As ExxonMobil’s CEO, it’s Rex
Tillerson’s job to promote the hydraulic fracturing enabling the recent oil and
gas boom, and fight regulatory oversight. The oil company is the
biggest natural gas producer in the U.S., relying on the controversial drilling
technology to extract it.
The exception is when Tillerson’s $5
million property value might be harmed. Tillerson has joined a
lawsuit that cites fracking’s consequences in order to block the construction
of a 160-foot water tower next to his and his wife’s Texas home.
The Wall Street Journal reports the tower would
supply water to a nearby fracking site, and the plaintiffs argue the project
would cause too much noise and traffic from hauling the water from the tower to
the drilling site. The water tower, owned by Cross Timbers Water Supply
Corporation, “will sell water to oil and gas explorers for fracing [sic] shale
formations leading to traffic with heavy trucks on FM 407, creating a noise
nuisance and traffic hazards,” the suit says.
Though Tillerson’s name is on the lawsuit, a lawyer
representing him said his concern is about the devaluation of his property, not
fracking specifically.
When he is acting as Exxon CEO, not a homeowner,
Tillerson has lashed out at fracking critics and proponents of regulation.
“This type of dysfunctional regulation is holding back the American economic
recovery, growth, and global competitiveness,” he said in 2012. Natural gas production “is an old
technology just being applied, integrated with some new technologies,” he said
in another interview. “So the risks are very
manageable.”
In shale regions, less wealthy residents
have protested fracking development for impacts more consequential than noise,
including water contamination and cancer risk. Exxon’s oil
and gas operations and the resulting spills not only sinks property values, but
the spills have leveled homes and destroyed regions.
Exxon, which pays Tillerson a total $40.3 million, is staying out of the legal
tangle. A spokesperson told the WSJ it “has no involvement in the legal
matter.”
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) has formally extended a
welcome to Tillerson to the fracking critic club, with this statement Friday:
I would like to officially welcome Rex to the
‘Society of Citizens Really Enraged When Encircled by Drilling’ (SCREWED). This
select group of everyday citizens has been fighting for years to protect their
property values, the health of their local communities, and the environment. We
are thrilled to have the CEO of a major international oil and gas corporation
join our quickly multiplying ranks.
Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community
Anglo-Celt
Sunday, 13th October, 2013
Sinn Féin Midlands Northwest EU
candidate Matt Carthy expressed his disappointment at the failure of MEPs to
support the move.
“It appears that lobbyists
working on behalf of multinational exploration companies have been successful
in their lobbying efforts to have the EU parliament vote defeated. This is
totally unacceptable and all MEPs have a responsibility to stand up for those
who elected them. Clearly there needs to be a crack-down on such lobbying
activity," said Mr Carthy, without naming either the companies or lobby
groups he suspects of defeating the vote.
“It is beyond belief that a
majority in the European Parliament would vote against such a basic measure as
requiring an Environment Impact Assessment before this controversial measure is
employed," said Mr Carthy.
Tamboran Resources intend to
use the controversial technique to extract gas from shale in Counties Leitrim
and Fermanagh in the coming years. The company has insisted that, if
properly regulated the techique is safe and poses no danger to the environment.
Meanwhile, last week
France's constitutional court upheld a law banning fracking in the
country. All four points raised by Schuepbach Energy in their
challenge against the 2011 ban were dismissed.
Local campaigners opposed to
hydraulic fracturing have pointed to France's stance as an example to be
followed in Ireland.
“The issue of fracking is
causing concern for many communities, particularly in the North West – in
counties such as Leitrim, Sligo and Fermanagh. Real and genuine concerns have
been raised regarding the potential damage to the environment, to tourism and
to the farming sector as a result of this activity.
“While Sinn Féin’s MEP for
the North Martina Anderson voted in favour of Environmental Impact Assessments
being extended to the exploration and extraction of shale gas, the majority of
MEPs failed to support this important move.
"Hydraulic fracturing
involves drilling at a depth below ground water level, a practise which many
experts have contended can cause contamination to drinking water supplies.
There are also serious concerns about the potential damage to farmland affected
by contaminated ground water and to public health from polluted drinking water.
“I welcomed the bill
introduced in the Dáil by my party colleague, Michael Colreavy TD, to ban
fracking and I am calling on others, particularly those from the government
parties, to support this legislation.
“If elected to the European
Parliament I will make it a priority to stand up for communities faced with
fracking.”
Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community
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