A natural gas company received preliminary approval from Arlington city leaders to add new gas wells after receiving the green light earlier this year to break ground on a controversial drill site.
In their Aug. 5 meeting, City Council members voted unanimously in favor of French oil and gas conglomerate TotalEnergies’ request to amend their permit to add four new gas wells at the company’s drill site at 3031 E. Arkansas Lane.
Two active gas wells are currently at the site, following approval in January 2010 for the company to use the location as a drilling zone, according to city documents.
Drill sites must be at least 600 feet from residential and commercial property, according to a city ordinance. The Arkansas Lane drill pad sits about 608 feet from a church and 4,700 feet from the nearest school, Adams Elementary. City documents also show Brantley Hinshaw Park is about 5,300 feet away from the zone, while a Grand Prairie neighborhood is about 800 feet southwest.
Rogelio Meixuerio, a member of environmental advocacy group Sunrise Tarrant, said in Spanish that, if council members approve the new gas wells, he advises them to speak with residents who live near the site to inform them of the effects of methane and oil fracking.
“Fracking is not just simply what gives us oil and gas to build and grow as a city,” said Meixuerio. “Fracking also brings us health problems.”
He pointed to methane and oil fracking as a driving source of poor air quality in the region.
“There’s always something we can do. I’ve learned about how we can limit, prevent some of this pollution happening around fracking,” said Meixuerio.
What is methane?
Methane is a greenhouse gas emitted from a variety of human activity and natural sources. Human-induced emissions include landfills, oil and natural gas production, agricultural activity, coal mining, combustion, wastewater treatment and other industrial operations, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, making up 11% of global emissions. Greenhouse gases can remain in the atmosphere from a few years to thousands of years. These gases make the planet warmer and thicken the Earth’s “atmospheric blanket”, according to the EPA.
Stacey Melo, a fellow member of Sunrise Tarrant, criticized Arlington officials’ history of approving fracking in the city.
“We need to make (TotalEnergies) pay more than just royalties,” said Melo. “They need to be paying for every single toxic emission they have ever put into Arlington residents’ air because right now we are paying with our lives.”
TotalEnergies spokesperson Leslie Garvis said the company conducts preliminary reviews at its drill sites to identify distances between the company and residential and commercial properties.
The company has maintained a safe record of operation and has not received complaints at its Arkansas Lane site, Garvis added.
At an Arlington City Council Aug. 5, 2025 meeting, Sunrise Tarrant member Stacey Melo spoke in opposition of the four new gas wells TotalEnergies is seeking to add to its drill site at 3031 E. Arkansas Lane. (Nicole Lopez | Fort Worth)
Before public comment, Mayor Jim Ross said Texas’ 2015 Natural Resource Code limits the city’s authority on the regulation and enforcement of oil and gas operations. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Railroad Commission of Texas and the EPA are the only entities with authority over oil and gas activity as it affects air quality and public health, per state law.
“City Council cannot and will not make decisions on factors outside of its lawful jurisdiction,” Ross said.
The proposal to add new wells comes after TotalEnergies received approval from Council members in January to drill 10 new gas wells at 2020 S. Watson Road in east Arlington, less than a mile from the day care facility The Mother’s Heart Learning Center. The move marked the first natural gas drilling site to break ground in Arlington in 12 years.
The east Arlington drill site drew criticism from several residents and environmental advocates at the January meeting, citing the risk of exposing children and families to harmful chemicals.
Council members previously denied TotalEnergies’ request to drill near the day care in 2020 and 2022. The 2022 vote from council members was made after being confronted with a lawsuit from environmental advocacy group Liveable Arlington.
The suit accused Ross and council members of not complying with the city’s gas ordinance, endangering children’s health and discriminating against communities of color living near natural gas operations.
Council members are scheduled to make their second and final vote on the proposed gas wells in an Aug. 26 meeting.
Nicole Lopez is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Related
Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.
Republish This Story
Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.