04-26 Minority Report, Gas Well Task Force (1)

8/2/2019 04-26 Minority Report, Gas Well Task Force (1)

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Minority Report of the City of Denton Gas Well Task Force

Presented to the City of Denton City Council

by Thomas La Point and Vicki Oppenheim

Members of the Denton Gas Well Task Force

April 24, 2012

Introduction

We are writing this minority report to provide the Denton City Council with viewpoints and

information on important action items that were not approved by the Denton Task Force. The

citizen input has overwhelmingly declared that several topics are of great importance to the

community: composition of the Task Force and procedures, air quality, water quality, noise,

public notification, and facility location and distances. We assert that these topics will be

increasingly important to the Denton community, as gas wells and related facilities continue

to locate in a highly urbanized area. The City of Denton population is projected to grow from

113,383 people in 2010 and a density of 1194.8 persons per square mile to 207,334 people and

a corresponding increasing density by 20301.

Gas production facilities are allowed to locate in all zoning districts, though some facilities

require a Specific Use Permit and others are allowed by right. Gas drilling and production

facilities are an industrial use. They are not treated, however, like most other industrial facilities

that would be predominantly restricted by use to industrial zoning districts, unless already in

operation prior to the ordinance or annexed to the City. Gas drilling facilities may locate in

residential neighborhoods and near protected uses, as long as they meet distance requirementsoutlined in the Denton Development Code.2

One other aspect important to development of a revised ordinance for the City of Denton has

been the recent concern expressed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) on

the contribution to overall poor air quality by natural gas development. It should be recognized

that Denton is growing in population density. Hence, it is incumbent on the city administration

to seek to protect human health. The authors of this minority report recognize that each well

must be individually managed by a proper ordinance. However, there must be thought given

to the density of wells in an urban area. There should be thought given to optimizing (rather

than maximizing) the number of production facilities within the City boundaries. Operational

constraints, such as incorporating multiple well heads at one site, directional (horizontal) drilling,

and such should be considered whenever possible.

We suggest that great care should be taken in updating Chapter 22 of the Denton Development

1 Denton Economic Development Partnership website, accessed April 8, 2012.http://

www.dentonedp.com/business_location/demographics_data_population.asp2 See Discussion paper by Vicki Oppenheim.

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Code to ensure that the best possible practices are implemented for all categories of action

items, and especially since many wells are located in residential districts.Issues for Further Consideration

Task Force Composition and Procedures

We feel that the Task Force should have consisted of more Denton citizens, and there should

have been more members. This would have allowed better representation from the citizens.

A larger Task Force would also have led to more opportunities to learn about gas production

processes and fully vet citizen concerns. Task forces in other cities took the opportunities to

have field trips and presentations from both industry consultants and conservation groups. All

this would be better for public education.

Air Quality

Air quality is one of the greatest concerns to the Denton community. We suggest that every

possible action should be taken to implement best practices to reduce emissions during the gas

drilling and production phases. Although the USEPA has just passed new regulations for air

quality and gas drilling, most do not go into effect until 2015. Some regulations have caveats

that only apply in certain instances:

glycol dehydrator restrictions only apply for facilities that are classified as major

sources and

storage tanks emissions reductions are limited to facilities with VOC emissions of 6 tons

per year.3

We suggest that the City of Denton should adopt air quality measures to protect public health

and reduce odor nuisances.

Compressor Stations and Pipelines

Large compressor station facilities are of great concern to the Denton community. Other nearby

communities, such as Dish, Texas, have had considerable problems with such facilities. We

suggest that either these facilities should not be allowed in residential districts or within a

significant distance from protected uses, or expanded regulations should be enacted to ensure

that air quality, water quality and noise levels are addressed. We propose that any new, large

compressor facilities should only be allowed to locate in industrial zoning districts and should be

located at least 2000 feet from any protected use. The rationale for this is that these facilities

are the most problematic in the sense of noise, emissions, and community aesthetics. We

suggest that there is further investigation into the types and sizes of compressor station facilities

or complexes. (This is one of those situations where a field trip or presentation to the Task

3 New USEPA regulations, released April 17, 2012 http://www.EPA.gov/airquality/oilandgas/actions.html

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Force, for educational purposes, would have been highly beneficial)

Where condensates are produced, emissions need to be minimized to legal limits using vaporrecovery, dehydration units. These should be best available technology (BAT), includingrecovery units that recover BTEX.

Well Integrity

As gas wells continue to age in Denton, with many currently over 10 years old, the issue of well

integrity over time will become more important. Most recently, well integrity monitoring and

testing has been brought to the forefront of national discussion in the USEPAs current national

study on hydraulic fracturing. One definition in the USEPA case-study materials is: Well

Integrity Narrowly Defined as the Prevention of Fluids Migration into Protected Water In March

2011, the USEPA held technical workshops on well integrity. Industry representative provided

information on recommended practices.4

We suggest that well integrity factors and best practices, along with other measures, should beconsidered to ensure the preservation of well integrity and protect water resources in Denton.

Redefine PermitWe propose that a drilling permit be valid only for active drilling purposes. Should a wellbecome inactive (for a period of one to three years, for example), there should be notificationfor the re-start and a new permit should be required. The permit requirements, at the point ofre-permitting, should require any new best available practices that have come about during theperiod of inactiviity.

(See also Power Point presentation from Gas Well Task Force, Water Quality)

Dormant wells

Dormant Wells: if there has not been any drilling activity at a well pad or gas drilling productionfacility for a period of two years, the operators shall notify all residents, property owners, andbusiness owners within 1500 feet.

Water Quality

There should be no releases to any surface waters (e.g., wetland, stream, river, etc.) fromsurface drilling ponds. There should be a mitigation plan for any such releases and such

releases must be reported. The operators shall ensure that cleanup of any spill is quickly and

fully implemented. We suggest that closed-loop drilling operations would be best for minimizing

the chances of both air and water pollution.

4 USEPA Well Integrity Theme

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The potential pathways of water contamination are currently being studied by the USEPA5. We

support the inclusion of Chapter 22 revisions that protect both surface and groundwater. Well

integrity is particularly relevant to water quality.

Noise

Noise is a nuisance that can significantly alter the quality of life in residential neighborhoods and

mixed-use districts in the City.

The current noise standards in the gas well ordinance do not adequately address ambient noise

standards. All operators should be required to submit ambient noise studies. We suggest that

gas well operators should mitigate for noise levels above the ambient noise levels as provided

in baseline testing. It will be up to the gas well operators to find the most efficient and effective

method of noise mitigation. We strongly recommend that the noise levels should not exceed

3db above ambient at night or 5db above ambient in the daytime. Other cities are beginning

to address different types of frequencies and provide for measuring and monitoring of those

frequencies. The City should seek to minimize low frequency noise stemming from these sites.

Public Notification

GIS data from submitted CAD drawings and other sources should be readily available to the

public for pipelines and gas drilling and production facilities. All operators should be required to

submit such data to the CIty of Denton. If similar data is submitted to the Railroad Commission

of Texas, it should be relatively simple to submit the same data to the City. These detailed

data will enable the City to better plan future development as well as coordinate proposed

development projects with existing pipeline facilities.

On-Site requirements

On-site spills have occurred in the CIty of Denton. Spills may occur that are not reportable to

State or Federal agencies. In any case, all reportable quantities should be cleaned up to pre-

development conditions and adequate soil and/or water testing should be provided to the City to

ensure that spills are adequately cleaned up. The remediation standards should be based upon

current allowable limits of BTEX or VOCs in soils and water.

5 USEPA's Study of Hydraulic Fracturing

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Documents

04-26 Minority Report, Gas Well Task Force (1)