Health in All Policies: Fracking Injection Well Advocacy in Texas Lessons Learned

Improving public participation in the permitting of injections wells is one step to ensuring safe drinking water. Communities in the Eagle Ford and Barnet Shale Play struggle with advocacy and fracking injection wells.  Many communities have found it challenging to protest fracking injection wells to the Texas Railroad Commission. In order to protest an injection well a community or group must know a permit has been submitted to the Texas Railroad Commission. Currently, there is little public notification of oil and gas disposal well permit applications. Typically ground water conservation districts must comb local newspapers for permit notices.  Notice is often vague and may not appear in the appropriate newspaper.  Since October 2013, I have been working with local county commissioners, concerned community members, ground water conservation districts and a state representative to advocate for policy change with the Texas Railroad Commission. We are working with an Environmental Law Clinic and have developed a petition for rulemaking that will improve public participation in the petitioning of injection wells in Texas.  I will describe our efforts and lessons learned to hopefully assist other public health professional in meeting the challenges of advocacy and fracking.