Frustrated Denton Councilman sees fracking ban as the only option

In an interview Tuesday morning, Roden said the city has been unsuccessful so far in crafting an ordinance that doesn’t get challenged in court. The Denton City Council voted earlier this month to extend its moratorium on drilling permit through Jan. 20 so it can continue working on it.

“It’s really state laws that need to change,” Roden said. “To me, that’s the leverage of a ban. You claim you want to fix this problem. You claim you want responsible regulations? Let’s stop this until you fix this.”

While supporters say a ban would cost the city up to $251 million, Roden said continuing to allow it affects the surface development of the city.

“The problem we already have 300 existing wells in the fastest-growing part of our city,” Roden said. “It’s a whole different situation when you get that close to people

They’re going to create a lot more enemies than friends if they continue to push this.”

Last week, Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Energy (OTC: BECC), which has no operations in Denton, said banning fracking in a Texas city would have negative repercussions for the industry far beyond North Texas.

Two Texas Railroad Commissioners have made statements recently questioning whether Russia was behind many of the efforts to ban fracking in the United States and Europe, though they didn't single out Denton specifically.

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Nicholas covers the energy, manufacturing, aviation and transportation beats for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe the Energy Inc. newsletter