Tag Archives: fracking

More on the Denton experience with marijuana decriminalization

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A long story from the Dallas Observer. Nick Stevens stood before the Denton City Council looking equally frustrated and determined. The activist had helped to lead the grassroots charge to decriminalize marijuana in the North Texas college town. Now he … Continue reading →

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The West Texas earthquake problem

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’re number one! Earthquakes were never anything people in West Texas thought much about. Years would pass in between tremors that anybody felt. Even after the shale revolution arrived in force a decade ago and oil crews started drilling frantically in the region’s … Continue reading →

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The disappearing Pecos cantaloupe

Posted on September 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A very Texas story. Beto Mandujano jabbed his kitchen knife through the rough, yellow rind of the Pecos cantaloupe he had scooped from the ground. The melon’s dense flesh glistened with juice, its color a deep orange. Many Texans swear … Continue reading →

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Senate whinefest about ballot propositions

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Spare me. Members of a state Senate committee called Monday for changes in Texas law to prevent cities from thwarting or blocking citizen petition drives, a key issue for conservative and tea party groups in Houston and other cities in … Continue reading →

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New methane rules finalized

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Gentlemen, start your lawyers. The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued its final rule for methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The rule limits methane emissions from new oil and gas infrastructure and requires operators to submit to … Continue reading →

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Houston’s anti-pollution ordinance killed by Supreme Court

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. In passing two ordinances designed to regulate air pollution, the city of Houston overstepped its authority and illegally subverted state law, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday. The ruling is a victory for a coalition of industrial facilities whose … Continue reading →

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Earthquake!

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a real risk in Dallas now. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a 1 to 5 percent chance of experiencing an earthquake strong enough to damage buildings in the next year, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. That risk has … Continue reading →

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New EPA rules for methane coming

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You know what will follow. Building on already pending rules to cut methane leaks from both new oil and gas wells and those on federal lands, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now plans to bring to the oil sector the … Continue reading →

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David Porter not running for re-election to RRC

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another open seat. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter will not be running for re-election after all. Thursday’s surprise announcement from Porter, who was first elected in 2010, unleashed a flood of interest from Republicans pondering bids for his seat. … Continue reading →

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Regulating methane emissions

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Get all your gas and fart jokes ready, because they’re just going to be inevitable. The Obama administration’s plan to slash methane emissions will raise costs for the oil and gas industry, forcing energy companies to invest in new pumps, … Continue reading →

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Bill to ban anti-fracking ordinances likely to go forward

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Disappointing. Despite vociferous opposition from local elected officials, environmentalists and citizens, many Democrats in the Texas Legislature are supporting controversial legislation that would strip local governments of the power to regulate or ban fracking. House Bill 40, by Rep. Drew … Continue reading →

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Somewhat watered down fracking bill advances in House

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

By “fracking bill”, I mean a bill to limit how cities can regulate fracking, because that’s how things are these days. In a 10-1 vote, the House Committee on Energy Resources approved an updated version of House Bill 40, among … Continue reading →

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Local control deathwatch: Environment

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Unsurprisingly, the Denton fracking ban has provoked a strong reaction. As policy dilemmas go, the one triggered when Denton voters decided last fall to ban hydraulic fracturing in their city looked like a whopper: The oil and gas industry versus … Continue reading →

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Local control, schmocal control

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Lisa Falkenberg: So, let me get this straight. Government is the problem, not the solution. It’s a bumbling bureaucracy run by tyrants, cronies and other self-important suits who think they know better than you or I how to live … Continue reading →

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Texas Progressive Alliance taps Denton’s “fracktivists” Texans of the Year

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: In one of the organization’s more closely contested votes, the Texas Progressive Alliance — the state’s consortium of liberal blogs and bloggers — named Frack Free Denton and its diverse group of activists 2014’s Texan of the … Continue reading →

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A Denton fracking overview

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a long piece on the Denton fracking fight, also published in Politico to help non-Texans understand what this was about. It’s a good read that goes over all the main points if you need a refresher on … Continue reading →

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Everyone wants to get in on the fracking fight

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Come on in. National environmental groups joined forces with grassroots activists in Denton on Thursday, seeking to defend in court the first municipal fracking ban adopted in Texas. The Denton Drilling Awareness Group, a citizens group that fought to put … Continue reading →

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Other towns consider fracking bans

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If Denton can do it… A Texas hamlet shaken by its first recorded earthquake last year and hundreds since then is among communities now taking steps to challenge the oil and gas industry’s traditional supremacy over the right to frack. … Continue reading →

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Whining about the fracking ban

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

These guys just can’t believe they lost. Did college students tilt the outcome of Denton’s vote to ban hydraulic fracturing? That question has stirred debate since the city – home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University … Continue reading →

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Denton responds to fracking ban lawsuit

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. One day before its first-in-Texas ban on hydraulic fracturing is set to take effect, Denton called the oil and gas extraction technique a “public nuisance” that the North Texas town has the right to regulate. “Those activities have … Continue reading →

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A look at how Democratic legislative challengers did against the spread

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been long enough since the election that I feel like I can go back and look at some numbers. Not a whole lot of good out there, but we’ll try to learn what we can. To start off, here … Continue reading →

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First impressions of the 2014 results

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

My initial thoughts, for what they are worth. – Let me begin by saying that for all the criticism I had of the UT/Texas Trib’s polling and the skepticism of Internet-sample methodology, they were fairly accurate in the end. In … Continue reading →

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Denton fracking ban passes

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Let the freakout – or perhaps I should say “frack-out” – begin. Nearly 59 percent of voters in Denton, which sits on the edge of gas-rich Barnett Shale, approved a measure banning hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the method of … Continue reading →

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Denton fracking ban update

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One more look at what is surely the most contentious issue on the ballot anywhere in the state. With Denton preparing to vote Tuesday on banning hydraulic fracturing within city limits, tension has mounted as rival groups work to undermine … Continue reading →

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More on the Denton fracking referendum

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I think everyone agrees the Denton anti-fracking referendum will wind up in court if it passes. It’s just a question of how wired the courts will be for the plaintiffs. Voters will decide whether the city will become the state’s … Continue reading →

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Fracking ban on the ballot in Denton

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This has the potential to be even bigger than the HERO repeal referendum. Voters will decide whether this North Texas college town will become the state’s first city to ban hydraulic fracturing. After a public hearing Tuesday night that stretched … Continue reading →

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