EDF Calls on Oil & Gas Industry Group to Drop Lawsuit Against First Responder Funding Following Arlington Blowout

AUSTIN – April 13, 2015 – The Environmental Defense Fund is calling on the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA) to drop a lawsuit against the City of Arlington that would hobble local efforts to train fire fighters for oil and gas emergencies like the out-of-control gas well that forced the evacuation of a neighborhood in Arlington just yesterday. The suit would stop Arlington from collecting modest fees that are crucial for the city to ensure its first responders can protect citizens against many potentially harmful impacts of oil and gas development.

In a letter to TXOGA President Todd Staples, EDF’s Texas Regional Director Jim Marston urged TXOGA to drop the lawsuit filed in 2012. The sooner TXOGA drops this lawsuit the better,” said Marston. “Local emergency responders are simply asking the oil and gas industry to help pay for necessary training to protect people and property.”

Arlington’s modest $2,400-per-well fee is a tiny fraction of a well’s total cost. The funds enable hiring and training for fire fighters to respond to oil and gas well emergencies. That training is critical in situations such as the one that happened yesterday, when the fire department, public safety crews and other city responders were activated to protect residents during the 24 hours it took to plug a leak of pressurized fracking flowback water from a natural gas well.

TXOGA-Backed Bill Would Stifle Safety Standards Statewide

TXOGA is also the driving force behind House Bill 40, legislation by Rep. Drew Darby that is being voted on by the Texas Legislature tomorrow and that will weaken local control over urban oil and gas operations, including important fire safety code protections. If HB 40 were to pass as currently written, it would be even harder to protect citizens against dangerous situations like the one in Arlington.

 HB 40 would completely preempt cities from regulating subsurface oil and gas activity and would set up tests weighted in favor of industry that any local ordinance addressing surface operations must pass. Local surface rules include such things as the distance drilling rigs can be located from schools and hospitals, limitations on truck traffic in residential neighborhoods, and noise restrictions.

“The near tragedy in Arlington shows that local communities need the power and the funding to be able to establish and enforce common sense safety standards to protect their citizens as drilling continues to move into more urban areas, near family homes, schools, churches, and hospitals,” said Environmental Defense Fund Regional Director, Jim Marston.