The noise will stop when we're done

One other change to the noise rules is reducing the grace period for responding to a complaint to 24 hours. A previous version of the rule gave companies 10 days to fix the problem.

Gilbert Horton, a representative from Devon Energy, said the 24-hour grace period is a big improvement. The 10-day rule allowed companies to make all the noise they want if they're drilling for 10 days or less.

“If you were only drilling seven more days, you could say, ‘Screw the noise,’ ” he said.

Walter DueEase, representing XTO, chimed in: “Or you could say, ‘We’ll look into it.’ ”

-- Mike Lee

Comments

It's great to see noise ordinances like this because there are companies like EOG Resources (formerly Enron Oil & Gas - yes, THE Enron Corporation) who don't seem to care about how disruptive their noise pollution is on the environment and neighboring property values. See the monster that's created without these kind of noise ordinances by visiting www.eogresourcespollutes.com

[Gary Hogan]

The noise ordinace in 2005 actually limited the reaction time for a drill operator in violation of the ordinance to remeadiate the noise within 24 hours of a violation before facing a fine vs the then prior ordinance time of 10 days. The current Task Force is attempting to make that an immediate fine on violation if an operator does not file an approprpriate noise management plan or does not take proactive measures to remedy complaint within 24 hours.