in place to recycle sewer water into drinking water. Denton, unless we vote no to fracking, we may be heading towards these same kinds of measures. Who wants to drink recycled sewer water?
Please think: What good is the money if you don’t have quality of life?
Doris Britt,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Spet. 18
Published: 18 September 2014 05:44 AM
Fracking didn’t make Denton
My wife and I have lived happily in Denton since 1953. This is my first-ever letter to the editor. You may say, “Why now?” My writing now is motivated by the Sept. 5 article in the Denton Record-Chronicle that stated the position of the Denton Chamber of Commerce on the fracking issue.
During our long residency in the city of Denton, we have been privileged to visit all 50 states and a number of foreign countries. Having seen all of this, we can honestly say that there is no place on Earth we would rather live then Denton, Texas. We cannot buy the things that make Denton what it is, in terms of the overall quality of life and the air we breathe, but we can give thanks for it and do what we can to preserve it for present and future generations.
Denton became the wonderful city that it is without fracking. Continued fracking will cause health hazards for the entire city, and will affect the quality of life for all. Let’s vote yes to ban fracking within the city limits.
Prentice H. Barnett,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 17
Economic case against fracking
The Chamber of Commerce’s decision to oppose the ban on fracking contradicts its vision to promote the welfare and prosperity of Denton. They based their decision on an industry report.
Yet even the industry’s numbers make the economic case against fracking: It accounts for 0.2 percent of our gross revenue, 0.25 percent of our labor force, 0.5 percent of our tax revenues, and 0.17 percent of Denton ISD’s budget.
Hundreds of frack sites next to our homes and schools pose explosion risks and pollute our air and water. Only 2 percent of the royalties go to Denton residents, gas wells depreciate in value by 90 percent in five years, and the city is stuck with acres of blighted land forever.
How is any of this good for our welfare and prosperity?
The puny costs of the ban are dwarfed by its benefits. It will protect property values, health and safety.
It will make Denton more attractive to the workers we need to support high-paying jobs and grow our economy. Permitting heavy industry near homes and parks is not a good way to attract people to live, work and spend their money here.
The chamber advocates reasonable regulations, but after years of negotiating with an industry that refused to compromise, the ban is the only reasonable option left. Without it, we’ll see the wholesale industrialization of Denton’s neighborhoods by an activity that pumps all the benefits out of town and dumps all the costs on us.
Vote for the ban in the name of Denton’s welfare and prosperity.
Adam Briggle,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 14
Published: 13 September 2014 09:55 PM
No surprise
It came as no surprise that our Denton Chamber of Commerce says “No” to the fracking ban. Gas production makes a lot of money for a few people and institutions. Our chamber values commerce over all other things.
And as a distraction, our chamber calls for more regulation instead. We’ve been trying that for years. The gas industry fought us every step of the way.
Even with more than 270 fracked wells already in the city limits, the producers still want more. They will continue to exploit loopholes in the current regulations to expand drilling and fracking citywide.
Documented health risks are my primary concern. Clearly, more research is needed. But until the hazards are addressed appropriately, as a resident, I support the fracking ban as the only way to get the gas producers to the table.
Misty Gold,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 14
Ban fracking
A recent, peer-reviewed, study has linked birth defects to the presence of fracking within a 10-mile radius of the mother’s home.
This important study, conducted by researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health and Brown University, found “an association between the density and proximity of natural gas wells within a 10-mile radius of maternal residence and prevalence of congenital heart defects” as well as possible links to defects of the brain and spinal cord.
When this new evidence is added to the list of problems already associated with fracking, it would be irresponsible not to ban fracking, not only in Denton but in any populated area.
On Nov. 4 vote “for the proposition” to ban fracking in Denton.
Marshall Smith,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 9
Published: 09 September 2014 05:55 AM
Vote for fracking ban
The gas well fracking industry continually denies that there is any proof that fracking pollutes water wells.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently released a report documenting 243 cases of public drinking well contamination over the past six years.
The report documents “methane gas contamination, spills of wastewater and other pollutants, and wells that went dry or were otherwise undrinkable” (www.salon.com/2014/08/29/revealed_the_243_times_fracking_contaminated_drinking_water_in_pennslyvania).
Makes you wonder what’s going on in and around Denton.
Chances are, the water and gas well inspectors from the Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will continue to do the industry’s bidding.
Common sense tells us we need to vote for the ban on fracking in Denton. The news only gets worse, not better.
Ed Soph,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 8
Published: 08 September 2014 05:45 AM
Not a simple fact
Unlike Bill Lawson [DRC, Aug. 21], many independent scientists believe that the safety of hydraulic fracturing is not a simple fact that one can claim without thorough examination of short- and long-term effects of air, water and noise pollution associated with fracking.
Even if we ignore the simple fact that Denton residents have been suffering from air pollution, noise, land devaluation, leaks and explosion risk of fracking in their backyard, the growing body of scientific evidence should convince the oil and gas industry to slow down and be more cautious.
Recent research suggests that the simple fact that Lawson wants us to accept is not simply what the reality is.
Second, even if we accept that fracking plays a significant role in the Denton economy (yes, I’m talking about that 0.2 percent share) then the critical question is who is taking the benefits and who is suffering? Is the distribution of harm and benefits fair?
Many residents, who by the way have no share in the profits of fracking, are exposed to the harms and risks, while the industry and mineral owners, who mostly are not living in Denton, are taking away all the benefits.
If the republican form of government is not meant to protect individuals’ unalienable rights and establish justice, then what is it good for?
Mahdi Ahmadi,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 5
Published: 05 September 2014 06:57 AM
Fracking flip side
Poor old Bill Lawson persists in living in a world insulated from reality as evidenced by his letter [DRC, Aug. 21] proclaiming, “The simple fact is hydraulic fracking has been conducted safely and responsibly within the city of Denton over a decade.”
Bill must be proud of how Eagle Ridge Energy managed to fail many well site inspections and flaunt city ordinances, even being cited by the Texas Railroad Commission.
Maybe Bill enjoys the sweet melody of a quintuplex pump, capable of pumping a fractionating mixture into a well at 25,000 pounds per square inch constantly leaking toxins and giving off over 100 decibels of sound.
Unlike the residents along Bonnie Brae Street and Vintage Boulevard, Bill may enjoy having this pump 250 feet from his home.
When such a well head ruptured on April 19, 2013, releasing hundreds of thousands of gallons of fluids, including the carcinogen benzene, Bill probably donned a bathing suit to cavort safely in the nine-hour blowback.
Bill remains confused about petitions presented to City Council.
The ant-fracking petition, containing nearly 2,000 signatures was notarized, scrutinized by the city secretary and declared valid. Because the petition had the weight of law, council members could have enacted its provisions immediately or wait for the voters to do it in November. They could not and did not reject it, which is why it is on the November ballot.
The second petition had no weight of law; Mickey Mouse and Sam Bass could have signed it.
Walter Lindrose,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 4
Published: 04 September 2014 05:38 AM
More than numbers
A recent letter described hydraulic fracturing in Denton as “conducted safely and responsibly.” Ridiculous.
Shortly after the fracking “blowout” at Jim Crystal Road on April 19, 46 of 84 air pollutants, including a biocide that is a suspected carcinogen, were found by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in a 30-minute area air sample.
Furthermore, nearby residents were not evacuated until almost 10 hours after the blowout began because industry officials did not notify Denton or the Texas Railroad Commission about the failure for more than nine hours.
In the Vintage area this year, fracking occurred at two pad sites sitting 250 feet from homes. Chemical-emitting lift compressors now sit at those pad sites and by Apogee Stadium.
Wells ready to be fracked sit next to Guyer High School.
The letter also mentioned negative economic impacts if the fracking ban passes. However, we get the fracking air and noise pollution and hazards, but not the money.
Professor Adam Briggle’s blog analyzes such impacts and City Council member Roden’s blog discusses a possible “economic boom” for Denton.
Only .5 percent of the city of Denton’s general fund comes from fracking revenue, which is probably not enough to pay for the road damage caused by frequent fracking tankers. Only 2 percent of appraised mineral values here belong to Denton residents.
In the coming days, the gas industry and mineral owners will try to mislead Denton residents about the numbers, but the ban is about more than numbers — people who deserve a safe and healthy city.
Sandy Mattox,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Aug. 24
Published: 24 August 2014 12:26 AM
Vote for fracking ban
I have been a resident of Denton for 27 years. My life’s work has been teaching young children. There is an issue on the ballot this November that directly affects the health and safety of those children I care so much about.
The proposed ordinance to prohibit hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of gas wells within Denton’s city limits will protect children from the harmful effects of fracking as close as 200 feet to schools, homes and playgrounds.
Air contaminants from fracking cause nosebleeds in some children, an indication that they may be inhaling the toxin benzene. Childhood asthma is made worse by fracking emissions. Over the years I have seen an alarming increase in asthma in our schools.
There has already been a 14-hour blowout of a well near Denton’s airport. It was so dangerous that nearby residents were evacuated by the fire department. Homeowners were told not to turn on light switches because of the fear of an explosion from methane that was spewing from the out-of-control well.
The Denton school board trustees, the PTA, the teachers and parents, all must protect the children from these dangers. Pass the ban on Nov. 4 to insure the health and safety of our precious children. Our children cannot vote in the coming Nov. 4 election, but we can.
Dianna Robinson,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Aug. 2
Published: 01 August 2014 06:40 PM
The residents have spoken
The editorial writer thinks that because there were so few comment cards and speeches against the ordinance to ban hydraulic fracturing in Denton, and so many for it, that the City Council was correct to place the issue on the ballot in November so that all of those absentee voices opposing the ban will get a fair shake at the polls.
A 73 percent majority of those who spoke at the public hearing favored passage of the ban. If you single out Denton residents who spoke for the ban, that percentage rises to 85 percent.
Of the 84 people who were opposed to the ban either in speeches or comment cards, only 56 percent of them lived in Denton.
Of the 226 folks who voiced support for the ban with speeches or comment cards, 90 percent were Denton residents.
Residents of Denton also supported the ban with a legal petition of close to 2,000 signatures.
The minority anti-ban contingent was predominantly represented by out-of-state fracking industry interest groups and lobbyists, lawyers who defend the industry and state officials tied to the industry they should be regulating.
November’s vote is not about the ban opponents who were supposedly unrepresented at the hearing. It is about the people of Denton versus the vested interests and money of the fracking industry.
The residents have spoken.
They will speak again with their votes in November to protect their health, their children’s health, their property values and the quality of life in their hometown, Denton.
Ed Soph,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, Aug. 1
Published: 01 August 2014 05:55 AM
Hyperbolic balderdash
The failure of a Denton City Council majority to ban fracking within city limits now throws this issue into the November elections. While this may be popular with individual-rights activists, it ignores the basic premise of our republican form of government.
We choose representatives to make those calls for us because they are supposed to be more informed about the details.
I can understand government representatives giving citizens the right to vote on a critical issue too close to call in terms of what the people really want. But the fracking ban where nearly 2,000 registered voters sent a clear signal to their elected officials illustrated how popular this choice was with their constituents.
Most fracking ban advocates are not opposed to extracting gas and oil to fuel our homes, cars and businesses. But we’re not fools, and the alleged safety record of fracking has been aptly challenged in multiple studies.
The vast stretch of these shale oils across this state and throughout this nation lie in many areas where population is sparse. To insist that these loud and hazardous wells also be built in densely populated areas is simply not justified.
Claims by the industry and some property owners suggesting opposition to fracking bans near homes, park and schools is “anti-capitalists” or un-American is hyperbolic balderdash and disregards the rights of thousands to live in secure, healthy environments over a handful who but for financial gain from fracking would themselves oppose such risks for their own families.
Larry Beck,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, July 29
Published: 29 July 2014 05:58 AM
Don’t fear the lawyer
And so it begins, the “us-against-them” battle until November. Personally, I’m reveling in the hoopla. This, hopefully, will be democracy in action, the likes of which is seldom seen in apathetic Denton (a condition I’ve long been surprised about considering the fact that there are two universities in town).
Now, down to brass tacks. Surely, people realize that banning fracking doesn’t take mineral rights away from property owners. Oil has been obtained from the ground long before fracking came into being.
Surely, people have been reading about structure-damaging earthquakes in Oklahoma City — wasn’t happening until fracking started.
Surely, people realize that splitting the earth’s crust and forcing toxic chemicals into it can’t be a good thing no matter how much money it may make. After all, what good will money be if this town is poisoned or shaken to death? Oh wait, most of the people for fracking don’t live here, do they?
Please, don’t let the fear of lawsuits be a reason to vote for fracking. Laws are fluid actions that can be changed. That’s what Supreme Courts are for.
Danna Zoltner,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, July 29
Study up on fracking
Until two years ago, I was a healthy person. Since fracking began to increase exponentially in the city of Denton, I have developed COPD and pneumonia, have had numerous lung infections, been hospitalized four times, developed an aortic stenosis in my heart, and suffered from headaches and nosebleeds. I was one of the healthiest people in Denton until gas wells and fracking began, rode a 3-wheel bicycle everywhere until last year. I was known as the Bicycle Lady.
I retired 3 1/2 years ago from the University of North Texas. While the damage to me may be permanent, I would hate to see other people suffer from the effects of fracking, so I am 100 percent behind the ban on fracking in Denton.
This will come to a vote in the city of Denton in November, and you need to learn all you can about this situation before then. The long-term effects on our health, our air quality and our dwindling water supply are appalling.
Nancy Fitz-Gerald Viens,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, July 15
Published: 15 July 2014 05:56 AM
For a drill-free Denton
We all know the importance of the oil industry in Texas and the U.S. as a whole. That the chairman of the Railroad Commission puts the economic success of the industry above the safety and health of our citizenry is an abysmal sign of concern for his constituents.
We have no issue with drilling. We understand we sit on top of the Barnett Shale. That is a very large area and there are many sites available for drilling that could likely provide successful drilling without intruding on the higher-density housing areas of our city. There are documented risks and health issues associated with proximity to drill and fracking areas.
We support the ban on hydraulic fracturing within city limits. We hope Mayor Watts and members of the City Council will have the courage to support and implement the plan for the city of Denton to be a drill-free area.
Diane and Oscar Garcia,
Denton
Letters to the Editor, July 14
Published: 14 July 2014 06:01 AM
Never has, never will
Has anyone noticed the people around town collecting signatures in favor of fracking in Denton? Did you know they are being paid $2 per signature by the gas industry?
One elderly gentleman at the farmers market told my friend that he had signed and then finally got to read the petition, after which time he removed his signature.
Another friend met a petition worker in a Kroger parking lot. He wanted to read the petition, but the worker wouldn’t let him, and then refused to answer any questions. The store manager asked the workers to leave the parking lot, saying it was the second time she had done so. They drove off in a car with Colorado plates.
Is this enough to convince the people of Denton that this petition does not have Denton’s best interest in mind?
It is a clear backlash against the efforts of good people who are trying to clean up the pollution and dirty politics of the gas industry here in Denton, people who actually care about our small city, our children’s health, our future.
The gas companies are doing everything they can to keep their rights to our lands so they can come in, foul up our environment, get rich and ditch town.
Don’t believe what you read about gas money benefitting Denton. It never has and it never will.
Shelly Eshbaugh-Soha,
Denton
Letter to the Editor, August 30
Published: 30 August 2014 7:08 PM
Fracking fight
Hydraulic fracturing is the only industry allowed in neighborhoods less than 200 feet from homes. Not even bakeries get that leeway.
Last year, a fracking accident spewed thousands of gallons of toxins, forcing Denton homes to evacuate. This could happen when any of our 275 gas wells are re-fracked. And it can happen on 30 percent of our land permitted for fracking.
Our neighbors who live next to fracking suffer health problems and worry about their children’s safety. And fracking is a major reason why Denton has the worst air quality in the state.
The industry knows it can’t win this fight if it’s about our health and safety. So, it is framing this in terms of economics. But the industry loses that fight, too.
The industry’s own report shows that fracking accounts for 0.2 percent of our economy and labor force. Just ask the City Council: It knows that a fracking ban will have no perceivable negative impact on our economy.
Indeed, a ban will be an economic boon. The ban will make us a more attractive place for new workers to live (and spend their money).
And just think of the economic benefits of cleaner air and water, safer neighborhoods and higher property values.
Adam Briggle,
Denton
Letter to the Editor
August 8th, The Dallas Morning News
My family came to Texas in covered wagons in 1836, so it infuriates me when the land I love is damaged. Fracking in Denton, where I live, does just that.
Fracking means hydraulic fracturing, a controversial technological advance that harvests gas trapped in shale by fracturing it with water and chemicals. Denton, a town of 121,000 residents with nearly 300 gas wells within city limits, has become a flashpoint in the discussion.
Gas drilling has considerable environmental impact. Gas wells are fracked with water. Industry leader Chesapeake Energy estimates each frack drains approximately 4.5 million gallons of drinkable water from a state in severe drought. Each gas well can be fracked multiple times.
A fracking ban within city limits was the topic at a recent eight-hour Denton City Council meeting that drew 600 people. One mother poignantly described health struggles of her young children that began after a gas well was drilled near her home. Her son has regular nose bleeds, which he hides to avoid upsetting her. She tearfully expressed concern for her children’s future health. She is right to be concerned: One of the chemicals released in the drilling process is benzene, a known carcinogen.
I have experienced the disruption: My home outside of Denton is near a gas well that was fracked with air in the 1980s, when fracking was experimental. Our house shook continuously for 72 hours, making sleep impossible.
Nowadays, my car requires constant repair from roads damaged by heavy drilling equipment. My office is in Denton and my eyes have watered for months, possibly from Denton County’s air, which has been given a grade of “F” by the American Lung Association. What are the long-term effects of F-rated air?
Citizens at Denton’s recent council meeting accused mineral rights owners, only 2 percent of whom live in Denton, of putting financial gain ahead of people. Mineral rights owners vowed to sue the city if officials ban fracking for denying their right to enjoy the financial fruits of their property.
Although other states have banned fracking, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld cities’ rights to ban fracking there, Denton could be the first city in Texas to do so. Texas produces more natural gas than any other state, putting the United States on track to become the biggest gas producer. Texas law favors mineral rights owners, so Denton’s fracking ban would be a blow to the gas industry and a crucial victory in the fight against fracking.
Denton’s City Council voted against the ban, but they are asking voters to weigh in this November. Since 2009, Denton has attempted to impose reasonable limits on gas drilling. Drilling limits have neither been observed nor enforced, partly because some wells were permitted before guidelines were developed, and partly because Texas has so many wells to inspect. One gas well in a Denton subdivision sits just 200 feet from children’s bedrooms.
Fracking allows gas that was once unavailable to be drilled, but we will eventually run out of fossil fuel. Denton, ironically, gets 40 percent of its energy from wind power, but that technology is still new. Developing affordable wind and solar technology could ease our reliance on foreign oil and fossil fuel.
Texas needs to change laws to provide a better balance between mineral rights owners and citizens who suffer the consequences of drilling. Laws that are equal and enforceable would lessen problems from fracking.
The debate is heating up, and this case will either be decided at the state House or the courthouse. If we could harness the heat generated by the fracking debate, we might have a new energy source.
ANNETTA RAMSAY,
Denton
Annetta Ramsay directs the Chrysalis Program, a leading treatment center for eating disorders, located in Denton, where she has lived for many years. She is also a Fellow in the Op-Ed Project’s Public Voices Fellowship at Texas Woman’s University. Her email address is annetta.ramsay@gmail.com.
