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Texas Town Votes To Bar Fracking in City Limits

d0gbreath

d0gbreath

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So, while I've been contemplating the hard losses for the Democratic Party in this years election, I came upon the winning of an issue that I'm personally involved in.


I spoke out at a city council meeting a year and a half ago when Atmos Gas Corp wanted to erect a 285 foot tower that they claimed was only for radio communications. Coincidentally, that is the same height as a fracking drill tower. They even said that it would not have guide wires. That led me to believe that it was going to be planted quite deep into the ground. My house would have been within 500 feet of the tower.

By
Dan Molinski and
Leslie Eaton
Nov. 5, 2014 12:07 a.m. ET
0 COMMENTS

Voters in Denton, Texas, voted strongly in favor of a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the city, the first such restriction in energy-friendly Texas.

With the majority of precincts reporting Tuesday night, 59% of voters favored barring fracking, with 41% opposed.

“Hydraulic fracturing, as determined by our citizens, will be prohibited in the Denton city limits,” Mayor Chris Watts said in a statement, vowing to defend the ban from expected legal challenges.

Those pushing the ban described it as a last-ditch attempt to rein in fracking, which has been disrupting residential neighborhoods beset by noise, fumes and other side effects of the process used to release oil and gas from shale formations. A college town of about 123,000, Denton sits on the Barnett Shale in north Texas and has about 280 natural-gas wells within its boundaries.
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You lose some and you win some.
 
Thanks for the good news. Yes, a big surprise in Texas.

How NOT a surprise that Atmos would deceive in its initial public efforts...
 
With the exception of maybe College Station, most College towns in Texas are very Liberal.
 
Probably short lived. Rumblings that its a violation of property rights guaranteed by TX's constitution. Interesting to see how it will end.
 
The City of Denton has come out verbally to state that all lawsuits will be fought hard.

Chris Watts said:
When it was clear that the initiative would pass Tuesday night, Denton Mayor Chris Watts issued a statement that the city would defend the new law.

“As I have stated numerous times, the democratic process is alive and well in Denton. Hydraulic fracturing, as determined by our citizens, will be prohibited in the Denton city limits. The City Council is committed to defending the ordinance and will exercise the legal remedies that are available to us should the ordinance be challenged
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Denton voters ban fracking; leaders vow to defend law | KEYE Austin - Green Right Now

Let's see just how "Big Government" the Texas legislature can be.
 
I am all for fracking but even I might balk at doing it in city limits, kind of like target shooting in city limits with a 44 mag.
 
I have no issue with harvesting natural resources, when done safely, but not in a residential area. That is just a disaster waiting to happen.
Is there a petition anywhere that we can sign in support?
 
d0gbreath said:
So, while I've been contemplating the hard losses for the Democratic Party in this years election, I came upon the winning of an issue that I'm personally involved in.


I spoke out at a city council meeting a year and a half ago when Atmos Gas Corp wanted to erect a 285 foot tower that they claimed was only for radio communications. Coincidentally, that is the same height as a fracking drill tower. They even said that it would not have guide wires. That led me to believe that it was going to be planted quite deep into the ground. My house would have been within 500 feet of the tower.



You lose some and you win some.
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I'm with you. I wouldn't want a 250 ft tower within 2 football fields of my house. Not to mention the amount of traffic. Glad you got a win.
 
d0gbreath said:
So, while I've been contemplating the hard losses for the Democratic Party in this years election, I came upon the winning of an issue that I'm personally involved in.


I spoke out at a city council meeting a year and a half ago when Atmos Gas Corp wanted to erect a 285 foot tower that they claimed was only for radio communications. Coincidentally, that is the same height as a fracking drill tower. They even said that it would not have guide wires. That led me to believe that it was going to be planted quite deep into the ground. My house would have been within 500 feet of the tower.



You lose some and you win some.
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Its a good thing. Aside from them obviously destroying water supplies and then denying it, this huge study of air impact just came out:


High Levels of Dangerous Chemicals Found in Air Near Oil and Gas Sites
A five-state study raises new questions about the health impacts of the U.S. energy boom.​
 
poweRob said:
Its a good thing. Aside from them obviously destroying water supplies and then denying it, this huge study of air impact just came out:


High Levels of Dangerous Chemicals Found in Air Near Oil and Gas Sites
A five-state study raises new questions about the health impacts of the U.S. energy boom.​
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They don't even have to declare what chemicals they are using. They claim proprietary information and get away with it. I'd like to see a company try that with food.
 
d0gbreath said:
They don't even have to declare what chemicals they are using. They claim proprietary information and get away with it. I'd like to see a company try that with food.
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I saw that in previous cases. They decline to admit that their crap chemicals are coming up in water supplies then a study is done on the water contamination and they find all sorts of chemicals in the water. They then ask the company if this is the chemicals they use and the refuse to answer citing that proprietary claim... then of course full circle.... deny that they are poisoning the water.
 
nota bene said:
I know two young men who went off to West Texas a couple of years ago to make holiday money. They were great enthusiasts of fracking until they saw what it did to foundations for themselves.
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That sucks. When you're young and idealistic it's kind of pure stage to be in mentally. It's harsh when it gets served in your face in a bad way like that.

What do you mean to foundations? Water and air?
 
d0gbreath said:
So, while I've been contemplating the hard losses for the Democratic Party in this years election, I came upon the winning of an issue that I'm personally involved in.


I spoke out at a city council meeting a year and a half ago when Atmos Gas Corp wanted to erect a 285 foot tower that they claimed was only for radio communications. Coincidentally, that is the same height as a fracking drill tower. They even said that it would not have guide wires. That led me to believe that it was going to be planted quite deep into the ground. My house would have been within 500 feet of the tower.



You lose some and you win some.
Click to expand...

While I don't believe fracking is the big boogie man that many claim, I have to give you props and congrats on taking your civic rights and duties seriously and speaking out in the public, political forum and being successful. I always respect and honour those who go about things the right way - it's what makes democracy so great. Well done.
 
d0gbreath said:
So, while I've been contemplating the hard losses for the Democratic Party in this years election, I came upon the winning of an issue that I'm personally involved in.


I spoke out at a city council meeting a year and a half ago when Atmos Gas Corp wanted to erect a 285 foot tower that they claimed was only for radio communications. Coincidentally, that is the same height as a fracking drill tower. They even said that it would not have guide wires. That led me to believe that it was going to be planted quite deep into the ground. My house would have been within 500 feet of the tower.



You lose some and you win some.
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ALEC is working hard to pass state laws that would overturn and prohibit local governments from passing laws regarding the environment and labor issues. Beware!

http://www.desmogblog.com/exposed-p...commonwealth-court-originally-alec-model-bill
 
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d0gbreath said:
So, while I've been contemplating the hard losses for the Democratic Party in this years election, I came upon the winning of an issue that I'm personally involved in.


I spoke out at a city council meeting a year and a half ago when Atmos Gas Corp wanted to erect a 285 foot tower that they claimed was only for radio communications. Coincidentally, that is the same height as a fracking drill tower. They even said that it would not have guide wires. That led me to believe that it was going to be planted quite deep into the ground. My house would have been within 500 feet of the tower.



You lose some and you win some.
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A billion dollars worth of natural resources and you want it to just sit there?
 
poweRob said:
ALEC is the worst political abomination we have. It is disgusting on a monumental level.
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"A nonpartisan membership association for state lawmakers who shared a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism, and individual liberty. Their vision and initiative resulted in the creation of a voluntary membership association for people who believed that government closest to the people was fundamentally more effective, more just, and a better guarantor of freedom than the distant, bloated federal government in Washington, D.C."

History - ALEC - American Legislative Exchange Council

My God! They were spawned from the depths of hell!....:roll:
 
I'm surprised that any resident in Texas is smart enough to realize that fracking in a residential area is bad. I thought Texans couldn't bend over fast enough for corporate reach around. This surprising act of self-preservation won't last long.

After all, former governor George W. Bush benefited from eminent domain to seize private property in order to profit on the Texas Rangers. The Texas government will not allow anyone to stand in the way of a corporation. The people of Denton will be crushed...

“It is unfortunate that many Denton voters were misled into believing that Denton could violate the Texas Constitution by superseding the [Texas] Railroad Commission’s regulatory authority over oil and gas drilling and illegally take private property in the form of mineral rights,” Ed Ireland, executive director of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, told the industry publication, NGI’s Shale Daily.
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poweRob said:
That sucks. When you're young and idealistic it's kind of pure stage to be in mentally. It's harsh when it gets served in your face in a bad way like that.

What do you mean to foundations? Water and air?
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To homes in a nearby neighborhood.

About that "pure" stage, I think that part of growing up is losing some of that naiveté, that taking as gospel what the grownups say. When you're faced with facts, it's a character-builder to stand up to the "popular" view. But in these two young men's case, it surely was a 180-degree eye-opener.
 
The whole issue of fracking in Denton is an emotional statement made for drama's sake. Nobody is going to frack in Denton.
 
apdst said:
A billion dollars worth of natural resources and you want it to just sit there?
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A priceless commodity of clean water and land, and you want to destroy it for $ ?
 
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