On December 11, 2013, the Dallas City Council adopted revisions to the gas drilling and production
regulations of the Dallas Development Code. In a 9 to 6 vote, the Council
approved regulations that require pad sites to be at least 1,500 feet from
homes, schools, churches, daycare centers, hospitals, nursing homes, and other
protected property. Individual drilling permits may qualify for an
exception to the 1,500 feet, but any exception must be approved by two-thirds
of the Council. Also, drilling on park land would be allowed if certain
conditions are met and if the state Parks and Wildlife Department gives the
required approval.
The regulations contain provisions concerning neighborhood
meeting requirements, baseline sampling and testing of air, soil , noise and
water, limitations on hours of operation, spill prevention and tracking, site
maintenance, emissions, and materials management. All Material Safety
Data Sheets (MSDS) for materials stored on site must be kept on site and
submitted to the gas inspector. An inventory statement identifying the quantities,
volumes and concentrations of all hazardous materials and chemicals stored or
used at the operation site must be provided to the city.
For hydraulic fracturing, the operator must post a sign at
the main gate and send written notification to each property owner and each
registered neighborhood association within 1,500 feet of the well site at
least 10 days before fracturing begins. The operator must add
non-radioactive tracing or tagging additives into all fracturing fluids used at
the site. For each site, the fracturing fluid non-radioactive tracing or
tagging additives must be unique for each operation site.
