The city council of Barnett Shale town Denton, TX, on Tuesday continued to hear comments on proposed revisions to the city’s gas drilling ordinance that are intended to address quality of life issues (see Shale Daily, Dec. 15).

One speaker said the proposed plan needs to incorporate more rigorous monitoring of emissions at well sites. Another speaker, representing the pipeline industry, urged that the changes better accommodate the need for pipelines to gather and carry production to markets. A landowner told the council that she is concerned the proposed changes will encumber citizen property rights as well as mineral rights.

Another hearing on the proposed rule changes is scheduled for Tuesday (Jan. 13); it is expected that this will be the final opportunity for citizens and others to speak on the proposal. Also on Tuesday, council voted to extend a moratorium on new drilling permits until March 24.

The city enacted a moratorium on new wells last year (see Shale Daily, Sept. 12, 2014; May 12, 2014). The moratorium and the drilling ordinance revisions are separate from a voter-approved ban on hydraulic fracturing within the city limits that is being challenged by the state as well as the oil/gas industry (see Shale Daily, Dec. 18, 2014).