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Council appoints gas advisory board
By Chris Roark, croark@acnpapers.com
The Flower Mound Town Council voted 4-0 Tuesday to appoint its 12-member oil and gas advisory board.
Council member Mike Wallace was not present.
The council aimed to have a board composed of eight members who are property owners in Flower Mound, divided between mineral right owners and surface right owners, as well as four members who are mineral lessors, independent experts and a neutral third party.
The members of the board include mediator Virginia Moore, who is a local attorney, and mineral owners Eric Jellison and Tammy Vajda. In addition, there are residents who town officials had not confirmed if they are mineral owners, and they are: Dennis McKaige, Al Sanchez, Eric Barsham, Rob Marcoe, Prakash Parameswaran and Jennifer Rogers. The board also includes gas industry experts Brent Halldorson, Deborah Hempel-Medina and John Roheim. Alternates are residents with unconfirmed mineral status Erin Bouck and Craig Bromley, and mineral holders Amy Yaeger and Frankie Arther. All of the members are non-paid volunteers.
Several of the board members belong to the Flower Mound Cares group, which had been vocal before and during the past election on tightening up gas drilling regulations in town. But Mayor Pro Tem Al Filidoro said everyone selected to the board, regardless of their stance on gas drilling, has done extensive research on the subject.
Others bring various background knowledge to the board. Halldorson works for Fountain Quail, a company that recycles produced water onsite for gas companies such as Devon Energy. Roheim is vice president for a company that manufactures hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, fluid. Moore is a board certified oil and gas attorney. Hempel-Medina works with Williams Production, a gas company that has gas wells in Flower Mound.
“We hope to take the knowledge that we have on this board and come up with the best drilling practices for Flower Mound,” said Vajda, who has been vocal against urban gas drilling. “I’m looking forward to this because I think everyone will have a lot to contribute.”
Vajda said she’s confident that the mineral owners, non-mineral owners and gas experts on the board will find common ground and not manipulate the board for their own gain.
Filidoro said this board will be different from other boards in the town in that it will do the research itself, which will include examining law, attending field trips and having discussions with other experts.
“I’m looking forward to the board getting started on researching everything thoroughly and making recommendations to the council,” said council member Steve Dixon. “And I’m ready to get this going ASAP.”
The advisory board will have its first meeting Tuesday.
“We tried to make sure we had individual experts on the board,” said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Tom Hayden. “We put people on both sides of the issue. We have a Williams representative on the board, and it’s good that they have a seat. But we also needed to be conscious of the recent election, and what was mandated was that people wanted change.”
The board’s creation stems from an ordinance passed by the council last month that also implemented a 180-day moratorium on gas drilling related to centralized collection facilities (CCFs). That ordinance was a product of a petition drive set up by residents who were concerned about a January vote by the previous council that voted to add the definition and use of a centralized facility by component piece as a specific use in the agricultural zoning district.
Opponents of the CCF fear it would allow the town to send contaminated produced water throughout town. Those who favor the CCF say it would provide a safer way to contain the water since it would be at one location.
“We need to do things to address the health, safety and wellness of Flower Mound and to revitalize the town’s image,” Hayden said. “We want people to feel positive that Flower Mound is a safe place for them, and we’ll be in the forefront of protecting the health, safety and welfare of our residents.”
Hayden said he hopes the board will have recommendations to the council by November and that the council will be voting on the possible changes by January.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
fmtxloser wrote on Jul 9, 2010 5:13 PM:
" Wake up Flower Mound! This is YOUR mayor and YOUR council that YOU voted for! 4 mineral right owners who one would think have the backs of us pro-drillers. Ha! Vajda is a very vocal member of Flower Mound Cares. Jellison posts on the Flower Mound Citizens Agains Urban Drilling blog. And who are the other two? Perhaps one of the other Flower Mound Cares members, Marcoe, Parameswaran, Rogers, Sanchez? I don't know why this group is wasting their time when all they really have to do is vote not for everything. Go ahead, surprise me! "
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