Arlington denies fracking expansion near day care center. What happens next?

Three gas wells will not be drilled near an Arlington day care center and a lawsuit against the city will be dropped — at least for now.

The Arlington City Council denied a permit Tuesday for the wells, as neighbors and environmentalists argued that drilling on the site would have dire health consequences.

Tuesday’s 5-4 vote to deny the permit comes just one week after the day care and an environmental advocacy group sued the city, alleging that city leaders endangered children’s health and skirted the city’s processes for approving gas wells.

So what happens next?

The permits

Under the city’s ordinance, French energy giant Total Energies must wait one year to request another permit to drill in this spot, city spokeswoman Susan Schrock said.

Kevin Strawser, a spokesman for TEP Barnett, the Fort Worth branch of Total, did not return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.

Total requested a permit in the same location in June 2020, which the City Council denied 6-3 after an outcry from residents and environmental groups, in large part due to its proximity to Mother’s Heart Learning Center. The day care is 637 feet from the proposed drilling site, and its playground is 613 feet from the site.

Total and TEP Barnett still have a major presence in Arlington and North Texas, with dozens of drill zones and wells.

The lawsuit

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Mother’s Heart Learning Center and Liveable Arlington filed a lawsuit seeking a restraining order against the city, mayor and City Council to prevent approval of the wells.

Activists said the council did not follow the city’s gas production ordinance in November when it voted 5-4 to give initial approval to the project.

Drill zones within 600 feet of buildings, such as schools and homes, must receive a supermajority, or seven votes, for approval. But the council approved the permit with a simple majority, or only five votes.

Total Energies agreed to limit future wells on the site to more than 600 feet from the day care center. Although an existing wellhead is within 600 feet, the redrawn lines allowed the city to approve the drill zone by a simple majority vote.

Ranjana Bhandari, executive director of Liveable Arlington, said the group plans to withdraw its lawsuit, although she could not rule out further legal action.

“We may need a similar action down the line,” Bhandari said, “because while the immediate threat has passed, the issues raised in our lawsuit have not been resolved.”

More litigation?

Arlington receives millions of dollars in royalties generated by Total Energies’ drilling. Over a four-year period, Arlington earned about $5 million in royalties from TEP Barnett, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Several Arlington council members have said they feared costly litigation if they voted to deny the permit.

A 2015 Texas law prohibits cities from banning drilling and from implementing regulations considered unreasonable. The Texas Legislature passed the law, known as House Bill 40, after Denton tried to ban fracking in 2014.

The vote

Council members Victoria Farrar-Myers, Raul Gonzalez, Nikkie Hunter and Ruby Faye Woolridge opposed the permit in November. On Tuesday, council member Rebecca Boxall joined those four to vote it down. Boxall has not responded to a request for comment.