Chesapeake Energy Gerrymanders Its Way to Arlington Frack Site Approval

by Jess Leber · 2011-03-10 12:06:00 UTC
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In her dogged fight to stop Chesapeake Energy from drilling in her neighborhood and near the Dallas Cowboys stadium, Arlington, TX resident Kim Feil has managed to stall a controversial project's approval before a City Council that has rubber stamped hundreds of others.

But soon her time may run out.

One reason the Arlington City Council has not yet approved this project is because the gas drilling giant has been unable to convince 60 percent of the property owners within 600 feet of the project to sign an approval waiver. This is required by the city's own ordinance. Its failure to do so is largely due to Feil, who worked to educate property owners—including, through a translator, a Spanish-speaking church—on the health and quality-of-life disaster the frack wells would bring. They refused Chesapeake's cash and haven't signed the waiver.

So what does Chesapeake do?

According to Feil:

"I just found out that Chesapeake is planning on moving the first location of the well bore (probably a few feet) on the same proposed piece of land so that they would gerrymander OUT those residential and church properties that are opposed to being within 600 feet.  Now they will be just outside of 600 feet.  It is a sneaky thing to do, but doesn't surprise me. They only need 5 council members to approve this, and Chesapeake gets to drill within 2,500 feet of the stadium in our low income neighborhood. This is really bad news."

She has collected more than 9,000 signatures on Change.org and more than 500 signatures in the immediate neighborhood by walking door to door.

"One hundred of those people are within the 600 ft buffer and are opposed, but they have no real voice because they either rent, work, or lease the businesses. It seems like just a couple or few of the people owning the land will not be spending much time if any time near all this toxic activity."

Now, Feil  mobilizing one last effort. An emergency meeting of her neighbors and one last push to voice her opposition at Arlington's City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 22nd (101 W. Abram St, Sign-in begins at 6:30PM).

She echoes the words that citizens in gas drilling regions are seeing over and over again. In Texas. In Pennsylvania. In Arkansas and Wyoming. "The gas patch is a fearful and risky place to live."

Please sign and leave supportive comments on her petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/say-no-to-natural-gas-drilling-near-dallas-cowboy-stadium

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Photo credit: Marcellus Protest via Flickr

Jess Leber is a Change.org editor. She most recently covered climate and energy issues as a reporter in Washington, D.C

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