As Exxon Mobil\u2019s CEO, it\u2019s Rex Tillerson\u2019s job to promote the hydraulic fracturing enabling the recent oil and gas boom, and fight regulatory oversight. The oil company is the biggest natural gas producer in the U.S., relying on the controversial drilling technology to extract it.<\/p>\n
The exception is when Tillerson\u2019s $5 million property value might be harmed. Tillerson has joined a lawsuit that cites fracking<\/a>\u2019s consequences in order to block the construction of a 160-foot water tower next to his and his wife\u2019s Texas home.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/i>\u00a0reports the tower would supply water to a nearby fracking site, and the plaintiffs argue the project would cause too much noise and traffic from hauling the water from the tower to the drilling site. The water tower, owned by Cross Timbers Water Supply Corporation, \u201cwill sell water to oil and gas explorers for fracing [sic] shale formations leading to traffic with heavy trucks on FM 407, creating a noise nuisance and traffic hazards,\u201d the\u00a0suit says<\/a>.<\/p>\n Though Tillerson\u2019s name is on the lawsuit, a lawyer representing him said his concern is about the devaluation of his property, not fracking<\/a> specifically.<\/p>\n When he is acting as Exxon CEO, not a homeowner, Tillerson has lashed out at fracking critics and proponents of regulation. \u201cThis type of dysfunctional regulation is holding back the American economic recovery, growth and global competitiveness,\u201d he said\u00a0in 2012<\/a>. Natural gas production \u201cis an old technology just being applied, integrated with some new technologies,\u201d he said in\u00a0another interview<\/a>. \u201cSo the risks are very manageable.\u201d<\/p>\n In shale regions, less wealthy residents have protested fracking development for impacts more consequential than noise, including\u00a0water contamination and cancer risk<\/a>. Exxon\u2019s oil and gas operations and the resulting spills not only sinks property values, but the spills have\u00a0leveled homes<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0destroyed regions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Exxon, which pays Tillerson a total\u00a0$40.3 million<\/a>, is staying out of the legal tangle. A company spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal<\/i> it \u201chas no involvement in the legal matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Visit EcoWatch\u2019s\u00a0FRACKING<\/a>\u00a0page for more related news on this topic.<\/b><\/p>\n