rules could have prevented damage to and increased production in Venice and other urban oil fields simply by spreading derricks out.”3 Regions that allow too many oil rigs in a concentrated space tend to see multiplied negative impacts on air and water quality, while these are diluted in places that see scattered drills.
Still other studies completely contradict these findings; for example, Plos ONE reports dire health-impacts. The difference here is that it focused on “unconventional gas and oil drilling (UGOD), including hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’” that extracts “from rock formations.” The term “fracking” has been in the news in the last decade because of similar results appearing in other studies. Thus, if my local oil drillers are not fracking, this would alleviate the bulk of my health concerns. The details about the method to be used was not specified in the permit application, nor were they given during questioning. There were mentions of water contamination measures and the pumping of water into the wells, so it seems likely that the process is similar to if not identical to fracking. It is very likely that fracking is involved in Quanah because Texas is known for its “tight-oil” production techniques that pump some of these toxic chemicals into the ground. The study found that contaminants from such fracking include:
Naturally occurring radioactive materials, toxic organics and metals that may enter ground water, contaminating water supplies especially if leakage occurs from casement failure or from holding ponds for waste water. Other toxicants and volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene or radionuclides, have been seen in ground waters impacted by UGOD spills or surface waters receiving UGOD-related waste water… Exhaust produced by diesel trucks and off-site diesel engines, as well as emissions from other UGOD activities (e.g., venting, flaring, compressor stations, etc.) may also affect local air quality with potential impact on health.4
All these contaminates caused higher rates of visits to cardiology, neurology, dermatology, oncology and urology testing facilities in the zip codes where UGOD was employed. These findings are cause for justified fear. One difference between this study in Pennsylvania and this part of Texas is that they have 200-400 wells per county, while there are only around twenty wells in Quanah, and only a few of them have actually produced oil.
I have been petitioning Quanah to edit their zoning laws to officially allow for the building of tiny houses (their guidelines currently have an 800-foot minimum, but in reality, they allow for houses of any size to be built). I have been arguing that this would allow for new developments to come to this area, thereby boosting the economy. New oil wells certainly achieve some new development in this area, so are the environmental damages significant enough to counter them? The problem for me is the uncertainty. Is it safe for me to live here; is it a good idea for me to advocate for others to build homes here? If the latest water and air tests in Quanah are to be trusted; then, yes, this is a safe place to live. But there was a dark cloud about that City Council meeting that suggested something nefarious. Oil drilling can go catastrophically wrong, as it has in the Gulf Coast Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 that collapsed the Gulf’s tourism, fishing and other industries. So, is the company drilling in Quanah taking this responsibility too lightly?
During the Palaura permit discussion in Quanah a couple of members of the Council also raised some concerns about the drilling plans. Mayor Pro-tem Nell Looper (in charge of Parks and the Airport, who works as the city’s lead librarian), asked: “Kids are kids; they can climb on trees. So, to keep them safe, can the areas where you are drilling be barred off?” The representatives of Palaura (who refused to give me their names) agreed to these terms. Then a younger, dark-haired, male Councilperson asked that they fix the roads around the drill sites, and added, “I would like to ask you to use City water” as opposed to well water. The representative replied: “We plan to do that.” I have been proposing applying for additional grants to fix Quanah’s unfinished roads and rehabilitating dilapidated buildings. It would obviously be a positive step for the city if it is cleaned up as a result of this oil activity. The city would also see a profit from their utilization of its water supply.
The oldest oil administrator at the meeting (who told me he did some missionary work in Russia, and seemed to be the lead) replied to my questions about fracking by stating: “We wrap the drills in protective coating. It’s very clean.” I then read from a study that stated that water quality might be impacted by oil drilling to which a tall, rotund administrator with a spacious and polished white truck replied: “I live here too; why would I want to damage the water? I have to drink it too.” Palaura’s headquarters is in Dallas, while they are a subsidiary of a company located in Cisco. It would have helped if these execs explained who they were, but as it stands it is hard to believe that any of them can live in Quanah since their public information does not show any existing successful wells in this area. This discrepancy makes it difficult to believe other statements made by the execs, including the main claim that they are not going to be fracking.