Cheers rang out inside the chamber after council member Rebecca Boxall鈥檚 鈥渘o鈥� vote flipped the council鈥檚 initial Nov. 30 approval of a gas well permit to a 4-5 denial. French energy giant Total sought to drill three more wells at its AC360 site on 2000 S. Watson Road, which sits inside Boxall鈥檚 district.
In a , Boxall said she struggled with the decision to switch her vote. But after residents in District 5 spoke passionately in opposition to more gas drilling, she decided to deny Total鈥檚 permit request.
鈥淧erhaps my vote will make a difference in how people perceive themselves as citizens and their important place in the governing process,鈥� Boxall wrote. 鈥淚 hope so, and I hope they will join me in advocating for local solutions to consume energy more responsibly.鈥�
Boxall joined council members Nikkie Hunter, Raul Gonzalez, Victoria Farrar-Myers and Ruby Faye Woolridge to deny the permit. Andrew Piel, Helen Moise, Barbara Odom-Wesley and Mayor Jim Ross voted to grant the request.
Staff from Mother鈥檚 Heart Learning Center and environmental activists spilled into the plaza outside City Hall to celebrate the outcome of nearly two years of opposition to Total鈥檚 expansion plans in Tarrant County. Mother's Heart is adjacent to the drilling site and serves a student population entirely made up of children of color.
鈥淚 was relieved, but not surprised, because there is an overwhelming body of evidence telling (council) this is the right thing to do,鈥� said Ranjana Bhandari, executive director of environmental advocacy group Liveable Arlington. 鈥淭here is very clear evidence that they did not follow their own ordinance in November.鈥�
Liveable Arlington and Wanda Vincent, the owner of Mother鈥檚 Heart, were accusing Ross, council members and top city planning official Richard Gertson of not following Arlington鈥檚 gas production ordinance when conducting the November vote.
The suit also accused the city of endangering children鈥檚 health and discriminating against communities of color living near natural gas operations.
On Wednesday afternoon, Bhandari and Vincent announced they were dropping their suit because their claims were addressed through the permit denial.
鈥淲e believe that our lawsuit was a strong motivating factor in the second vote, and we are proud of that victory,鈥� Liveable Arlington said in a prepared statement. 鈥淲e will continue to monitor the city鈥檚 activities related to fracking permits and will be ready to hold them accountable if they violate their ordinances again.鈥�
Boxall said she made the decision to switch her vote before being informed about the lawsuit. Most of the arguments made by those opposed to the gas wells did not play a role in her decision to vote no, she said.
鈥淓fforts to frame energy company Total in the most negative light possible are not helpful,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淔rom my research, they are a reputable and conscientious company.鈥�
Meeting 鈥榙ances鈥� around lawsuit
Neither activists nor council members explicitly mentioned the lawsuit during the public hearing Tuesday. But Ross questioned Gertson, Arlington鈥檚 assistant director of planning and development, on the crux of the suit鈥檚 argument that the city violated its own procedures for approving gas permits.
When council members originally voted Nov. 30, they approved a drill zone map that did not include one of Total鈥檚 existing wells, which lies less than 600 feet from a residence. That well was approved in 2010 and therefore not part of the council鈥檚 decision on Tuesday, Gertson said in a Wednesday interview.
Because the final map did not show wells less than 600 feet from protected buildings, the council could approve Total鈥檚 permit with a simple majority of five votes rather than the seven that would be required otherwise, according to Gertson.
Gas companies like Total are required to submit maps that show all existing wells during the application process, Gertson said during the hearing. However, he argued, the council has the power to reshape a drill zone to include only where more wells will be drilled 鈥� not the entire site.
鈥淭he sole purpose, the only function, of the drill zone is to establish the area where future wells may be drilled,鈥� Gertson said.
To Gertson鈥檚 knowledge, this is the first time that the drill zone has been reshaped by a council vote. That could be a product of new language added to Arlington鈥檚 ordinance last spring that was meant to clarify the concept of a drill zone, he said.
鈥淚t seems like what we've managed to do is just raise more questions,鈥� Gertson said.
In their lawsuit, Liveable Arlington and Vincent point to ordinance language stating that the map must 鈥渆nclose all the wells on the drill site.鈥� Jennifer Quick, social media coordinator for Liveable Arlington, said the city鈥檚 decision to exclude the problematic well from its drill zone map undermined transparency in city permitting.
鈥淭he regular ordinance is crystal clear,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e not going to follow that, then this whole hearing process is kind of a show and dance, right?鈥�
City, company consulted on drill zone
Activists were also concerned with how closely Gertson and other city officials worked with Total鈥檚 representatives to develop a map that would earn approval from council. Liveable Arlington through a public records request and shared the emails with the Fort Worth Report and 四虎影院.
An hour before the Nov. 30 council meeting began, Gertson told Total鈥檚 Julie Jones and Kevin Strawser that their original map, which showed a 鈥渟kewed鈥� aerial view, would not prove 鈥渨ithout a doubt that the drill zone is totally beyond 600 feet from the houses.鈥�
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 use it,鈥� Gertson wrote in an email. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 your case.鈥�
Jones replied that Total was 鈥渄efinitely taking your recommendation鈥� and revising the map.
By 6:41 p.m. that day, with the meeting already in session, Arlington planning officials replaced Total鈥檚 original map 鈥� the one approved by planning and zoning commissioners in October 鈥� with a drawing that excluded a well measured less than 600 feet from homes.
In a Wednesday interview, Gertson said his communications with Total were 鈥渃ustomary鈥� of conversations between a permit applicant and city staff, especially since council raised questions about the actual location of the drill zone. Total鈥檚 original map inaccurately depicted the drill zone overlapping with homes, he said.
鈥淭hey pushed a new map to us. That one was clearer, it had less fine-grained detail on it,鈥� Gertson said. 鈥淢y role is not to make their case for them, but to help present the information that the council wants to see. It鈥檚 up to (Total) to produce the map.鈥�
It鈥檚 also 鈥渜uite common鈥� for city staff and applicants to communicate about permit applications right up to the time that council meetings begin, Gertson said.
鈥淚s it customary for staff to talk to an applicant, whether it's Total or anybody else, about these kinds of things?鈥� Gertson added. 鈥淵es, especially when council wants clarification or answers to questions.鈥�
Will Arlington face another lawsuit?
It鈥檚 unclear whether Total will continue to pursue more wells at the east Arlington site or file a lawsuit challenging council鈥檚 denial of the permit. Gertson has not heard from Total representatives about the company鈥檚 plans, he said.
Under House Bill 40, a cities from banning fracking, cities are only allowed to implement natural gas drilling regulations on natural gas drilling that are considered 鈥渃ommercially reasonable.鈥� That has typically included rules for noise control and the required distance between drilling and protected buildings, like hospitals and schools.
In November, Ross and fellow council members said they feared an expensive, lengthy lawsuit to explain their support of Total鈥檚 permit. If Total sues, it of House Bill 40 in state court, said Luke Metzger, executive director of the nonprofit group Environment Texas.
The possibility of legal trouble is a 鈥渓ame excuse鈥� for city leaders, said Luis Castillo, president of Arlington鈥檚 League of United Latin American Citizens.
We cannot live in a world where we don鈥檛 want to do things because we're afraid of litigation,鈥� Castillo said in an interview after the vote. 鈥淓verything鈥檚 possible for litigation, and we鈥檒l just have to deal with it when it comes.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org. You can follow Kailey on Twitter .
This story was produced in partnership with the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Her position is supported by a grant from the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation. Email Haley Samsel at haley.samsel@fortworthreport.org. You can follow Haley on Twitter via
