It was bad enough that the city of Fort Worth decided to let energy companies drill for natural gas within their city limits -- even in the downtown area. But now the gas companies want to drill even closer to homes, apartments and parks.
The city has an ordinance that says drilling cannot take place within 600 feet (200 yards) of houses, parks, schools, churches or hospitals (somehow apartments didn't make it into the ordinance). But there is a way around the ordinance. The gas companies can apply for a "high-impact" permit that would lower the distance to 200 feet.
The city council must approve the "high-impact" permit, but so far they have never turned one down. To date, 120 of the permits have been requested. Just in the last year, 62 permits were requested (Chesapeake-44, XTO-13, Devon-5).
In some neighborhoods, the residents are even signing off on the "high-impact" permits. I can only think they're letting their greed get the better of their common sense (they are paid royalties on the gas produced).
It's hard to believe the good people of Fort Worth are allowing this to happen. At the same time that they are spending millions to improve their city (Trinity River Project, downtown renovation, 7th street renovation, etc.), they are selling out to the ugliness and poison of gas drilling.
Even if you ignore the ugliness of the drilling, the destruction of the environment, the toxic water and sludge pits, and the poisoning of the soil and ground water, there is another consideration the city seems to be overlooking. What's going to happen when they experience a gas explosion (only 200 feet or less from a neighborhood)? And there will be one or more -- it's just a question of when.
I shudder to think what the leaders of the city and the gas companies are doing to the wonderful city of Fort Worth.
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