Arlington council, facing lawsuit against drilling gas wells, to hold final vote Tuesday
The Arlington City Council on Tuesday night will consider giving final approval to a company seeking to drill new natural gas wells, while the city faces a lawsuit for its initial approval of the plan. The permit would add three wells at a drill site just over 600 feet from a daycare center and homes.
Wanda Vincent, the owner and operator of Mother’s Heart Learning Center childcare, her business The Mother’s Christian Heart Childcare and the nonprofit Liveable Arlington filed the lawsuit to block the city from giving approval to the gas wells, according to court documents. The suit, filed in Tarrant County’s 153rd District Court, seeks a restraining order against the city, mayor and council members to prevent the approval of the wells.
The lawsuit claims the approval of those gas wells goes against city ordinances by allowing the wells to be placed too close to “protected use” properties.
The ordinance requires the city to enforce a buffer of at least 600 feet between a gas well and any residence, religious institution, hospital building, medical or dental office, nursing home, personal care facility, supervised living facility, school, daycare or public park.
The wells, intended for 2000 S Watson Road, would place them within this protected use area, according to the lawsuit.
City officials have said that Total Energies’ initial drill zone included a well less than 600 feet from protected buildings, triggering the need for a supermajority vote to obtain a waiver from the council. However, Total has agreed to limit future wells to areas over 600 feet away from protected buildings, allowing the city to approve a different drill zone by a simple majority vote, according to City Attorney Galen Gatten.
The council gave initial approval to Total Energies’ application 5-4 on Nov. 30, with members Ruby Faye Woolridge, Victoria Farrar-Myers, Nikkie Hunter and Raul Gonzalez opposing the permit. The final vote to determine the fate of the wells will be held Tuesday night, possibly awarding a final permit to TEP Barnett, the Fort Worth branch of the French energy giant.
Speakers at the Nov. 30 meeting against the application, including Vincent and Liveable Arlington Executive Director Ranjana Bhandari, spent more than an hour appealing to the council to honor a June 2020 council vote denying a request to add more wells at the AC360 drill site in a debate that earned national media attention in the days leading up to the public hearing.
Council members who supported Total’s permit said they feared facing an expensive, unwinnable lawsuit by the company if Arlington rejected an application that met all technical requirements.
“It’s moments like now (that) make me wonder why in the world I decided to run for mayor, because I struggle with this,” said Mayor Jim Ross, who voted in favor of Total. “If it came down to ‘it’s just about the kids,’ it’s a no brainer for me. But it’s not about just that.”
The city would stand to lose out on royalties generated by Total’s drilling. Over a four-year period, Arlington earned about $5 million in royalties from TEP Barnett’s 160-plus wells at 32 sites in the city, according to an investigation published by Reveal. About $2.2 million in royalties stemmed from five drill sites close to daycare centers.
In addition, Arlington received almost $3 million in bonus payments from TEP Barnett during that same period, according to public records. Ross and fellow council member Andrew Piel denied their decision to vote for the permit was financially motivated beyond avoiding massive legal fees.
A court hearing on the lawsuit’s request for a temporary injunction has been set for Jan. 17 at 9 a.m.
This story contains information from the Star-Telegram’s archives.