When an oil company announces a new energy development program on U.S. soil, one can usually expect environmentalists and concerned neighboring communities to object.  When the Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil opposes such a project, that’s news!

The latest battle for American energy sufficiency involves a process known as hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as “fracking” — and it has divided oil companies and environmentalists about issues of safety and long-term impact on local communities.

Now, Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil has joined the fray, but not as a fracking advocate.  Instead, he and a group of wealthy neighbors have filed suit to prevent construction of a water tower as a precursor to fracking in their upscale community in Bartonville, Tex.

According to media reports, Former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey, another long-time oil company supporter and Bartonville resident, also has joined the lawsuit. Somehow, these “drill baby drill” cheerleaders feel different about the potential effects of fracking on their own neighborhood.

To comprehend the public relations implications of this lawsuit, one must understand that Exxon Mobil and its competitors have fought communities elsewhere in the United States to overturn state and local regulations preventing or controlling fracking operations.  Despite questions about water and air pollution in regions where fracking occurs, energy companies have pressed forward in the courts.  Even the potential threat of increasing the frequency of earthquakes has not quelled Big Oil’s current fracking enthusiasm.

With this latest lawsuit, Tillerson, Armey and neighbors have stirred up a public relations nightmare that will undoubtedly haunt the energy industry for years.  Their primary objections to the water tower and subsequent fracking operations involve potential disturbances to the quality of life at their upscale ranches and estates in Bartonville.  They apparently believe that their wealth should buy some additional protection from the ugly side of fracking, as compared to the situation in less affluent communities where fracking already has become a long-term ecological and lifestyle challenge.

Beyond the rising tide of objections from environmental sector, Tillerson, Armey and friends are advocating an elitist perspective that most of their fellow citizens will identify as anti-American.  And that’s exactly the position that the oil companies and their lobbyists want to avoid at all costs.  “After all,” they say, “fracking and drilling are important to U.S. interests.  We’re doing this to keep our country strong.”

It will be interesting to watch this lawsuit in the coming weeks to see whether self interest wins out over energy industry zeal.  Perhaps the most fascinating aspect will be whether Tillerson, Armey and their Bartonville neighbors will become the unwilling new frontline of the anti-fracking movement.