State drops lawsuit over Denton fracking ban

A state district judge has dismissed the remaining lawsuit challenging the now-defunct Denton fracking ban.

Judge Bruce McFarling signed an order Sept. 11 ending the lawsuit between the Texas General Land Office and Denton. The parties agreed to drop the litigation after the city revoked the ban in June. The settlement and dismissal were announced Thursday.

McFarling’s action came a week after Denton and the Texas Oil and Gas Association agreed to dismiss a similar suit over the state’s first ban on hydraulic fracturing.

Both lawsuits were filed the morning after voters approved the ban Nov. 4. The oil and gas association and the land office challenged the legality of the ban and later amended their suits to target a moratorium that the city had imposed on drilling as it reworked its ordinance.

Fifty-nine percent of voters favored the ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Denton was forced to repeal the prohibition when the Legislature passed House Bill 40, which limits the power of cities to restrict drilling and was supported heavily by the energy industry.

The city adopted a new drilling ordinance in August that lifted the moratorium.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 5:23 PM with the headline "State drops lawsuit over Denton fracking ban."