Fracking Fort Worth, TX: Sharon’s Story
Why Texas is Ground Zero in the Fracking Fracas
Fracking was invented and perfected in the Lonestar State, so it comes as no surprise that several lawmakers in Texas are reluctant to give up the practice, despite evidence of how harmful it is.
In a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, scientists have concluded that the extraction of water during fracking operations “is the most likely cause of earthquakes” in Northern Texas over a three month period. Despite strong evidence to the contrary, lawmakers and the gas and oil industry continue to deny any link between fracking and the increase in quake activity.
Over the course of 84 days, from November 2013 through January 2014, the area around Azle, Texas experienced 27 magnitude 2 or greater earthquakes, while scientists at Southern Methodist University and the U.S. Geological Survey monitored the shaking. Previously, the area had no recorded quakes for 150 years, on faults that “have been inactive for hundreds of millions of years”, according to SMU geophysicist Matthew Hornbach. Once the fracking activity subsided, so did the quakes.
Scientists determined that the reinjection of fracking wastewater is the most probable cause behind the increased seismic activity. Their findings are based on where and when the quakes occurred, computer models that track pressure changes, and company data from nearby wells.
Similar conclusions have been drawn elsewhere. A recent study by the Oklahoma Geological Survey acknowledged that it is “very likely” that the increase in seismic activity throughout the state was caused by the injection of fracking wastewater into disposal wells. Oklahoma historically recorded an average of 1.5 quakes of magnitude 3 or greater each year. Now, the state reports 2.5 quakes per day.
Big Energy Scaring Lawmakers Away from Protecting Constituents?
Despite mounting evidence regarding the negative impact fracking has on health and the environment, lawmakers continue to turn a blind eye.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio) held a hearing of the House Science Committee on Thursday to assess reports about the risks involved with hydraulic fracturing. In his statements to the committee, Smith asserted that allegations made by environmental groups and regulators raising questions about the safety of fracking are “scare tactics”, and warned that impeding the development of oil and gas “will cost our communities jobs, our states revenue, and will force us to increase our dependence on foreign oil.”
Christi Craddick, chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, testified at the hearing calling fracking bans such as that enacted in Denton, Texas, “unreasonable oil and gas regulation”.
Lawmakers in Texas seek to pass a measure that would prohibit local bans on fracking. HB40 would prohibit municipalities from outlawing oil and gas drilling within city limits. The House passed the bill on Friday, and it’s largely expected to pass in the Senate as well.
The municipalities aren’t the only ones who need to be concerned with the legal consequences of fracking and fracking bans, as Big Oil is known to come after individuals, as well. A Fort Worth-based oil and gas company is seeking defamation charges from a Parker County resident who claimed its drilling polluted his well. The Texas Supreme Court has allowed Range Resources to continue its defamation and disparagement lawsuit against Steve Lipsky. So much methane migrated to Lipsky’s well that he was able to set the running tap on fire. In the past three years, Lipsky has shared his accounts on Youtube, in the documentary Gasland II, and in news reports. Range Resources maintains that it holds no responsibility.
How long will Big Oil and Texas lawmakers remain at odds with local residents? Learn more about fracking in Texas.