
Liveable Arlington board member Ingrid Kelley, second from right, along with volunteers from Greenpeace Paris and Stop Total, protested in front of Total Energies headquarters in Paris, France on Friday. Photo courtesy of Liveable Arlington.
Sept. 13, 2024
Liveable Arlington has stood up to Total Energies in dozens of city council meetings since the France-based energy giant took over Chesapeake’s natural gas interests in North Texas in 2016.
On Friday, the local fracking watchdog took their grievances to Total's doorstep with a protest in front of Total's headquarters in Paris, France.
A half dozen volunteers from Greenpeace Paris and Stop Total joined the Liveable Arlington demonstration against the company’s expanding fracking operations in Arlington.
“Thanks to Total Energies, Arlington is now one of the largest fracked urban areas in America,” noted Ranjana Bhandari, executive director of Liveable Arlington. “As fracked wells from Total continue to increase in our community, the company continues to put more families at risk. Many of their approximately 30 drill sites are sited dangerously close, sometimes as little as 300 feet from daycares and homes.”
Liveable Arlington board member and registered nurse Ingrid Kelley joined the Parisian protest.
“Drilling in urban areas should not be allowed," said Kelley. “Emissions from fracking are linked to higher rates of asthma, birth defects, childhood cancers such as leukemia, heart disease and many other health issues. Today we proudly join hands with our friends in France, where fracking is banned, to stand up to the ongoing operations of this international energy giant. Total’s newest drilling plans will harm many toddlers, including my own grandson, who attends a preschool very close to and downwind of these proposed 10 wells.”
Liveable Arlington board member Ingrid Kelley reads a statement in in front of Total Energies headquarters in Paris, France on Friday, to protest Total’s expansion of drilling Arlington, Texas. Video courtesy of Liveable Arlington.
Fabrice Long from Greenpeace Paris added "The French oil and gas major, TotalEnergies, is investing in American shale gas to make more and more profits. It seems essential to us to stand with the local populations impacted by this dangerous extraction, which has rightly been banned in France. We are also here to denounce the French government's hypocrisy on the issue."
BIG FRACKER
There are nearly 200 gas wells operated by Total at 25 sites in Arlington, with new wells being added in residential neighborhoods every few months. Total is by far the biggest fracker in the city with five other operators overseeing wells at 20 additional sites.
Earthworks estimates that more than 400,000 North Texans live within a half-mile radius of the wells owned and operated by TEEP Barnett, a subsidiary of Total.
According to Liveable Arlington, more than half of Arlington’s school age children (about 30,000) attend public school, and about 8,000 day care attendees go to daycare within a half mile radius of active gas well production. 85 percent of those students living near these urban drill sites are children of color. More than two-thirds live in poverty.
Recently, Total has applied for a new drill site in East Arlington near three elementary schools and an early childhood learning center.
“This is the third time that Total has tried to add gas wells to the site behind Mother’s Heart Learning Center,” Bhandari said.
In 2020 and 2022, Liveable Arlington led campaigns that squelched Total's plans to expand drilling at the AC360 site, garnering national media coverage.
As many as 95 percent of the residents in the surrounding community are people of color, with young families, who already face an Air Toxics Cancer Risk in the 97th percentile nationally, according to Bhandari.
“A new drill site here is a serious environmental injustice," Bhandari said. "Currently, Total plans to drill 10 new wells on the site. However, once the new drill site is approved by the Arlington City Council, Total will be allowed to drill additional wells at the site without any public notification.”
RELATED ARTICLES
Arlington gas well study reveals invisible emissions
Arlington denies gas well permit after activists file lawsuit
New gas wells denied in east Arlington
Stay up to date on everything green in North Texas, including the latest news and events! Sign up for the weekly Green Source DFW Newsletter! Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. Also check out our new podcast The Texas Green Report, available on your favorite podcast app.