Chesapeake may drill near Fort Worth’s Trinity Trails

by Steve Smith of of West and Clear

It may be a new year, but in the Barnett Shale, old problems still remain. For example, the ink isn’t even dry on Fort Worth’s new gas drilling ordinance, but some its flaws are already being exposed.

For instance, Chesapeake Energy received a single-well permit from the Texas Railroad Commission on Dec. 22 for the so-called Merrimac Site, which could also be called the Days Inn Site or the Ol' South Pancake House Site or the Trinity Trail Site for that matter. That’s because it’s right in the middle of a burgeoning retail, dining and office area, not to mention the city’s premier jogging and biking path.

Although the map viewer on the Railroad Commission website puts the well site smack dab in the middle of the Trinity River, a source told me that the actual site is the former Days Inn location behind the former Denny’s location. Both the hotel and the restaurant have recently been razed.

This site explains some of Chesapeake’s fervent lobbying in the waning days of the Gas Drilling Task Force last year. The definition of protected use, not to mention the lack of protections for the Trinity Trails, suddenly seems quite important given this site’s location. Also, say bye-bye to “high impact,” the nomenclature du jour is now “protected use.” (An aside: I love how the Task Force got rid of the term “High Impact” and adopted the more neutral term “Gas Well Permit Within 600 Feet of a Protected Use.” Mayor Ken Barr really earned his paycheck on that one.)

Restaurants, shopping and the Trinity Trails are not considered protected uses under the ordinance, but two nearby hotels would fall under protected use (hotels are considered a residence for purposes of the ordinance). However, as the red radius line below shows, neither hotel falls within 300 feet of the site — the no-go zone for any drilling near a protected use.

Though these hotels and other offices, restaurants and business are still within 600 feet of the permit site, it remains unclear whether the city council will still need to approve this site.

The people in the historic homes along the bluff across the river in Mistletoe Heights might be surprised to find out that they will have a perfect view of this site. Even if they aren’t looking at it, they should be able to hear it. How tall would a sound-buffering wall need to be to mitigate the sound? Two-hundred feet? If I lived in one of these very expensive and historic homes, I’d be more than a little pissed. And the guy who is developing the shopping center next door might also be pissed, but since work on that development seems to have stopped, he may be more worried about other things.

So, is this another case of NIMBYism about to break out? Whether it is or not, let’s remember that not all backyards in the Barnett Shale are created equal. If this site were along Carter Avenue in East Fort Worth, Chesapeake could ram this through easily. I’m not sure who lives in these homes, but I’m betting that that the folks on the bluff have a better selection of people to call on their iPhones. It may not matter; the ordinance is a done deal. Even if the local grabs their torches and pitchforks, I’m not sure what they could do.

Another unanswered question about this site is just who stands to have their minerals produced by this well site. This appears to be a site that does serve any existing leaseholders — Mistletoe Heights and Berkeley have already signed with XTO. So who’s left? A leading candidate looks like the city because this site could potentially reach the Botanic Gardens and the Zoo. It’s worth mentioning that it could even get the neighborhoods north and east of TCU that were supposedly to be produced by the TCU site. Is Chesapeake sending a message to TCU? Maybe.

So the game of gas drilling whack-a-mole continues. Fort Worth will deal with an Eighth Avenue or a TCU site, but then months later, a new hot button site will pop up. Shouldn’t there be a comprehensive plan to deal with gas drilling in the urban core of Fort Worth? Shouldn’t the last Gas Drilling Task Force have dealt with that issue?

Should have. But for now, this is the status quo in Fort Worth. Welcome to the New Normal. If it looks a lot like the old one, it may be because nothing’s really changed.

• Staff
• Verified User
• Anonymous