Fracking Ban on the November 4 Ballot in Denton, TX | Russell T. Rudy Energy LLC
In a previous post I mentioned the controversy in a Denton, TX, City Council meeting regarding a proposed ban on fracking within the city limits. The council chose to defer a decision and put it on the November 4 ballot. While the outcome of this referendum is unknown, a recent article in “Rigzone” offers legal, economic and environmental justifications for rejecting the ban.
A former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, Tom Phillips, says that a fracking ban would be unconstitutional, incompatible with state law, constitute government confiscation of private property (denying individuals the opportunity to monetize their mineral rights), and cost the city millions in law suits (one has already been filed).
Economist Ray Perryman foresees serious “…economic and fiscal harm for individuals, businesses, schools, local governments, and other public and private entities. He estimates that Denton County could lose $354.8 million over the next 10 years.
Finally, the current and former Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency, current and former Secretaries of Energy, and the Secretary of the Interior all have gone on record as saying that hydraulic fracturing, in and of itself, poses no significant environmental risk when conducted as part of a well-planned and executed drilling program.
To read the article in its entirety, please go to www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/135563/Denton .
