On November 5, 2014, the city of Denton made national headlines when it became the first city in Texas to pass an ordinance banning hydraulic fracturing. Although local fracking bans have become increasingly common throughout the United States, Denton’s ban garnered significant attention given Texas’s prominent role in the oil and gas industry. Moreover, because Denton sits directly atop the Barnett Shale, the ban would have a real and significant impact on exploration and development.

Immediately after the ordinance passed, the Texas Oil & Gas Association, an industry trade association that represents various facets of the Texas oil and gas industry (including both small independents and major producers), sued the city of Denton. Shortly thereafter, the Texas General Land Office, the state agency charged with overseeing state-owned mineral interests, filed a similar lawsuit. Both suits claimed that the Texas Legislature had granted the Texas Railroad Commission exclusive authority to regulate oil and gas operations in Texas and that Denton’s ban directly undermined that authority and was therefore preempted by Texas law. Many expected these lawsuits to trigger a long, drawn out legal battle—one that was inevitably destined for the Texas Supreme Court. The Texas Legislature, however, stepped into the fray and changed all of that.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]