Fracking fight

Gas drilling company threatens lawsuit against Texas Campaign for the Environment

UPDATE: Michael Anderson, an attorney for Trinity East Energy, spoke with CultureMap on March 12. The story has been changed to reflect that interview.

As the debate over the permissibility of natural gas drilling on Dallas parklands rages on, Trinity East Energy is picking a new fight. The Keystone Exploration subsidiary alleges that Texas Campaign for the Environment is spreading "baseless and groundless attacks" against the company.

In a February 25 cease and desist letter to TCE program director Zac Trahan, Trinity East took issue with the following statement: "This gas company has already drilled a well along the Trinity River and had a casing failure that may have contaminated underground water aquifers."

An attorney for Trinity East Energy called TCE's actions "unlawful and, at minimum, defamation under Texas law."

Public documents show that a casing failure did occur in an Irving well operated by Trinity East, but attorney Michael Anderson called the allegation of possible water contamination "absolutely false."

Anderson said that Trinity East was in compliance with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rules, which are designed to protect fresh water aquifers even in the event of a casing failure.

"TCE's actions are unlawful and constitute, at minimum, defamation under Texas law," Anderson wrote. "In the event TCE continues to persist in its unlawful activity, Trinity East will have no choice but to file suit."

In a March 11 letter, Trahan responded to Anderson's claims.

"It is, by now, well-known that the purpose of casing a well is to protect groundwater," Trahan wrote. "Thus, when a casing failure occurs, it is not unreasonable to question whether this casing failure has placed groundwater resources at risk of contamination."

Trahan went on to say that there are few studies and no independent ones that show the effect of the casing failure. The statement in question presents the possibility of contamination but does not say that it definitely occurred.

Although not willing to retract or correct his initial comments on the Irving well, Trahan did offer the following supplemental information.

"This gas company has already drilled a well along the Trinity River that had a casing failure beneath our underground aquifers. The company reported that no groundwater contamination occurred as a result of this instance. No independent testing was required to verify whether our aquifers are fully protected."

Anderson says that statement doesn't satisfy his client but its first priority is to move forward with Trinity East's drilling applications before the City Plan Commission and the City Council.

"Trinity East doesn't mind having a fair discussion dealing with facts," Anderson says. "What it doesn't want are false statements out in the public."

The Special Use Permits that would allow Trinity East to drill on Dallas parklands will once again go before the Plan Commission on March 21.

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Money Matters

This is the salary you need to live comfortably in Texas in 2026

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

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A new national report looking at the income it takes to live comfortably in each of the 50 states has revealed Texans need to earn slightly less now than a year ago.

SmartAsset analyzed what a single individual, as well as family of four, must earn to cover minimum basic needs adjusted using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. The resulting estimate represents the annual, pre-tax income needed to live comfortably in every U.S. state.

A single, full-time worker needs to make $90,563 to live comfortably in the Lone Star State, the report found, which is down a meager 0.2 percent from last year ($90,771).

Under the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, that means a single Texas earner would have $45,282 to spend on necessities like housing and utilities, $27,169 for discretionary spending, and $18,113 for emergencies or retirement savings.

Texas ranked 34th nationally in SmartAsset's list of states with the highest income needed for a single adult to live "in sustainable comfort" in 2026. Only five other states — Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Mississippi — saw a decline in the income needed to live comfortably this year.

For a family of four to live comfortably in Texas, income requirements change significantly, according to the findings. To support a two-child household, a family needs $203,424 in combined total household income to be considered financially stable. This is down slightly from 2025, when SmartAsset reported a family of four in needed $204,922 to live comfortably in Texas.

This is a comfortable lifestyle for a family of four in Texas, according to the report:

$101,712 dedicated to necessities and living expenses
$61,027 dedicated to discretionary spending
$40,685 dedicated to emergencies, savings, or debt repaymen

According to the report, a family of four now needs to make at least $200,000 to live comfortably in 40 U.S. states, a figure that is far out of reach for many American families.

"As housing, grocery, transportation and other essential costs pressure household budgets, earning a six-figure salary no longer guarantees financial comfort in much of the U.S.," the report said. "A single adult now needs at least $80,000 a year to live comfortably in every state, while the threshold exceeds $100,000 in nearly half of states. For a family of four, the income needed to live comfortably is as much as $329,000."

Still, earning the minimum income to live comfortably in Texas doesn't guarantee financial stability in the Lone Star State's major cities. Earlier this year, SmartAsset determined single residents in Dallas need to make nearly $97,000 to qualify as financially stable, while families of four need about $214,500.

texas smartasset reports salaries income finance