texas

Denton Residents Fight to Increase Reverse Setbacks at Gas Well Sites

There's a new fight brewing in Denton between residents and oil and gas companies.

Denton became synonymous with fracking for natural gas back in 2014, when residents voted to ban it.

"It was a big deal. Nobody had ever banned fracking," explained resident Ed Soph.

But within months, the grass roots effort was overturned by the Texas legislature with House Bill 40.

"They took away our democracy quite frankly. It's unbelievable," Soph added.

Soph is on a new crusade to increase the city's reverse setback ordinance.

Reverse setbacks dictate how close new homes and businesses can be built to an existing well.

"That setback distance, currently in Denton, is only 250 feet," Soph said. "That's for anything. A public school, a hospital, a library, a childcare center."

Soph wants to at least double that. He recently took his plea to Denton's city council, citing studies that show living too close to a well could be harmful to your health.

"Research studies, the most current one this past March, is saying anything closer than 500 feet and you're really dealing with some serious risks," he added.

Denton resident Debbie Ingram agrees. Her house backs up to a natural gas well. And when the company was drilling and fracking, Debbie says she got sick.

"I ended up having quite a few nose bleeds and I haven't had a nose bleed since I was 13 years old," she said. "I had shortness of breath. It made me have horrible headaches."

Her neighbor Gene Inzer lives across the street from a different well.

In 2013, he took pictures as crews moved in to drill and frack that site.

"Oh, right away, we were like, 'what is going on?' All of a sudden these two dusty tanks in the back became alive and they grated off the area, dust like crazy," Gene remembered.

Gene and his wife moved to Denton to be closer to family, but soon they questioned whether or not they should have their grandkids come over.

"We kinda really thought twice about it and didn't have them over nearly as much as we have liked to have had," Gene added.

We reached out to Eagleridge Energy for comment, but they declined our request.

The Texas Railroad Commission says Eagleridge doesn't have to disclose the chemicals it uses in the hydraulic fracking process, because the Texas law that now demands more transparency, didn't exist when the well near Gene's house got it's drilling permit back in 2003.

The company's permit also allows them to re-frack the well whenever they want, which would potentially raise the same health concerns all over again.

"Prevailing wind is basically southwest to northeast, so we're right down wind of that whole mess," Gene said. "I can't escape from it and I have no idea what the effect is on me is. I might have, heaven only knows, some lung cancer 10 years from now because of that. I don't know. Nobody knows."

So how does the city of Denton move forward with possibly increasing reverse setbacks, without drawing the attention of lawmakers in Austin, who could potentially step in, again?

Denton city councilman Paul Meltzer has a different approach. He suggests working with developers, to see if they will voluntarily pull back to at least 600 feet, to build more densely. Essentially, swapping open space for density.

The question is, can a conversation be just as strong as regulation?

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