We have learned that Total has applied a third time, after two denials, for a permit to create a brand new padsite and drill and hydraulically fracture 10 gas wells right next to their AC360 site in East Arlington.

There are hundreds of rental apartments and several dozen homes in close proximity to the proposed new drill site. Three elementary schools - Johns, Adams, and the newly rebuilt Thornton are close by as well.

The surrounding community faces many challenges - with 66% living below federal poverty levels according to US Census data and 96% being people of color. With a large number of young families, 14% of the residents there are children under five. Moreover, in a half-mile radius around the site, Air Toxics Cancer Risk already ranges from 97 to 99th percentile nationally according to EPA data.

An award-winning Early Childhood Learning Center, the Mother’s Heart, that has served babies as young as six weeks old to five years and older children in afterschool programs for more than two decades, is next door to the currently operating AC360 site. If this new drill site is approved, Mother's Heart and the surrounding community will lie downwind of not one, but two drill sites.

In June 2020 and again in January 2022, this council listened to community members’ concerns and the science about the pollution, public health risks, and harms to very young children associated with fracking, before voting to deny Total’s application at this site.

Drilling and operating gas wells in residential neighborhoods exposes our young children to dangerous toxic emissions linked to potential health risks, including:
(1) Higher rates of childhood asthma and leukemia according to a 2022 Yale University study
(2) Elevated frequency of hospitalization of children with asthma, as documented by a 2020 study in Texas
(3) Increased odds of preterm births, low birth weight, birth defects, and congenital heart disease at distances up to two miles from drill sites

More specifically, Tarrant County already has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the nation with estimates that between 1 in 5 and 1 in 4 children suffer from the disease.

The health risks that children, in particular, face due to fracking pollution are profound. The toxic agents used in fracking are known to interfere with childhood brain development. Moreover, since children have higher breathing rates, they breathe in more toxics per pound of body weight than adults when exposed to air contaminants. If the drilling permits were to be approved, children would unknowingly breathe in alarming levels of pollutants as they sit in classrooms for storytime and even more while they run around carefree on the playground. Moreover, noise from drilling and fracking operations, which have been a major complaint during Total’s operations elsewhere in the city, would be extremely stressful for little children.

No one is safe from the dangers of fracking pollution, which impact our health, quality of life, and personal finances. According to a Clean Air Task Force report, oil and gas pollution causes over 45,000 asthma attacks per year in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Several studies have shown that communities living near fracking sites have Elevated rates of cardiac disease and related hospitalizations as well as higher all-cause mortality.

In addition, emissions from fracking are linked to an increase in ground-level ozone, which is linked to higher mortality from lung and heart disease. The Dallas/Fort Worth region has not been in compliance with federal ozone standards for decades and Tarrant County again received an “F” from the American Lung Association for air quality this year.

Methane emissions from fracking are a significant driver of climate breakdown in the first 20 years after they are emitted. Climate change is already causing more extreme heat days and severe storms with billions of dollars in losses, higher insurance premiums, and large increases in electric bills for Arlington residents.

Arlington neighborhoods where Total has drilled new wells in the last three years have all reported air pollution, strong chemical odors and illnesses, property damage, and severe noise pollution. This is Total’s third such fracking expansion in Arlington this year with new gas wells being drilled at many other sites. Increasing gas well density amplifies health effects and related economic impacts for our community.

Fracking creates avoidable health risks for us all, though especially the most vulnerable in Arlington. Studies have revealed that the dangerous chemicals that escape during the fracking process pose serious health risks for those exposed at distances much greater than a mile, especially for children, pregnant women and fetuses, the elderly, and the sick.

With over 30,000 Arlington children attending public school, and almost 8,000 infants and toddlers attending preschool near drilling sites, expanding gas wells near Arlington children will only increase the danger to their health, their futures, and the ability of our community to thrive.

With a NO vote you can protect Arlington's children from the health risks associated with gas well drilling and fracking. We strongly urge you to vote NO to Total and YES to protecting the spaces where Arlington’s children live, learn, and play.

Thank you for your consideration.