For working cattle ranches, such as Diamond Cross, a steady supply of water is a crucial factor in America's arid West.
Mr O'Toole said the lawsuits were not meant to block development. "That's not the point. The point is we can't lose all that water and at the same time have no provision to put it back," he said.
OK, if the above is true then it's a reasonable position and there should be some reasonable way to work this out.
If it's true.
Drilling doesn’t take that much water. I used to work out on a rig in the desert. The water was brought out once in awhile in a tanker truck. Most of it was just recirculated down (and up) the well.
As far as other environmental aspects - modern drilling is pretty clean, it has to be with all of the regulations involved. Of course a few new dirt roads will traverse his property.
I wonder if his grandparent’s ever got shut down or sued when their chocolate batches stunk up the neighborhood?
Last time I checked its called "precepitation". Now, it can be somewhat difficult to forecast accurately, but it does happen eventually...