The Dallas City Council passed Wednesday new restrictions that bar hydraulic fracturing within 1,500 feet of a home, school, church, and other protected areas. The new rules effectively ban the practice within the city.<\/p>\n
The council approved the ordinance in a vote of 9-6, with Mayor Mike Rawlings voting for it.<\/p>\n
The city is on the edge of the Barnett Shale area, predicted to be a treasure trove of onshore natural gas reserves. However, the new limit placed on hydraulic fracturing – known as fracking – effectively bans the practice.<\/p>\n
\u201c[W]e might as well save a lot of paper and write a one-line ordinance that says there will be no gas drilling in the city of Dallas,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0said council member Lee Kleinman, who opposed the measure.\u00a0\u201cThat would be a much easier ordinance to have.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A gas industry representative for Trinity East, a Barnett Shale gas company that was prepared to drill, lamented the measure as a death for prospects in Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just can\u2019t drill under these conditions,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0said Dallas Cothrum, according to CBS DFW.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019d require more than 250-acres of property and in an urban area it\u2019s just not possible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Petroleum engineer Bill Crowder of Dallas indicated that the economic and legal wrangling over fracking in the city is not yet over.<\/p>\n \u201cI want you to look me in the eye next February or March,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said, according to the Dallas Morning News,\u00a0\u201cwhen I ask you, \u2018What the heck were you thinking?\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Another council member, who supported the limits, said the ordinance doesn\u2019t ban drilling, but is aimed at keeping residents safe.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is about making sure people are protected in their neighborhoods,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0council member Carolyn Davis said, according to KERA News.\u00a0\u201cIt is the right thing to do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Dallas had previously outlawed fracking within 300 feet of protected areas.<\/p>\n