Ground has been broken for the Frontier Oasis, a 112-bed workforce housing camp in Karnes County, TX. It is to open in September four miles West of Kenedy, TX, along Farm Route 2102. The flat rate all-inclusive camp will offer Eagle Ford Shale workers three all-you-can-eat meals per day; to-go sack lunches; housekeeping and laundry services, indoor and outdoor recreational facilities; high-definition television and wireless internet; and an on-site general store. Karnes County currently leads the booming Eagle Ford in drilling rigs, and the camp is expected to play a major role in providing much-needed housing, food and laundry services for the operators and service companies in the area. The commercial buildings for the project will be provided by Houston-based Teton Buildings LLC. Bryan, TX-headquartered Frontier Oilfield Solutions will be constructing and operating the camp. A recent study identified housing as a critical need for Eagle Ford workers and area residents (see Shale Daily, July 11).

The Texas Pipeline Association (TPA) and Devon Energy Corp. have filed separate lawsuits to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from adding Hood and Wise counties in North Texas Barnett Shale country to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) nonattainment area, which has failed to meet federal standards for ozone. EPA said late last year it was considering adding the counties to the North Texas ozone region (see Shale Daily, Dec. 13, 2011). As part of the ozone region, the counties would face tighter restrictions on smog-causing industrial pollution. The agency said its decision to add the two counties was based partly on emissions from Barnett Shale operations. Devon filed its lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. TPA is suing in federal appeals court.