Southlake Texas Residents Voice Fracking Concerns

Hydraulic fracking is a process used by oil and natural gas companies to drill for fossil fuels more efficiently. Some sources believe the hydraulic fracking process is linked to Texas water supply contamination and recent Texas earth quakes.

Reportedly, the residents of Southlake, Texas have taken notice of XTO Energy's two drilling applications and the transportation pipelines near the city. Sources say on March 29, the city council unanimously denied a permit for a drill site near Brumlow Avenue and Texas 26 but decided to allow XTO Energy to reapply later this year. The other drill site, on the Milner Ranch at 651 E. Highland St., was narrowly approved in February and has not started drilling.

According to reports, Southlake residents are concerned because both of XTO's drilling requests included changes to the city ordinances. Residents around the approved drilling site say the biggest reason they signed gas leases in 2008 was because of Southlake's strict drilling regulations.

One resident was quoted as saying, "We took money knowing we had this strong ordinance that we thought was going to protect us, and now they want us to take these additional risks."

According to recent reports, the up-scale city of Southlake, Texas has been placed on alert following the posting of signs by residents expressing their concern about hydraulic fracking. City authorities say the signs being posted by residents contain phrases like "Get The Frack Out Of Here" and "Don't Frack With Me."

Reportedly, the town hall of Southlake has been flooded with complaints from people who find the signs offensive. Sources say the Southlake city council will not attempt to regulate the content of the signs as the speech is protected by the First Amendment.