Denton Bans Fracking, But Challenges Almost Certain
A North Texas town on Tuesday became the state’s first to ban hydraulic fracturing, setting up a high-profile property rights clash likely to be fought in courtrooms and the Legislature.
Nearly 59 percent of voters in Denton, which sits on the edge of gas-rich Barnett Shale, approved a measure banning hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the method of oil and gas extraction that has led to a domestic energy boom.
Proponents called the measure a last-ditch effort to address noise and toxic fumes that spew from wells just beyond their backyards, after loopholes and previous zoning decisions rendered changes to ...
Comments (3)
Brian Hardwick
"The United States constitution actually prevents any government entity, whether it's the state or local government, from imposing a flat ban because the flat ban may in fact trigger a protection in the United States constitution called the takings clause, which essentially prevents a government from taking private property, that is to say the oil and gas, without paying just compensation."
- Jan Laitos, professor of law at University of Denver Law School, explaining to the BBC why bans imposed on hydraulic fracturing and drilling by U.S. municipalities are likely to run afoul of the law and could result in local governments having to pay out millions in damages.
Brian Hardwick Regal Energy
www.regalenergy.com
Kim Feil
Residential areas and other zoning laws exist for a reason....the antiquated law the mineral rights trump surface rights NEEDS to be abolished...slavery was abolished....drilling regulations were written for rural areas...you can't do this near people..they'll be exposed to carcinogens and get cancer, asthma, leukemia etc..... turn on the news and see all the fund raisers/make a wish foundation stories for sick kids.
Brian Hardwick
We get it. Your scared. But shouldn't you be more scared of outside forces and agendas who blame hydraulic fracturing for children getting cancer?
The Texas Legislature will not allow outside ‘forces and agendas’, including entities such as Russia’s Gazprom, and U.S. Earthworks, Sierra Club and many other anti-drilling organizations to make false claims to stir local communities to fear hydraulic fracturing with such vile sounding names as “frack” and “fracking” to make the process seem evil which, reality it is a God-send for humanity and world development while reducing world pollution of our air. This is accomplished by replacing coal burning electric power plant s and gasoline in internal combustion engines.