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Jun 23, 2009 4:50 pm US/Central
High-Impact Gas Wells Are New Concern In Cleburne
CLEBURNE (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
For weeks, Cleburne City Hall dealt with worries about a string of rare earthquakes.
Now city leaders are coping with another new complaint: natural gas wells being drilled practically in people's backyards.
Chris Clark lives about 100 yards from the city's first high-impact gas well.
"I never heard anything," he said. "I had no idea it was coming in. In a matter of days it was up."
And he's not happy about it.
"It's annoying," he said. "They stay on it all night. They're on it 24-7."
Unlike other wells on the edge of town, Cleburne's latest well towers over homes right next door. It also has a private school in its shadow.
There are complaints about the noise and worries about the impact of truck traffic.
"This is not what you've seen driving down the road," said City Manager Chester Nolen. "This is one that's going to be in your backyard virtually."
Cleburne has laid down some ground rules for the wells. An extra tall noise barrier is required. Truck traffic is limited to daytime hours and 15 miles per hour. And the city steps in when there are complaints.
"Apparantly we had some truck traffic and it was coming in a little bit early in the morning and disturbing some of the residents," said Nolen. "Those are the kinds of things we're trying to work with."
But in a town where the rumblings before the newest wells were earthquakes, there's one worry the city can't address yet.
"Its an all night thing," said Jordan Bivins, who lives near the gas well. "And those earthquakes we've been having? I think you can blame it on them because they're taking out the water and not putting it back."
The city is utilizing the help of SMU researchers who've placed seismographs in the area to determine the source of the earthquakes. But since there hasn't been another earthquake for researchers to study, no one has been able to pinpoint where the quakes originated.
Cleburne residents with concerns about the high-impact wells can call Chesapeake Energy's Cleburne office at 817-556-5825, or the Cleburne City Manager at 817-645-0901.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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