SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Earlier this year, Denton residents went to the Texas capital to defend their fracking ban. (Photo: Frack Free Denton/Facebook)
With Local Democracy Squashed, Fracking to Resume in Texas Town
Just seven months ago, nearly 60 percent of Denton voters approved local fracking ban, but city says law is 'rendered unenforceable' by state legislation
May 26, 2015
Less than two weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation to prevent local municipalities from regulating a wide variety of drilling practices, fracking is set to resume in the city of Denton, where nearly 60 percent of voters banned the practice last November.
According to KERA News, "Vantage Energy plans to resume fracking operations at eight gas wells in the North Texas city on June 1, the Colorado-based operator has told city officials, and it plans to frack at least eight more wells later in the year--flouting the town's seven-month-long ban on the controversial technique of blasting apart shale to bolster petroleum production."
The new state law--House Bill 40--forbids the city from enforcing the ban, though Denton vowed in a press release to "continue to regulate other surface activities related to drilling operations per our existing oil and gas well drilling ordinance."
Of the state ban on fracking bans, the group Frack Free Denton wrote earlier this month that "the legislature just used its oil and gas money and its bully pulpit in Austin to overturn a grassroots democratic decision in Denton."
KERA News reports "[t]here are rumblings about town that some Denton residents -- unhappy with the city's decision to stand down -- plan to protest around the Vantage well sites."
As Frack Free Denton previously declared: "We can't say for sure, but it's a good guess that the people of Denton won't just let that happen without at least bearing some sort of witness there to the demise of democracy."
In Oklahoma, where a sharp uptick in earthquakes has been conclusively linked to fracking, the state legislature has passed similar legislation that would overturn an 80-year-old statute that allows cities and towns to ban drilling operations within their borders. That bill is currently awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Mary Fallin.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Less than two weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation to prevent local municipalities from regulating a wide variety of drilling practices, fracking is set to resume in the city of Denton, where nearly 60 percent of voters banned the practice last November.
According to KERA News, "Vantage Energy plans to resume fracking operations at eight gas wells in the North Texas city on June 1, the Colorado-based operator has told city officials, and it plans to frack at least eight more wells later in the year--flouting the town's seven-month-long ban on the controversial technique of blasting apart shale to bolster petroleum production."
The new state law--House Bill 40--forbids the city from enforcing the ban, though Denton vowed in a press release to "continue to regulate other surface activities related to drilling operations per our existing oil and gas well drilling ordinance."
Of the state ban on fracking bans, the group Frack Free Denton wrote earlier this month that "the legislature just used its oil and gas money and its bully pulpit in Austin to overturn a grassroots democratic decision in Denton."
KERA News reports "[t]here are rumblings about town that some Denton residents -- unhappy with the city's decision to stand down -- plan to protest around the Vantage well sites."
As Frack Free Denton previously declared: "We can't say for sure, but it's a good guess that the people of Denton won't just let that happen without at least bearing some sort of witness there to the demise of democracy."
In Oklahoma, where a sharp uptick in earthquakes has been conclusively linked to fracking, the state legislature has passed similar legislation that would overturn an 80-year-old statute that allows cities and towns to ban drilling operations within their borders. That bill is currently awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Mary Fallin.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Less than two weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation to prevent local municipalities from regulating a wide variety of drilling practices, fracking is set to resume in the city of Denton, where nearly 60 percent of voters banned the practice last November.
According to KERA News, "Vantage Energy plans to resume fracking operations at eight gas wells in the North Texas city on June 1, the Colorado-based operator has told city officials, and it plans to frack at least eight more wells later in the year--flouting the town's seven-month-long ban on the controversial technique of blasting apart shale to bolster petroleum production."
The new state law--House Bill 40--forbids the city from enforcing the ban, though Denton vowed in a press release to "continue to regulate other surface activities related to drilling operations per our existing oil and gas well drilling ordinance."
Of the state ban on fracking bans, the group Frack Free Denton wrote earlier this month that "the legislature just used its oil and gas money and its bully pulpit in Austin to overturn a grassroots democratic decision in Denton."
KERA News reports "[t]here are rumblings about town that some Denton residents -- unhappy with the city's decision to stand down -- plan to protest around the Vantage well sites."
As Frack Free Denton previously declared: "We can't say for sure, but it's a good guess that the people of Denton won't just let that happen without at least bearing some sort of witness there to the demise of democracy."
In Oklahoma, where a sharp uptick in earthquakes has been conclusively linked to fracking, the state legislature has passed similar legislation that would overturn an 80-year-old statute that allows cities and towns to ban drilling operations within their borders. That bill is currently awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Mary Fallin.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.