Over the past few months, the Jefferson Drill Site has been quieter than usual since the application withdrawal in January. But on April 1, the Jefferson Drill Site restarted activity, bringing in the usual oil derrick that loudly drives pipes, powered by smelly, loud diesel engines. It was a sobering reminder that there is still much more work to be done. It also turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to connect with more neighbors.
There was one particular house that I’ve been unable to connect with for some time. But on this day, a woman was standing out on the lawn of this house, watching the giant derrick piercing the sky across the street from her home. I was eager to meet her and hear her experiences living right by the drill site. I asked her, “What’s it like living right next door to this site?” She responded, “I got used to it. There’s nothing I can really do about it.” She has lived in this house since the 70’s and the drill site’s been here for as long as she’s lived there. She went on to share stories of how she used to be active in attending community meetings, going down to city hall, and even pounding on the gates of the drill site pleading for an end to the odors and noise so close to her home. In 2011, her home and car were sprayed with oil from the site. “All they care about is money, they don’t care about the people who live here.”
As I shared with her my research on the site and the work RCP had been doing these past two years to rally the community together around the issues of the drilling site, I could see hope returning to her eyes. She started getting excited about the possibilities of the community’s collective voice to do something she felt unable to do on her own. “Let me know when y’all plan something, count me in!”