Property Contamination

REPRESENTING LANDOWNERS IN LOUISIANA, TEXAS & COAST TO COAST

While oil and gas exploration and drilling companies can create an economic boom in the regions they tap into for profits by creating jobs, supporting businesses, and leasing or purchasing property, these oil and gas operations have a dark side. When oil companies decide to use your land for oil drilling or natural gas extraction, they have a responsibility to do so in accordance with environmental standards. Unfortunately, many drillers have not abided by these standards, leaving behind dangerous chemicals, contaminated groundwater, and abandoned equipment.

POISONING LAND & WATER WITH FRACKING

The chief controversy of natural gas extraction in recent years is the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The Haynesville Shale in Louisiana and Eagle Ford Shale in Texas in particular has made the practice relevant to homeowners throughout the South.

Fracking is a way for companies to reach deposits that are otherwise inaccessible.

It works by drilling (horizontally) inside the shale, where the natural gas is located. Once a well is drilled, a sand and water mixture is injected into the well at high pressures, fracturing the shale so gas is released. The pressure from the injection also forces the gas up the well, where it can be processed. Fracking has become controversial around the nation because it has been opposed by environmental activists for its dangerous effects. Destabilizing the shale has allegedly led to earth tremors, while releasing gases into the surrounding layers—including groundwater.

Access to safe water is a human right. Many homeowners have been forced to purchase potable water every week instead of using the natural sources they once had valuable access to.

In fact, in 2013 the EPA had a presentation based on its own studies that tied fracking to groundwater contamination. The presentation was censored and abandoned, but it was recently leaked. It revealed that significant amounts of methane are released during fracking that migrates into nearby water sources. Alarmingly, the released methane is not necessarily from the drilled shale—this indicates that fracking has consequences that drillers are either unable to predict or unwilling to report. Other studies assert that the issue is the cementing process.

PROPERTY DESTROYED BY FRACKING CONTAMINATION?
Oil and gas companies may scar a landscape with ruts, trenches, slush pits, and mud pits. They may leave behind drilling rigs, wells, compressor stations, and pipelines. The waste produced by their operations may also contain harmful metals, salts, hydrocarbons, and toxic chemicals.

A Congressional committee has evaluated substances that companies have used in fracking and identified what it called 29 “compounds of concern.” Some are proven or possible cancer-causing agents, while the federal government has listed others as hazardous pollutants.

Depending on the activities of the corporations, vegetables can be poisoned, the soil can lose its fertility and the water supply can become toxic. We remain committed to ensuring that we compensate residents in the area as well as landowners. Our litigation also focuses on restoring the damaged property and ceasing from future harm.

WHY YOU CAN TRUST US IF YOU’RE SUFFERING PRIVATE LAND DAMAGE
At Arnold & Itkin, we help landowners recover damages from oil and gas companies for environmental damage and fracking contamination to their properties. These cases are commonly known as “legacy litigation,” because they often involve claims that stem from corporate malfeasance that has occurred over a period of several decades and involve land that has been in a family’s name for generations.

Studies by Duke University economists found that residents near the sites of oil drilling or fracking lost 24% of their property’s value. When corporations behave recklessly, innocent homeowners suffer the consequences. Your home’s property should be protected by your community, your government, and the companies who lease the land around you. When they fail to do that, we will respond on your behalf.