On Tuesday, March 27th, non-profit environmental organizations in the area will host an open meeting to discuss the recommendations of the Dallas Gas Drilling Commission. In the lead-up to the meeting, Green Source is hosting a short series of commentaries by Marc McCord of FracDallas intended to stimulate conversation around gas drilling, public health, and environmental public policy in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Join the conversation on Facebook or in the comments, and see the event listing to learn more. Click below to jump to -
By Marc McCord of FracDallas
Published March 26, 2012
So, what are the issues in the public policy debate surrounding gas drilling in Dallas Ft. Worth? From my perspective there are five major issues, some pertaining to the Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force recommendations to the Dallas City Council on how to re-write our woefully inadequate gas drilling ordinance in light of what is known today about the ravages of urban gas exploration and production based upon what we should have learned from Fort Worth and other nearby places in the Barnett Shale. Additionally, we should have learned a bit about sustainable practices and safeguarding public health from mistakes and successes in shale plays in the 34 states that have natural gas exploration and production activities occurring.
The first two issues were discussed in a pervious commentary on this subject. The issue here is:
Floodplains:
The Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force just sent to the City Council their recommendations for re-writing our gas drilling ordinance, and in it they rejected the current prohibition against drilling in floodplains and advocate allowing that activity along the banks of the Trinity River, which is the primary drinking water source for over 50% of all Texas residents. They are called floodplains because they flood! If they flood at a time when heavily toxic, carcinogenic, and neurotoxic chemicals are present at well sites, and those chemicals make their way into the Trinity River, then we have a very serious problem that becomes much worse for the people of Houston and other cities for whom Lake Livingston is a primary drinking water reservoir.
Yet there is a more pressing problem for Dallas. Our City Council has approved plans to spend over $202 million of taxpayer money building a "world class recreation and entertainment venue" along the banks of the Trinity River adjacent to downtown Dallas. Flooding the river with toxic chemicals upsteam will render the new investment in parkland and commercial establishments along it unusable. This includes the area around our new Margaret Hunt Hill "signature bridge" and the Dallas Wave whitewater park that was already improperly built in the river near the Corinth Streetbridge where people will play in the water that is already rated unsafe for contact recreation.
Marc McCord is the editor of FracDallas. He is a lifelong environmentalist with a concern for a clean, healthy environment that dates back to Boy Scouts in the early 1960's and continues to this date. For three years he served as the Environmental Committee Chairman for Dallas Downriver Club. For the past ten or more years he has been active in annual cleanups on several Texas rivers, as well as others in Oklahoma and Arkansas. For nearly three years he has studied every aspect of natural gas exploration and production. He has been a frequent commentator at numerous EPA, TCEQ, Dallas City Council, Dallas City Plan Commission and Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force events and meetings.
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