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Forum: Urban Gas Drilling and Community Responsibilities

This drilling test site is used as an example in a presentation Dallas' Gas Drilling Task Force will give city council members on Wednesday.
City of Dallas
This drilling test site is used as an example in a presentation Dallas' Gas Drilling Task Force will give city council members on Wednesday.

 How can Dallas can learn from other cities that have wrangled over gas drilling issues?

When urban gas drilling first surged in the Barnett Shale, many North Texas residents were excited.  They looked forward to making money from their leases and royalties.  But as the number of wells soared, residential opposition grew.

Drilling companies went on the defensive as communities adopted new restrictions and drilling moratoriums.

Are the recommendations for distances between a drilling site and homes or schools adequate?  Have task force members adequately addressed concerns about air emissions and possible contamination from the drilling process?  How will this drought-prone region provide the large amount of water needed for the drilling process?

From KERA 90.1 studios, Dallas District 3 Councilman Scott Griggs and task force member David Biegler, the CEO of Southcross Energy, debate a recommendation that would allow drilling beneath Dallas park land.  Libby Willis, president of the Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations, discusses the difficulty in creating an ordinance when all of the ramifications of drilling aren’t known.  Citizens call with questions and concerns. Shelley Kofler moderates.

Hear the full conversation in the podcast posted above.

Dallas City Council briefing from Gas Drilling Task Force

Former KERA staffer Shelley Kofler was news director, managing editor and senior reporter. She is an award-winning reporter and television producer who previously served as the Austin bureau chief and legislative reporter for North Texas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.