Arlington City Council previously voted against allowing more drilling in the area.
ARLINGTON, Texas — After twice rejecting the expansion of a gas drilling site near a daycare, Arlington City Council gave initial approval to a permit seeking to add 10 new gas wells.
Total Energies, a French energy company, already owns five gas wells near Mother’s Heart Learning Center in east Arlington. The proposed wells would be located at 2020 South Watson Road, 1,000 feet away from the daycare and more than 800 feet from the nearest resident, the company said in a statement.
Residents urged councilmembers to vote against the new wells, citing scientific research linking fracking wells to adverse health impacts.
City councilmembers voted unanimously in favor of providing the company with the permit they requested. City Council will have to vote in favor of the permit again before drilling can begin.
Leslie Garvis, a representative of Total Industries, said the requested site is the best location to access the minerals in the ground. The proposed location exceeds the setback required by the city of Arlington, which is 600 feet, she said.
The city is limited in its ability to regulate drilling, Mayor Jim Ross said.
“I would like to remind all speakers, during the public hearing tonight, that the city council cannot and will not make its decision based on factors that are outside its lawful jurisdiction,” Ross said before nearly 30 public speakers addressed the council.
Speakers who opposed the permit cited concerns about fracking’s impact on the health of children and residents living near the drill site. Activists have previously cited the high number of children living in Tarrant County who suffer from asthma.
“According to the EPA, the air toxic cancer risk in this neighborhood is one of the highest in the country’s 90th percentile,” said Ranjana Bhandari, founder of Livable Arlington, who has resisted Total Energies’ efforts to expand its fracking operations in Arlington for several years. “The pollution is linked to high rates of asthma and childhood leukemia, birth defects and negative maternal outcomes in pregnancies.”
Wanda Vincent, the founder of the Mother’s Heart Learning Center said that children attending the school have been sickened by the existing gas wells.
“Vote will empathy and compassion for the people of this community, for the well-being of my family and all the families that will be affected by this decision,” resident Tammy Carson said. “You’ve voted against new wells at this site twice in the past, and the only consequence of that decision was less pollution and less disruption to people’s lives.”
