KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |City regulates oil and gas drilling

City regulates oil and gas drilling

By Fred Childers - bio|email

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) -

    In their quest to extract fuels from the Haynesville Shale oil and gas operators can be noticeable, some might even argue, disruptive.

"Oil and gas drilling is an industrial activity, you have trucks in some cases bull dozers, you have things going on very similar to a construction site," said City Council Member, Michael Long.

Like the state, the Shreveport City Council has adopted an ordinance that regulates oil and gas drillers closely.

"It regulates us on noise on hours of operation, on dust control," said Kevin McCotter with Chesapeak Energy.

But most of the rules are identical to the ones the state already has adopted.

"And the goal of that is so that when operators are operating they are not under two conflicting set of regulations," said Jodee Bruyninckx with the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association shortly after the ordinance was adopted.

"I'm glad it's going on, it's helping the economy, very well pleased with it," said Dorothy Smith who lives in the Colquit Estates Neighborhood. She's happy with Chesapeak's first drill site within city limits, which is near her home.

"They were clearing out brush back there we heard it, it didn't bother me any," said Smith.

"We're willing to do things voluntarily that we can do to be a good operator and neighbor in our surroundings," said McCotter.

But if Smith ever becomes unhappy, the city could revisit and make changes to the ordinance.

"It's a very technical ordinance and so it does take industry and law makers coming together to get it right," said Bruyninckx.

And they'll have to continue to get it right on a case by case basis.