In shadow of Texas gas drilling sites, health fears escalate
Signs mark a light hydrocarbon pipeline near a neighborhood in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. The city is home to several oil refineries, including the one in the background of this photo, and is near petrochemical plants and liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities, from which natural gas is increasingly exported to other countries. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
The sun sets behind a natural gas drilling site in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The site, called “Rocking Horse,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of the company’s 33 drill sites in Arlington that have a total of 163 wells, most of them tucked within urban neighborhoods. Arlington sits above the Barnett Shale, a geological formation rich with natural gas that is released by hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Rosalia Tejeda, second from left, plays with her children, from left, son Juscianni Blackeller, 13; Adaliana Gray, 5, and Audrey Gray, 2, in their backyard in Arlington, Texas, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. As Tejeda, 38, has learned more about health risks posed by fracking for natural gas, she has become a vocal opponent of a plan to add more natural gas wells at a site near her home. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A natural gas well is juxtaposed with apartment buildings a few hundred feet away in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. The site, known as “AC-360,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of Total’s 33 well sites in Arlington that contain 163 wells. The company has proposed adding three new wells at this site. Some residents of the predominately Hispanic and Black neighborhood, as well as parents and staff at a daycare near the site, oppose the plan, citing health concerns. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Wanda Vincent prepares to check the temperature of 2-year-old Olivia Grace Charles, who holds the hand of her mother, Guerda Philemond, outside the Mother’s Heart Learning Center in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. Philemond is worried about a proposal to add three new gas wells at a drill site that’s a few hundred feet from the day care and several residences. The fracking site is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A staff member at the Mother’s Heart Learning Center, in background, opens a door to let children inside from the center’s playground in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. The fracking pond in the foreground is part of a natural gas drill site, known as “AC-360,” a few hundred feet from the daycare. The site is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of Total’s 33 well sites in Arlington containing 163 natural gas wells, most of them tucked in urban neighborhoods in Arlington. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Frank and Michelle Meeks stand in their backyard in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, with a fracking site, hidden by “sound walls,” looming behind them. The site, called “Rocking Horse,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies and is just a few hundred feet from their home. Beyond concerns about long-term health risks posed by fracking, the Meeks say they’ve endured frequent drilling noise and vibration in recent months. They and other neighbors also say the drilling has damaged their homes’ foundations. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Wanda Vincent sheds a tear on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, during an interview at the Mother’s Heart Learning Center in Arlington, Texas. Vincent, who owns the day care, is upset about a proposal to add natural gas wells at a nearby fracking site that’s operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. The proposal, which was rejected last year during nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, got initial approval from the city’s planning commission in October, despite continued opposition from Vincent, parents and residents in the neighborhood. They worry about long- and short-term impacts of drilling, particularly on the children in the community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Ranjana Bhandari, executive director of Liveable Arlington, works on a laptop at her home in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. More than a decade ago, Bhandari and her neighbors convinced an oil and gas company to locate a natural gas drill site farther away from their homes. Now she is helping residents in other Arlington neighborhoods, particularly those with fewer resources, to do the same. She has taken particular aim at TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies, which has 33 well sites in Arlington and more in neighboring communities. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Stefan Powdrill, 19, right, sits with his 6-year-old sister, Kahea Street, on the front porch of their home in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Powdrill, who is working to become a firefighter for the city, also has been active in local politics and has spoken at hearings about his opposition to adding more natural gas wells in the city. His family’s home is near two of many well sites in the city, which sits atop what is known as the Barnett Shale, one of the geological formations that is a rich source of natural gas that’s used in this country and, increasingly, shipped overseas. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Pamela Polk sits next to the home she rents in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. A TEP Barnett fracking site, hidden by the fence and trees behind her, sits just a few hundred feet from the house and those of her neighbors, most of them also renters. TEP Barnett is a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. Polk has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and, since moving in a decade ago, said her grandson has developed asthma. She worries that the well site has had an impact on their health. “I’m frustrated,” she said. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A fence surrounds an abandoned playground near a natural gas well site in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The playground at the Cornerstone Baptist Church and school was closed because it is about 400 feet from wells at the site, which is now operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. Church leaders signed a deal with the original well site owners to use the land for drilling and say they have received a “substantial” amount of royalties. A new playground was built about 200 feet to the north of this one, putting it just beyond the 600 feet minimum required by the city of Arlington. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Jan Porter, center, facing stage, and other parishioners at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, sing and celebrate during a morning service on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Porter, a former church elder, says the church and its mission work in the community have benefitted greatly from “substantial” royalties from a natural gas well site on church property, which is now operated by TEP Barnett, an affiliate of French energy giant Total Energies. “It’s enabled us to do ministries that we might not have been able to do,” he said. Among other things, he said the gas royalties have helped support food giveaways and enabled the church to support other congregations. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
While sitting in a car with her husband, Gloria Allen looks at instructions for an asthma inhaler outside a pharmacy in Dallas on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The couple lives near a compressor station for natural gas in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas. Gloria Allen said that, after two years living there, she was diagnosed with asthma. “It’s driving me crazy,” she said of fumes in her neighborhood that often come from the direction of the station. “It’s coming through the fence. I smell it in the house. I’m going to move. I can’t take it.” (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Retiree Patrick Vancooper tends to his garden on a strip of land between an alley and a fence on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, a small municipality that’s tucked within the city of Arlington. Vancooper’s home is near a compressor station for natural gas. Fumes can often be smelled in the neighborhood, depending on which way the wind blows, but he says his neighbors rarely question what it is. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A warning sign marks a natural gas pipeline outside a compressor station on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, a small municipality that’s tucked within the city of Arlington. Compressor stations like this one change the pressure of the natural gas to help move it through the lines. Increasingly, natural gas ends up at facilities on the Gulf Coast where it is converted into liquid natural gas, or LNG, so it can be shipped to Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Natural gas is used to heat homes and for cooking, among other things. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
John Beard drives near a liquid natural gas facility in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. It is one of several LNG facilities along the Gulf Coast. As the United States produces more natural gas, increasingly, it is being exported to Asia, Europe and other places. Beard, head of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, says Black and brown communities like Port Arthur are having to bear much of the risk posed by facilities like these, from explosion to impact on air quality. In addition to LNG facilities, Port Arthur is also surrounded by oil refineries and petrochemical plants. “Port Arthur’s what’s called the American Sacrifice Zone,” Beard said. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A man, center, works at one of several natural gas well sites operated by TEP Barnett in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies, has 33 well sites in Arlington with 163 wells, many of them tucked in urban neighborhoods. This site, called “Rocking Horse,” is next door to medical offices, homes and two daycares. While some residents oppose drilling so close to them, a TEP Barnett spokeswoman said the company operates in a “safe and environmentally responsible manner” and listens to the concerns of the community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Juscianni Blackeller, 13, center, walks with his sisters, Adaliana and Audrey Gray, ages 5 and 2, near their home in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. As their mother, Rosalia Tejeda, has learned more about health risks posed by fracking for natural gas, she has become a vocal opponent of a plan to add more gas wells at a site near their home. “They’re everything I live for. Everything I breathe for,” Tejeda said. “And just the thought of having them suffer any kind of ailment due to something that is possibly in my control, it would I would kill me.” (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Signs mark a light hydrocarbon pipeline near a neighborhood in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. The city is home to several oil refineries, including the one in the background of this photo, and is near petrochemical plants and liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities, from which natural gas is increasingly exported to other countries. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Signs mark a light hydrocarbon pipeline near a neighborhood in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. The city is home to several oil refineries, including the one in the background of this photo, and is near petrochemical plants and liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities, from which natural gas is increasingly exported to other countries. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
The sun sets behind a natural gas drilling site in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The site, called “Rocking Horse,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of the company’s 33 drill sites in Arlington that have a total of 163 wells, most of them tucked within urban neighborhoods. Arlington sits above the Barnett Shale, a geological formation rich with natural gas that is released by hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
The sun sets behind a natural gas drilling site in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The site, called “Rocking Horse,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of the company’s 33 drill sites in Arlington that have a total of 163 wells, most of them tucked within urban neighborhoods. Arlington sits above the Barnett Shale, a geological formation rich with natural gas that is released by hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Rosalia Tejeda, second from left, plays with her children, from left, son Juscianni Blackeller, 13; Adaliana Gray, 5, and Audrey Gray, 2, in their backyard in Arlington, Texas, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. As Tejeda, 38, has learned more about health risks posed by fracking for natural gas, she has become a vocal opponent of a plan to add more natural gas wells at a site near her home. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Rosalia Tejeda, second from left, plays with her children, from left, son Juscianni Blackeller, 13; Adaliana Gray, 5, and Audrey Gray, 2, in their backyard in Arlington, Texas, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. As Tejeda, 38, has learned more about health risks posed by fracking for natural gas, she has become a vocal opponent of a plan to add more natural gas wells at a site near her home. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A natural gas well is juxtaposed with apartment buildings a few hundred feet away in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. The site, known as “AC-360,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of Total’s 33 well sites in Arlington that contain 163 wells. The company has proposed adding three new wells at this site. Some residents of the predominately Hispanic and Black neighborhood, as well as parents and staff at a daycare near the site, oppose the plan, citing health concerns. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A natural gas well is juxtaposed with apartment buildings a few hundred feet away in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. The site, known as “AC-360,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of Total’s 33 well sites in Arlington that contain 163 wells. The company has proposed adding three new wells at this site. Some residents of the predominately Hispanic and Black neighborhood, as well as parents and staff at a daycare near the site, oppose the plan, citing health concerns. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Wanda Vincent prepares to check the temperature of 2-year-old Olivia Grace Charles, who holds the hand of her mother, Guerda Philemond, outside the Mother’s Heart Learning Center in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. Philemond is worried about a proposal to add three new gas wells at a drill site that’s a few hundred feet from the day care and several residences. The fracking site is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Wanda Vincent prepares to check the temperature of 2-year-old Olivia Grace Charles, who holds the hand of her mother, Guerda Philemond, outside the Mother’s Heart Learning Center in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. Philemond is worried about a proposal to add three new gas wells at a drill site that’s a few hundred feet from the day care and several residences. The fracking site is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A staff member at the Mother’s Heart Learning Center, in background, opens a door to let children inside from the center’s playground in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. The fracking pond in the foreground is part of a natural gas drill site, known as “AC-360,” a few hundred feet from the daycare. The site is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of Total’s 33 well sites in Arlington containing 163 natural gas wells, most of them tucked in urban neighborhoods in Arlington. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A staff member at the Mother’s Heart Learning Center, in background, opens a door to let children inside from the center’s playground in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. The fracking pond in the foreground is part of a natural gas drill site, known as “AC-360,” a few hundred feet from the daycare. The site is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. It is one of Total’s 33 well sites in Arlington containing 163 natural gas wells, most of them tucked in urban neighborhoods in Arlington. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Frank and Michelle Meeks stand in their backyard in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, with a fracking site, hidden by “sound walls,” looming behind them. The site, called “Rocking Horse,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies and is just a few hundred feet from their home. Beyond concerns about long-term health risks posed by fracking, the Meeks say they’ve endured frequent drilling noise and vibration in recent months. They and other neighbors also say the drilling has damaged their homes’ foundations. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Frank and Michelle Meeks stand in their backyard in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, with a fracking site, hidden by “sound walls,” looming behind them. The site, called “Rocking Horse,” is operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies and is just a few hundred feet from their home. Beyond concerns about long-term health risks posed by fracking, the Meeks say they’ve endured frequent drilling noise and vibration in recent months. They and other neighbors also say the drilling has damaged their homes’ foundations. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Wanda Vincent sheds a tear on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, during an interview at the Mother’s Heart Learning Center in Arlington, Texas. Vincent, who owns the day care, is upset about a proposal to add natural gas wells at a nearby fracking site that’s operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. The proposal, which was rejected last year during nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, got initial approval from the city’s planning commission in October, despite continued opposition from Vincent, parents and residents in the neighborhood. They worry about long- and short-term impacts of drilling, particularly on the children in the community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Wanda Vincent sheds a tear on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, during an interview at the Mother’s Heart Learning Center in Arlington, Texas. Vincent, who owns the day care, is upset about a proposal to add natural gas wells at a nearby fracking site that’s operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. The proposal, which was rejected last year during nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, got initial approval from the city’s planning commission in October, despite continued opposition from Vincent, parents and residents in the neighborhood. They worry about long- and short-term impacts of drilling, particularly on the children in the community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Ranjana Bhandari, executive director of Liveable Arlington, works on a laptop at her home in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. More than a decade ago, Bhandari and her neighbors convinced an oil and gas company to locate a natural gas drill site farther away from their homes. Now she is helping residents in other Arlington neighborhoods, particularly those with fewer resources, to do the same. She has taken particular aim at TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies, which has 33 well sites in Arlington and more in neighboring communities. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Ranjana Bhandari, executive director of Liveable Arlington, works on a laptop at her home in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. More than a decade ago, Bhandari and her neighbors convinced an oil and gas company to locate a natural gas drill site farther away from their homes. Now she is helping residents in other Arlington neighborhoods, particularly those with fewer resources, to do the same. She has taken particular aim at TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies, which has 33 well sites in Arlington and more in neighboring communities. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Stefan Powdrill, 19, right, sits with his 6-year-old sister, Kahea Street, on the front porch of their home in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Powdrill, who is working to become a firefighter for the city, also has been active in local politics and has spoken at hearings about his opposition to adding more natural gas wells in the city. His family’s home is near two of many well sites in the city, which sits atop what is known as the Barnett Shale, one of the geological formations that is a rich source of natural gas that’s used in this country and, increasingly, shipped overseas. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Stefan Powdrill, 19, right, sits with his 6-year-old sister, Kahea Street, on the front porch of their home in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Powdrill, who is working to become a firefighter for the city, also has been active in local politics and has spoken at hearings about his opposition to adding more natural gas wells in the city. His family’s home is near two of many well sites in the city, which sits atop what is known as the Barnett Shale, one of the geological formations that is a rich source of natural gas that’s used in this country and, increasingly, shipped overseas. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Pamela Polk sits next to the home she rents in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. A TEP Barnett fracking site, hidden by the fence and trees behind her, sits just a few hundred feet from the house and those of her neighbors, most of them also renters. TEP Barnett is a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. Polk has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and, since moving in a decade ago, said her grandson has developed asthma. She worries that the well site has had an impact on their health. “I’m frustrated,” she said. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Pamela Polk sits next to the home she rents in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. A TEP Barnett fracking site, hidden by the fence and trees behind her, sits just a few hundred feet from the house and those of her neighbors, most of them also renters. TEP Barnett is a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. Polk has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and, since moving in a decade ago, said her grandson has developed asthma. She worries that the well site has had an impact on their health. “I’m frustrated,” she said. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A fence surrounds an abandoned playground near a natural gas well site in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The playground at the Cornerstone Baptist Church and school was closed because it is about 400 feet from wells at the site, which is now operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. Church leaders signed a deal with the original well site owners to use the land for drilling and say they have received a “substantial” amount of royalties. A new playground was built about 200 feet to the north of this one, putting it just beyond the 600 feet minimum required by the city of Arlington. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A fence surrounds an abandoned playground near a natural gas well site in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The playground at the Cornerstone Baptist Church and school was closed because it is about 400 feet from wells at the site, which is now operated by TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies. Church leaders signed a deal with the original well site owners to use the land for drilling and say they have received a “substantial” amount of royalties. A new playground was built about 200 feet to the north of this one, putting it just beyond the 600 feet minimum required by the city of Arlington. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Jan Porter, center, facing stage, and other parishioners at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, sing and celebrate during a morning service on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Porter, a former church elder, says the church and its mission work in the community have benefitted greatly from “substantial” royalties from a natural gas well site on church property, which is now operated by TEP Barnett, an affiliate of French energy giant Total Energies. “It’s enabled us to do ministries that we might not have been able to do,” he said. Among other things, he said the gas royalties have helped support food giveaways and enabled the church to support other congregations. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Jan Porter, center, facing stage, and other parishioners at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, sing and celebrate during a morning service on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Porter, a former church elder, says the church and its mission work in the community have benefitted greatly from “substantial” royalties from a natural gas well site on church property, which is now operated by TEP Barnett, an affiliate of French energy giant Total Energies. “It’s enabled us to do ministries that we might not have been able to do,” he said. Among other things, he said the gas royalties have helped support food giveaways and enabled the church to support other congregations. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
While sitting in a car with her husband, Gloria Allen looks at instructions for an asthma inhaler outside a pharmacy in Dallas on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The couple lives near a compressor station for natural gas in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas. Gloria Allen said that, after two years living there, she was diagnosed with asthma. “It’s driving me crazy,” she said of fumes in her neighborhood that often come from the direction of the station. “It’s coming through the fence. I smell it in the house. I’m going to move. I can’t take it.” (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
While sitting in a car with her husband, Gloria Allen looks at instructions for an asthma inhaler outside a pharmacy in Dallas on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The couple lives near a compressor station for natural gas in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas. Gloria Allen said that, after two years living there, she was diagnosed with asthma. “It’s driving me crazy,” she said of fumes in her neighborhood that often come from the direction of the station. “It’s coming through the fence. I smell it in the house. I’m going to move. I can’t take it.” (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Retiree Patrick Vancooper tends to his garden on a strip of land between an alley and a fence on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, a small municipality that’s tucked within the city of Arlington. Vancooper’s home is near a compressor station for natural gas. Fumes can often be smelled in the neighborhood, depending on which way the wind blows, but he says his neighbors rarely question what it is. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Retiree Patrick Vancooper tends to his garden on a strip of land between an alley and a fence on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, a small municipality that’s tucked within the city of Arlington. Vancooper’s home is near a compressor station for natural gas. Fumes can often be smelled in the neighborhood, depending on which way the wind blows, but he says his neighbors rarely question what it is. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A warning sign marks a natural gas pipeline outside a compressor station on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, a small municipality that’s tucked within the city of Arlington. Compressor stations like this one change the pressure of the natural gas to help move it through the lines. Increasingly, natural gas ends up at facilities on the Gulf Coast where it is converted into liquid natural gas, or LNG, so it can be shipped to Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Natural gas is used to heat homes and for cooking, among other things. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A warning sign marks a natural gas pipeline outside a compressor station on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, a small municipality that’s tucked within the city of Arlington. Compressor stations like this one change the pressure of the natural gas to help move it through the lines. Increasingly, natural gas ends up at facilities on the Gulf Coast where it is converted into liquid natural gas, or LNG, so it can be shipped to Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Natural gas is used to heat homes and for cooking, among other things. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
John Beard drives near a liquid natural gas facility in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. It is one of several LNG facilities along the Gulf Coast. As the United States produces more natural gas, increasingly, it is being exported to Asia, Europe and other places. Beard, head of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, says Black and brown communities like Port Arthur are having to bear much of the risk posed by facilities like these, from explosion to impact on air quality. In addition to LNG facilities, Port Arthur is also surrounded by oil refineries and petrochemical plants. “Port Arthur’s what’s called the American Sacrifice Zone,” Beard said. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
John Beard drives near a liquid natural gas facility in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. It is one of several LNG facilities along the Gulf Coast. As the United States produces more natural gas, increasingly, it is being exported to Asia, Europe and other places. Beard, head of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, says Black and brown communities like Port Arthur are having to bear much of the risk posed by facilities like these, from explosion to impact on air quality. In addition to LNG facilities, Port Arthur is also surrounded by oil refineries and petrochemical plants. “Port Arthur’s what’s called the American Sacrifice Zone,” Beard said. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A man, center, works at one of several natural gas well sites operated by TEP Barnett in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies, has 33 well sites in Arlington with 163 wells, many of them tucked in urban neighborhoods. This site, called “Rocking Horse,” is next door to medical offices, homes and two daycares. While some residents oppose drilling so close to them, a TEP Barnett spokeswoman said the company operates in a “safe and environmentally responsible manner” and listens to the concerns of the community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A man, center, works at one of several natural gas well sites operated by TEP Barnett in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. TEP Barnett, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total Energies, has 33 well sites in Arlington with 163 wells, many of them tucked in urban neighborhoods. This site, called “Rocking Horse,” is next door to medical offices, homes and two daycares. While some residents oppose drilling so close to them, a TEP Barnett spokeswoman said the company operates in a “safe and environmentally responsible manner” and listens to the concerns of the community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Juscianni Blackeller, 13, center, walks with his sisters, Adaliana and Audrey Gray, ages 5 and 2, near their home in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. As their mother, Rosalia Tejeda, has learned more about health risks posed by fracking for natural gas, she has become a vocal opponent of a plan to add more gas wells at a site near their home. “They’re everything I live for. Everything I breathe for,” Tejeda said. “And just the thought of having them suffer any kind of ailment due to something that is possibly in my control, it would I would kill me.” (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
Juscianni Blackeller, 13, center, walks with his sisters, Adaliana and Audrey Gray, ages 5 and 2, near their home in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. As their mother, Rosalia Tejeda, has learned more about health risks posed by fracking for natural gas, she has become a vocal opponent of a plan to add more gas wells at a site near their home. “They’re everything I live for. Everything I breathe for,” Tejeda said. “And just the thought of having them suffer any kind of ailment due to something that is possibly in my control, it would I would kill me.” (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — At a playground outside a North Texas day care, giggling preschoolers chase each other into a playhouse. Toddlers scoot by on tricycles.
Just uphill, Total Energies is pumping for natural gas. The French energy giant wants to drill three new wells on the property next to Mother’s Heart Learning Center, which serves mainly Black and Latino children. The wells would lie about 600 feet from where the children play.
The prospect is raising fears among families and the surrounding community. Living too close to drilling sites has been linked to a range of health risks from asthma to neurological and developmental disorders. And while some states require energy companies to drill farther from day cares and homes, Texas has made it difficult for localities to fight back.
On Tuesday night, the Arlington City Council voted 5-4 to approve Total’s latest drilling request, with expected final approval in the weeks to come. Last year, the council denied Total’s request at a time when Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s murder by police led many American communities to take a deeper look at racial disparities. But with some turnover on the City Council, many residents worried Total would succeed this time.
“I’m trying to protect my little one,” said Guerda Philemond, whose 2-year-old daughter attends the day care. “There’s a lot of land, empty space they can drill. It doesn’t have to be in the back yard of a day care.”
Total declined a request for an interview, but in a statement said it has operated near Mother’s Heart for more than a decade without any safety concerns expressed by the City of Arlington.
Asked by a council member if he would send his own children to the day care next to the drilling site, Total spokesman Kevin Strawser said he would. “I’m very comfortable with what we do and how we do it,” he said.
The clash in Arlington comes as world leaders pledge to burn less fossil fuel and transition to cleaner energy. Yet the world’s reliance on natural gas is growing, not declining.
As a result, there will likely be more drilling in Arlington and other communities. And children who spend time near drilling sites or natural gas distribution centers — in neighborhoods that critics call “sacrifice zones” — may face a growing risk of developing neurological or learning problems. Scientific studies have found that the public health risks associated with these sites include cancers, asthma, respiratory diseases, rashes, heart problems and mental health disorders.
Many of the wells Total has drilled in Arlington are near Latino and Black or low-income communities, often just a few hundred feet from homes. A statistical analysis by The Associated Press of the locations of wells Total operates in Arlington shows that their density is higher in neighborhoods that many people of color call home.
Asked about that finding, Total did not respond directly but said its “decisions on future drilling are driven by the geological data.”
“America is segregated, and so is pollution,” said Robert Bullard, director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University. “The dirty industries, and what planners call locally unwanted land uses, oftentimes followed the path of least resistance. Historically, that’s been poor communities and communities of color.”
At the day care, owner Wanda Vincent gathered signatures to petition the City Council to reject Total’s drilling request. She worries that the political winds in Arlington have shifted and the council will approve Total’s new request.
“The world was dealing with what happened with George Floyd,” she said. “The meeting was emotional, just listening to the speakers that were talking and then sharing their hearts and saying, ‘Well, we want to do more. We want to, you know, racially do better.’ And I was encouraged. But you know what? Nothing has really changed since then.”
Some states have acted to force fracking away from residents. Colorado last year required new wells to be drilled at least 2,000 feet from homes and schools. California has proposed a limit of 3,200 feet.
In Arlington, drilling is supposed to occur no closer than 600 feet from day care centers or homes. But companies can apply for a waiver from the City Council to drill as close as 300 feet.
France, Total’s home country, bans fracking, but it’s largely symbolic because no meaningful oil or gas supplies exist there. So Total, one of the world’s largest players in natural gas, drills in 27 other countries. It turns much of that gas into liquid, then ships it, trades it and re-gasifies it at LNG terminals worldwide.
The gas wells next to Mother’s Heart represent a tiny fraction of Total’s global operations. Yet the company holds tight to its plans to drill there despite the community’s resistance.
In Arlington, companies that are rejected for a drilling permit may reapply after a year. Several Arlington council members said they fear litigation if they don’t allow the drilling, because a Texas law bars localities from banning, limiting or even regulating oil or gas operations except in limited circumstances.
“Nobody should have a production ban unless they have a consumption ban, because it has made places like Arlington extraction colonies for countries like France, and they have shifted the environmental toll, the human toll, to us,” said Ranjana Bhandari, director of Liveable Arlington, the group leading the opposition to Total’s drilling plans.
Total has drilled closer to population centers in the Barnett Shale than have other companies over the past eight years, according to S&P Global Platts.
Some in Arlington have benefited from drilling. “It’s enabled us to do ministries that we might not have been able to do,” said Jan Porter, a former elder at Cornerstone Baptist Church, which collects royalties by allowing Total to drill on its land.
Others fear the outcome.
Rosalia Tejeda, who lives with her three children near the drill site where the three new wells were approved, wasn’t looking forward to telling her 13-year-old son about the outcome of the vote.
“It’s sad that I have to go home and tell him that, yet again, they’re not a priority,” she said tearfully. “I was hoping for my faith in humanity to be revived and it’s not.”
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AP staffers Angeliki Kastanis in Los Angeles and Francois Duckett in New York contributed to this report.