On Second Anniversary of West Explosion, Legislators Consider Loosening Limits on Dangerous Industrial Activities

On the second anniversary of the explosion that rocked the Central Texas community of West, killing 15 people and destroying more than 150 buildings Texas representatives will consider legislation which strips away even more protections on industrial activity for Texas communities. House Bill 40 would pre-empt local ordinances dealing with a wide variety of energy industries.

“It is shocking that Texas legislators are taking this day—the second anniversary of the West Explosion—to consider a bill which residents, mayors, experts, firefighters and many others have warned would make future tragedies more likely,” Robin Schneider, Executive Director of Texas Campaign for the Environment said. “This bill needs to be either fixed or stopped before it sows the seeds for future disasters and forces communities to accept dangerous nuisances they don’t want. This is another West waiting to happen.”

HB 40 would severely limit the ability of local governments to set limits on where, how and when oil and gas operations are done in their jurisdictions. The bill would restrict local governments from dealing with a variety of industrial including disposal wells, injection wells linked to earthquakes, open air waste pits, drilling operations, compressor stations, pipelines, and even potentially refineries. Cities would not be allowed to pass ordinances for the purpose of protecting public health, would not be allowed to require insurance from operators, and would likely not be allowed to inspect facilities and enforce state laws.

“We know now that the tragedy in West could have been prevented, but state lawmakers have ignored the lessons we learned from that disaster,” Tom “Smitty” Smith, Texas state director for Public Citizen said. “Nobody will be calling the state government when a well blows out or a compressor station starts to leak toxic chemicals or another accident occurs. They will be calling their local police, fire and EMS, and their local officials will have no power to prevent tragedies from happening in the first place.”

Following the explosion in West on April 17, 2013, the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board concluded that inadequate regulation contributed to the disaster. While HB 40 would not affect fertilizer facilities, oil and gas operations have caused their own problems in recent years, including the Texas City refinery explosion in 2005, which—like West—killed 15 people. Last weekend, on April 11, there was a “major mishap” at a gas well in a populated neighborhood of Arlington which required the evacuation of all residents within an eighth of a mile from a gas well. Arlington Fire Chief Don Crowson specifically raised concerns about HB 40’s risk to communities seeking to prevent future accidents.

“The West Explosion was just one of many accidents that have taken lives and destroyed property across Texas, and still state agencies have failed to put the lives of Texans over the short-term whims of powerful industries,” Schneider said. “Local governments, on the other hand, often want to protect health and safety. HB 40 would prevent them from protecting their residents. This is a power grab by the state government and oil and gas industry that endangers human lives.”

HB 40 has been billed by supporters as a bill to undo the ban on “fracking” passed overwhelmingly by Denton voters in 2014. The bill, however, extends far beyond this one technique and beyond drilling to virtually all aspects of the oil and gas business in Texas. Opponents have offered to work with bill supporters on amendments which would minimize the threat posed by the law.

“Legislators need to listen to the more than 300 Texas communities across the state which have already passed ordinances guiding oil and gas activities in their jurisdictions,” Smith said. “If they do they’ll hear that this bill needs serious changes if they are going to pass it into law. Otherwise, they’d be letting big money undermine their commitment to the health and safety of their constituents and where would Texas be if that were to happen?”