Before energy companies descended on Arlington, the sprawling land behind Phil Kabbakoff’ s house was decorated with oak trees. When the company Chesapeake Energy arrived in his neighborhood, they weree leveled and reduced to kindling. Now, a towering drill rig owned by TotalEnergies looms behind the 84‐year‐old’ s home in their place.
Kabbakoff resides in the Glen Springs subdivision of southwest Arlington, the same neighborhood where Bunton’ s grandchildren developed respiratory illnesses.
“ A lot of these houses now are leased, and so people come and go, and we don’ t know who they are,” he said.“ We used to know everybody on the street.”
Like other residents, he was upset that more gas wells were installed by Mother’ s Heart.“ We were up in arms about it all the way around,” he said.
While Kabbakoff would like to seee sustained changes made to fracking practices in the city, he believes that Arlington elected officials will only continue to value the interests of gas companies despite protest.
“ They’ re never going to change, not this council,” he said.“ They don’ t know anything about it. Nobody’ s researched it. They could care less. They know they make money from it, and that’ s all they’ re worried about
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‘ Sacrifice zones are safe spaces for polluters’
A fracking site sits approximately five miles from Ranjana Bhandari’ s home in Arlington, Texas. Residents say nearby drilling activity raises concerns about potential impacts on children’ s health.( NITASHIA JOHNSON FOR THE 19TH)