The Ogletrees' son, Kyle, suffered brain damage from a virus as a baby. They worry about his exposure to emissions from the well. Les Stone for Al Jazeera America

In a letter dated Dec. 30, EagleRidge’s Grawe told residents that fracking would begin Jan. 7 and continue 12 hours a day, six days a week, for almost six weeks.

Alyse Ogletree seized on one phrase in the letter: “should any emergency occur, we will immediately notify you.”

“We have a handicapped child,” says Ogletree. “If you give me a five-minute notification, that’s barely enough time to pack a diaper bag and get his meds ready.” She didn’t even know how EagleRidge would reach her and her neighbors. The city directed that question to Grawe, who declined an interview request.

An accident in April 2013, when an EagleRidge gas pipe burst near Denton’s airport and caused a noisy spume of frack water and gas to shoot into the air, only added to Alyse's lack of confidence. The accident happened at 1:30 a.m.; according to the Denton city website, the city government wasn’t told about the spill until nine hours later. It took another five before the well was capped.

Flaring gas, a common process to test a well’s quality and quantity, creates towers of flame. Before flaring the wells near the Meadows, the area “smelled like someone was burning a skunk,” says Bush. The drilling and fracking, she adds, exacerbated her son’s asthma, and she no longer lets her kids play outside in the neighborhood. The Ogletrees say their kids were more congested this winter than in the past. (The industry says flaring is safe).

In March, the Ogletrees, the Bushes, the Kings and about two dozen other households in the area sued EagleRidge. The lawsuit says the “noise and noxious odors” associated with gas production prevent them from enjoying their homes. They are seeking between $200,000 and $1 million per household, according to the complaint. “The lawsuit was a result of the city failing to do anything to protect our property and our families from fracking,” Bush wrote in an email.

Despite the drilling and fracking that had infuriated many in the Meadows, as of February, a D.R. Horton billboard still stood in the development, advertising homes for sale “From the $170’s.”

In a letter dated Dec. 30, EagleRidge’s Grawe told residents that fracking would begin Jan. 7 and continue 12 hours a day, six days a week, for almost six weeks. Alyse Ogletree seized on one phrase in the letter: “should any emergency occur, we will immediately notify you.” “We have a handicapped child,” says Ogletree. “If you give me a five-minute notification, that’s barely enough time to pack a diaper bag and get his meds ready.” She didn’t even know how EagleRidge would reach her and her neighbors. The city directed that question to Grawe of EagleRidge, who declined an interview request. An accident in April 2013, when an EagleRidge gas pipe burst near Denton’s airport and caused a noisy spume of frack water and gas to shoot into the air, only added to her lack of confidence. The accident happened at 1:30 a.m.; according to the Denton city website, the city government wasn’t told about the spill until nine hours later. It took another five before the well was capped. Flaring gas, a common process to test a well’s quality and quantity, creates towers of flame. Before flaring the wells near the Meadows, the area “smelled like someone was burning a skunk,” says Bush. The drilling and fracking, she adds, exacerbated her son’s asthma, and she no longer lets her kids play outside in the neighborhood. The Ogletrees say their kids were more congested this winter than in the past. In March, the Ogletrees, the Bushes, the Kings and about two dozen other households in the area sued Eagleridge. The lawsuit says the “noise and noxious odors” associated with gas production prevent them from enjoying their homes. They are seeking between $200,000 and $1 million per household, according to the complaint. “The lawsuit was a result of the city failing to do anything to protect our property and our families from fracking,” Bush wrote in an email. Despite the drilling and fracking that had infuriated many in the Meadows, as of February, a D.R. Horton billboard still stood in the development, advertising homes for sale “From the $170’s.”