The people of Denton, Texas voted decisively (59 to 41) to ban fracking within city limits, but the state of Texas says it doesn’t care and will continue issuing permits for fracking inside Denton.
Texas Railroad Commission Chairwoman Christi Craddick told the Dallas Morning News that she would continue giving permits to oil and gas companies seeking to frack in Denton. Craddick asserted she could override the ban because Denton does not have authority over drilling activity in the state. [...]
“It’s my job to give permits, not Denton’s,” Craddick said. “We’re going to continue permitting up there because that’s my job.”
While the Railroad Commission chairwoman asserts that the city does not have the authority to ban fracking within city limits, the state of Texas is apparently taking the matter seriously because the state has filed a lawsuit against the city.
According to ThinkProgress, city residents voted to ban fracking because their air is polluted and because of the increase in earthquakes (really) caused by fracking.
Why won’t the big state government allow the people of Denton to save themselves from having their land turned into an uninhabitable wasteland?