As the statewide oil boom continues to flow into Lubbock, the City Council will look to citizens for guidance in evaluating the industry’s effects on the city.
A resolution proposed by Councilwoman Latrelle Joy and Councilman Todd Klein creates a nine-member Oil and Gas Citizen Advisory Committee to analyze current methods of oil and gas exploration, development and production, including hydraulic fracturing, and make recommendations to the council this summer regarding potential regulations and ordinances.
During its Thursday, May 9, meeting, the council approved the resolution following months of council discussion, public comments from citizens and research by Lubbock’s Board of Health on the potential effects of expanded oil and gas production in Lubbock.
“What we need to do is pull all the different resources together, being the Board of Health, the water commission, petroleum engineers — anybody who has an expertise in that area — plus just citizens in general,” Joy said. “We felt like if we pulled everybody together, if they got on the same page, then they could come to us and say, ‘Hey, here’s what we’ve found. Here’s what would work.’ ”
The committee will include one petroleum engineer, one member of the Lubbock Water Advisory Commission, one oil and gas industry operator, one member of the Board of Health and five members from the community at-large to be appointed by the council within 30 days from the resolution’s adoption.
The council opted to appoint the committee at its meeting later this month.
Klein said the committee will be asked to present a report to the council within 45 days.
The resolution states the committee shall consider possible regulatory amendments to the city’s current oil and gas ordinances, which were enacted in 1959 and updated in the 1980s and in 2004.
City ordinances on oil and gas drilling already include requirements such as insurance to cover accidents and depth of drilling and allow for the city manager to require mandatory inspections of permitted sites in Lubbock.
Mayor Glen Robertson was the only vote against creating the committee, telling A-J Media earlier this week he questioned the necessity for a committee to explore further regulation on the oil and gas industry.
“I think the oil and gas industry is highly regulated enough, and I’m convinced the Texas Railroad Commission regulates that industry plenty along with ordinances we already have in place,” he said.
Robertson said he believes the call to explore additional regulation on the oil and gas industry stems from unwarranted concerns about the industry’s effects on the environment and public health.
“We don’t have the type of fracking that’s getting the attention and that people are concerned about in other areas,” Robertson said. “This is oil production we’ve had in Lubbock for a long time. We’ve been doing it 50 years.”
Klein said he’s hopeful the committee will provide recommendations to improve the city’s ordinance and permitting process as well as help dispel potentially unwarranted concerns about oil and gas production.
“As we strive for the best practices, there’s not a downside; there’s a definite upside,” Klein said. “It gives us an opportunity to look at some of the concerns that have been raised as we see possibilities for additional drilling within the city.”
There are more than 100 oil wells operating within the city limits, and Lubbock is the landlord for several, though many are not operating.
Since August, the Board of Health has heard several presentations on the potential environmental and health hazards posed by fracturing, including increased levels of methane in groundwater and noise pollution.
As part of anti-fracturing group West Texas Accountability Project Lubbock, activist Armando Gonzales presented the board with a list of ordinances aimed to mitigate risks. His proposals include a 1,500-foot setback between residential areas and wells, regulations on chemicals and requiring sound barriers.
On Thursday, Gonzales praised the council for looking at oil and gas production, but said he was concerned creating a committee only stalls the process.
Joy said creating the committee allows the council to hear from a variety of experts in the community, denying that the process delays potential council action on oil and gas regulation.
“We’re already on the ground with this one because the Board of Health has taken a hard look at this,” Joy said.
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“We don’t have the type of fracking that’s getting the attention and that people are concerned about in other areas,” Robertson said. “This is oil production we’ve had in Lubbock for a long time. We’ve been doing it 50 years.” Baloney. Over 1000 pages of documentation. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/drilling-down-documents-7.html?_r=0 The same carcinogenic chemicals used then are being used now. "This is a 1987 report to Congress by the Environmental Protection Agency that deals with waste from the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and geothermal energy. It states that hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, can cause groundwater contamination. It cites as an example a case in which hydraulic fracturing fluids contaminated a water well in West Virginia. The report also describes the difficulties that sealed court settlements created for investigators."
Also, "The committee will include one petroleum engineer, one member of the Lubbock Water Advisory Commission, one oil and gas industry operator, one member of the Board of Health and five members from the community at-large to be appointed by the council within 30 days from the resolution’s adoption."
Let's not stack the deck in favor of industry when community members are appointed. It looks like the committee has enough industry proponents.
If Klein has anything to do with this committee, by the time he ends his long winded speeches Lubbock will be overrun by damed frackers. The Board of Health already has reports ready for the Council and the Council has heard expert Ph.ds talk about this. They could already have some ordinances on the book. That 1500 foot setback is a good start. A committee will always take the blame if anything goes wrong, as Mayor Robertson said. Council people can just say ---"well that is what recommended to us" and receive no grief. Protect the residents now, not when Klein finishes talking.