Lake Lewisville- Denton Record-Chronicle
Bureau of Land Management Cancels Proposal to Lease Public Land in Lake Lewisville to Fracking
Denton, TX— The Bureau of Land Management has withdrawn oil and gas leases that would have allowed fracking under Lake Lewisville, the drinking water supply for Dallas, Denton and other Texas cities.
The announcement, posted on the bureau’s website, comes after local residents, water officials and elected officials filed written protests raising concerns about potential water contamination from fracking under the lake and the failure of Lewisville Dam.
The bureau plans to continue its auction of oil and gas leases on public land near Lake Somerville in central Texas. This would allow oil and gas companies to use directional drilling to frack under Lake Somerville, the water supply for Brenham, Texas. The public protest period closes July 1.
Representative Michelle Beckley, the State Representative for Texas House District 65, which encompasses the earthen dam of Lake Lewisville, as well as several cities that depend upon the lake for water supplies and recreation, released this statement:
“What a success! I want to thank everyone for getting involved, sharing this story, and writing letters of protest. You matter – you making your voice heard matters, or else they would not have pulled the parcel under Lake Lewisville after only 3 days of public comment. This is just evidence that every person can make a difference in their community.”
Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter’s Conservation Director and Interim Director Cyrus Reed released the following statement:
“We appreciate the efforts by the City of Denton, Dallas Water Utilities and others to put pressure on BLM to cancel the proposed leasing of Lewisville Lake, and by environmental organizations and citizens. Still, BLM should never have proposed fracking the lands under the lake in the first place, and they are still proposing to frack areas below Lake Somerville, an important water supply, recreation and state park. We will continue to work to get BLM to also withdraw consideration of leasing these lands for dangerous fracking of oil and gas.”
Taylor McKinnon, a campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, released this statement:
“Fracking pollution and earthquakes could inflict serious damage to Lake Lewisville and Lake Somerville, their dams and areas downstream,” said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Bureau of Land Management should cancel the rest of the lease sale. This is a reckless policy that risks public safety for fossil-fuel industry profits."
Contact:
Cyrus Reed, Sierra Club, cyrus.reed@sierraclub.org, (512) 740-4086
Courtney Naquin, Sierra Club, courtney.naquin@sierraclub.org, (409) 779-7949
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414,
tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org