A Grapevine-based company sued by the city of Denton for failing to follow gas-drilling regulations took a step toward compliance Monday by submitting maps of its area drilling sites, city officials said.

Reichmann Petroleum Corp. submitted new or revised blueprints, known as plats, for five of its drilling sites near Denton for city staff to review — but not the site that faces the most vocal opposition from nearby residents.

The move came more than three months after the city sued the company for failing to secure the plats and follow other guidelines for drilling in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, land outside Denton’s limits that it can annex.

Denton is asking the court to impose fines of up to $1,000 per day per violation, dating back to when the city notified Reichmann of each violation.

Reichmann attorney Debra Edmondson said the company is seeking to abide by city regulations.

“As long as Reichmann Petroleum is in control of those sites, it is our intention to comply with the city of Denton’s ordinances to the best of our ability,” she said. “We want to work with the city of Denton to get this resolved.”

Despite the gesture, City Attorney Ed Snyder said officials haven’t decided whether to drop the lawsuit.

“We want to send a message that we want people to comply, and we don’t want to file a lawsuit every time” someone doesn’t, Snyder said.

Most of the sites already have wells drilled on them, so the company is submitting the paperwork “after the fact,” city gas well inspector Quentin Hix said. The city would approve the plats only after the lawsuit is resolved, he said.

Hix said the maps are still useful, since they allow officials to review what’s been done at the sites and consider the impact of future surface development in the area.

“It’s better than having them sitting out there with no information filed with the city,” he said.

Denton’s development code includes requirements for companies wishing to drill for natural gas in the city and certain parts of its extraterritorial jurisdiction. They include getting the city’s approval of a gas well development plat, a map showing the location of the wellhead, drilling pad, access road, gas lines and anything constructed on the pad site.

The city sued Reichmann in June, saying the company was jeopardizing public safety through repeated violations of the development code at seven well sites south of Denton.

The company submitted plats for five of the seven sites Monday afternoon. It no longer controls one of the seven sites, and wasn’t sure what paperwork was required for the other, known as the Vanessa White well, where the company has constructed a pad site but no well, Hix said.

Residents of the Briarcreek Estates subdivision near Argyle, which abuts the White pad site, complained to Denton leaders last year after Reichmann began preparing the site without a plat.

Neighbors said the erection of the pad site redirected the flow of rainwater through the area from a nearby creek to their yards and garages. They also feared the site would generate too much noise and raise public safety concerns.

Last week, the neighbors gathered 37 signatures on a petition urging city leaders to deny the plat, resident Jennifer Cole said. A group of residents also plans to address the City Council on the issue during tonight’s meeting, although no council action is planned on the matter.

Jana DeGrand, who lives next door to Cole, said a recent 2-inch rainfall resulted in 18 inches of standing water between their homes. She said she worried what a larger downpour would produce.

“We live in a flood-sensitive area,” DeGrand said. “We are all extremely concerned that our homes are going to flood.”

Edmondson could not say whether the company had plans to resume production on the White site.

For the plat to be approved there, Hix said, the company would have to produce a water-flow study showing how the drainage has been redirected and steps to correct it, and use noise-abatement techniques to reduce the impact on area homeowners.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.