Fracking to Go Forward Near Dallas Cowboys Stadium

The Arlington City Council has just rolled out the red carpet for Chesapeake Energy to drill a fracking gas well only a few thousand feet from the Dallas Cowboys football stadium.

In a meeting last week, officials approved one well after giving the gas drilling giant plenty of maneuvering room to work the application in their favor.

Kim Feil, who lives close to the site, had been using her campaign on Change.org as one tool to fight the application. Her brave and dogged work had gained the notice of area media and definitely caught the Arlington Mayor and City Council's attention. Nevertheless, in a city such as Arlington, where hundreds of wells have already been drilled and where gas companies have successfully portrayed drilling revenues as "the right" of property owners to collect, Feil was fighting an uphill battle.

Chesapeake, the nation's 2nd largest gas drilling company, put plenty of resources into making sure this permit was approved, including sending robocalls to people in the neighborhood and creating a counter-petition. They also won several delays from the City Council, giving the company time to increase the meager cash incentives they has been offering property owners, which in the end convinced several holdouts to sign. And finally, Feil reports, the company even moved their well several feet away to eliminate the legal recourse of a few holdouts within the original 600-foot radius.

Feil expressed frustration with the outcome and vowed to resign from her neighborhood association, which did little to help her in her quest. As Chesapeake prepares the grounds to begin drilling the first well, Feil also says she is considering whether or not to move out of the area. "If I stay, I may just start selling home air filtration systems.  I am passionate about informing people of the need to protect their families and employees from urban drilling," she says.

This approved well is only the first of several wells that Chesapeake will be drilling. Kim has been thankful to all the Change.org members who supported her campaign. Here is what she has to say to people who signed:

"My message to the folks who signed my petition is to keep the pressure on their local government for a strong gas drilling ordinance protective to the public and not the drillers bottom line.  Contact your representatives to see if you can be put on a mailing list to know what bills are up for vote and urge your representatives to oppose those that favor the oil and gas industry over public health and property values. Finally, let your city councils know you will not elect them if they have the 'drill baby drill' mantra."

Kim will surely keep on as a gadfly on these issues as Chesapeake Energy moves to frack every last bit of gas out of the Barnett Shale in North Texas.

But Texas is not the only area affected by fracking. Louisiana, Arkansas, New Jersey, New York and Eastern Pennsylvania are just a few states where drilling companies are lobbying to drill more and more.

Take Feil's advice. Get involved in your local city council and start a petition here: http://www.change.org/start-a-petition

Want to know about the latest opportunities for green activism? Follow Change.org's Environment cause on Facebook or  Twitter.

Photo credit: Cordey via Flickr