As a French energy giant continues its push to build new gas drilling sites in Arlington, environmental activists and residents are preparing to take their concerns to city leaders.
The proposed drill zone at 2000 S. Watson Road marks TotalEnergies’ third attempt to drill new gas wells near The Mother’s Heart Learning Center, an east Arlington day care center that primarily serves children of color. City Council members are expected to vote on the permit during their Jan. 28 meeting.
The battle between French company TotalEnergies, known in North Texas as TEEP Barnett, and residents opposed to gas drilling has continued over several years. The energy giant owns 31 of the 51 drill sites permitted to operate in the city.
That number could grow to 52 if council members approve TotalEnergies’ request. While the two previous attempts would have created a new drill zone on an existing site, the current application would create the first new drill site in Arlington in over a dozen years, according to environmental advocacy group Liveable Arlington.
The energy company first sought permission to drill new wells at the east Arlington site in 2020, about 600 feet from the day care. City Council members denied the request, citing concerns over how gas drilling would disproportionately affect nearby low-income residents and communities of color. Just over a year later, the company applied again for the same site.
In the second application, council members gave TotalEnergies preliminary approval to expand its drilling zone, but rescinded their decision in January 2022 after being met with a lawsuit from Liveable Arlington and the director of The Mother’s Heart Learning Center.
Now, Liveable Arlington is preparing once more to convince council members to reject TotalEnergies’ plans for a new drill zone. The new site, if approved, would be located at 2020 S. Watson Road, just south of the original east Arlington site.
Mariah Vincent, junior director of The Mother’s Heart Learning Center, says she hopes City Council members will have a change of heart about TotalEnergies’ drill site plans.
“I’m a little nervous,” said Vincent. “I’m hoping. We’re just trying to hope and we’re praying that everything will turn around. I’m just not sure.”
Her anxieties about the drill site grew when the Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission granted a specific use permit to TotalEnergies in December.
Wanda Vincent, director of the learning center, is most concerned about how the proposed drill site could affect the children at her day care. The TotalEnergies site would be the second drill zone located within less than a mile from the center.
“All of this does have an effect on the air quality here around the center,” Wanda Vincent said in “Faces of Fracking,” a docuseries about gas drilling in Arlington that was publicly screened in January.
TotalEnergies did not immediately respond to the Report’s multiple requests for comment on the permit application. Representatives have previously said the company follows all local and state regulations and regularly monitors for air quality and noise issues near its sites.
Mariah and Wanda Vincent say they are going to continue working with Liveable Arlington regardless of the outcome of the council vote.
“If there’s other communities that we need to fight with, we will help. … We will just do everything we can,” said Mariah Vincent.
‘Faces of Fracking’ series highlights residents’ experiences
The Vincents are two of six Arlington residents featured in the docuseries, which Liveable Arlington intends to screen at the Jan. 28 meeting.
There are “so many stories” of Arlington residents and their experiences with natural gas drilling to be told, Liveable Arlington Executive Director Ranjana Bhandari said at the Jan. 11 debut of the docuseries.
“This is all very depressing, but we always have this sense that activism is an act of hope. It’s an act of optimism,” said Bhandari.
The second rejection of TotalEnergies’ proposal did not come without a fight, said Bhandari. It required several residents to attend City Council meetings and over 1,000 petition signatures against the application.
“It takes a lot, but that’s where persistence comes in,” said Bhandari.
Reminiscing on the success of the environment group’s 2022 lawsuit, which the group dropped after council denied the permit, Bhandari wants to see the same effort this time around from more Arlington residents.
“I’m convinced that the day 500 Arlington residents show up at the hearing … things will start to look different,” said Bhandari.
If TotalEnergies earns the approval to construct the drill zone, City Council will conduct a second vote on Feb. 25 to confirm permitting the company to drill and operate 10 gas wells.
Nicole Lopez is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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This article first appeared on Arlington Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.