This is a victory for the citizens of the city of Denton.
For our families, for our health, for our homes, and for our future.
What does this fracking ban mean?
It means we don’t have to worry about what our kids are breathing at city playgrounds.
It means we can cheer on the Mean Green without fracking pollution blowing over the football field.
And it means we don’t have to worry about our property value taking a nose dive because frackers set up shop 200 feet away.
But this ban wouldn’t have passed without the tireless efforts of countless people concerned enough about their city to help make this happen.
Unfortunately, not all is sweetness and light.
We know the oil and gas industry is going to sue to try to overturn the fracking ban.
But we lawyered this ban every which way before launching this effort. And we consulted legal precedents for Texas home rule cities like Denton. And we’re confident it will stand up.
We know the oil and gas industry is going to try to use our own state government against us by directing its paid flunkies to overturn the ban in the legislature.
To them I say, if you vote to overturn this ban, never again say you’re against big government
Because politicians didn’t pass this ban.
This ban is the voice of the citizens of Denton speaking directly to the fracking industry, and local, state and national government: WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
So try to overturn it if you will. But know that if you do, you are on the side of corporate interests and against the people.
Because this isn’t a ban on fracking everywhere.
If YOU want fracking in YOUR COMMUNITY, fine! Keep it.
But in Denton, we don’t.
And if you force it on us anyway, that is the VERY DEFINITION of big government.
To those in industry and government who are concerned by the success of this ban, rather than try to overturn it, address why we had to pass it.
Because the ban was our LAST RESORT. We tried for years to get government and industry to work with us. And they wouldn’t. This was the only way left open to us. And so we took it.
If you want to prevent more bans, especially in towns that know drilling best, do yourselves a favor and listen to concerned citizens. Because if you don’t, you may wind up reaping what you’ve sown.
Nathaniel Miller says:
WELL SAID! Without doubt there will be lawsuits, without doubt we will see the select privileged whom believe they can force whatever they will down the peoples throats and without doubt there will be a fight. However THE PEOPLE have voiced their opinion if any politicians try and go against our will that in and of itself is a violation of their station as representatives of our will. One can only hope that the fall out from this election does not become too large, for there are yet more options left to us, the people, if we are forced to march to beat other than that of our own.
Its sad truly, if only the industry would have self regulated, instead of pretending to godhood and forcing our hand to involve government when it should not have been needed.
John Rumpler says:
Congratulations on your incredible victory at the polls yesterday – an inspiration to communities across the country that are fighting dirty drilling.
John Rumpler,
Environment America
Jacob Carriveau says:
What hypocrites. Vote against fracking on the basis of environmental safety and corporate greed, yet simultaneously vote and approve the annexation of North Lakes Park to sell for corporate development. The kids should have a lot of fun “breathing clean air” while playing in the parking lot of the new shopping center. Drilling – no, but construction to destroy a park? Absolutely!
Marc W. McCord says:
I realize this may be a difficult concept for you to grasp, but while I do not condone converting parkland to parking lots the fact remains that frac’ing causes major contamination of vast amounts of fresh water, air and soil resulting in people being sickened or dying, property values being destroyed and socialized costs for remediation of damages to roads and bridges, the environment and wildlife. As bad as it is to “pave paradise and put up a parking lot” that does not present society with ongoing human health and environmental damage costs. Oil and gas exploration and production is a destructive activity that has never been suited for existing in close proximity to where people live, work and play.
This is America. Citizens have a right to self-determination. Denton citizens voted and overwhelmingly stated their opposition to frac’ing within city limits. That’s the way democracy works. If you don’t like it, then move to China or somewhere else that does not honor and respect the privacy rights of citizens.
Marc W. McCord says:
Denton citizens, led by Cathy McMullen, Rhonda Love, Ed Soph and Adam Briggle, stood up to the oil and gas industry, as well as their own cowardly City Council, and “Just said NO!” to frac’ing in Denton. They led where their City Council lacked the will and courage to lead. They were outspent 10:1, and yet they won overwhelmingly by 18% of total votes cast.
This is the voice of democracy shouting from the mountaintop. Let’s hope the oil and gas industry hears us all loud and clear – we do NOT want frac’ing where we live, work and play. We never opposed what you did when you out in the boonies, but when you started coming into our neighborhoods we took up the actions necessary to tell you where to go. We kicked you out of Dallas before you even got started, and now Denton has banned frac’ing within its City Limits. We have set an example for other towns and cities to follow, and hopefully many more will be emboldened to do the same because THIS is how democracy is supposed to work.
Phyllis Minton says:
What no amount of Drilling Industry money can buy…..passion by a city for it’s air, water, health and future. Way to go Denton voters.
Cheryl A says:
It is wonderful to have this ban pass. Thank you everyone for working so hard.
Tyler Allison says:
Already our vote to pass this ban has set an example for the rest of the country that we can take control of our city from big Oil. Keep the fight going Denton, the world is watching.
Aaron Warrick says:
This awesome, totally made my day. Way to go Denton, we did it.
Frankr24 says:
Great job people! So glad to hear that ‘life’ won the vote. I abhor hipocracy and you’ve shown us a great victory!
Interested Bystander says:
So how is the City of Denton going to come up with the money to pay the market value of the reserves to the oil & gas well companies who legally obtained the mineral rights to the surface area affected by the ban prior to enacting the ban and now being denied the right to develop those reserves?
Larry says:
Cathy,
what can we as citizens do to help our city council and their legal staff fight these lawsuits other than give them verbal support?
Ken Bateman says:
As a person who tried to fight the oil and gas thugs and lost I am wishing you success but at the same time, warning you that the clout of these people is Huge and they are vicious.
TEXAS GOVERNMENT IS A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY.
I was told over and over “they’ll never be able to get away with it!” “Sue them and get fair treatment!”
Those statements, it turned out, came from a place of extreme naivete’. No one has successfully “won” against oil and gas in Texas. The Mayor of Dish, Texas (Who you should speak with) like me, fought screaming loud compression stations that are emitting tons of pollutants every year and he ended up having to move away from his town because his children were getting sick. A family here in Wise County recently won a 2+ million dollar lawsuit against a drilling company recently but people I know, who know about theses matters, say they will never see a dime of the money. A larger family in Wise County lost everything they had when the sued about water coming out their faucets catching on fire.
During the time I was fighting over the compression station placed 50 feet from my property I met numerous people who were suffering from oil and gas bullying. I met a man who was sleeping in his closet, I met a woman in Southlake who had just finished building a custom home and looking at a drilling rig just a few hundred feet from her front door. I met a former BP engineer who had quit the company in disgust and he joked to me “You should be glad you’re in America. If you lived in a 3rd world country they’d just have you killed.” He said it as a joke but now I wonder if it was funny at all.
I lost my home, my savings, my well-paying job and my health. My son lost a lot of the joy of his last two years of high school.
My advice to you is: -Get a TRIAL LAWYER with experience in fighting giant corporations. -Get decent people in the media to tell your story. -Watch your back.
I’m wishing you all the luck in the world.