Danger Zone!

The mess of 820 from I35 to 183 is a disaster waiting to happen. 

Drive I35, east on 820. If you're feeling really brave, enter 35 at Meacham.  Travel the narrow, winding lane, with no shoulder, and bad striping, next to concrete barriers you could reach out and touch.  Pay attention to all the signs, there's a ton of them telling you the exits are closed, or lanes are, or more are about to be. 

When there is a wreck, how do you think the emergency responders get to you?  Yeah, it ain't easy.  Where do all those people in the two lane holding cell behind you go?  Nowhere.

Which is exactly what happened today in Haltom City.  Luckily there were no fatalities when a truck went off a bridge into the creek bed below.  Traffic was shut down all day.  People were stuck for hours.  (pictures at FWST)

They're going to be stuck for years.  

Guess it's a good thing it wasn't raining.  We've seen what happens to that creek when it rains.  Sometimes, it too, shuts down the freeway.

Hello, McFly...

Something stood out while reading the Fort Worth Weekly this week. 

Why would the FBI be looking at people like this college student in Denton, instead of looking at things like this?  

Really??

From the Fort Worth Weekly to the NY Times to the AP...

Gas drilling is the talk of the towns.  One of the biggest differences is the letter from those protecting the Watershed's in New York.  You'd think Texans would protect their water...and a State would know WHO its constituents are... 

 Two hundred fifty medical professionals petitioned New York State last year for a health assessment and received no response.

From false advertising and lawsuits, the beat goes on.

For a split second, injection wells in Venus made the news.  WHO's taking bets on what happened out there after the Easter storms?

Tuesday's storms have stirred up more questions about an injection well in Venus. Land owners are worried about chemicals mixing with rainwater, and possibly spilling into a creek that empties into Joe Pool Lake.

Property manager Tim McCloskey scans the creek bed in his pasture everyday. Two days after the storm, he can still spot a slick sheen coating the surface. It's floating less than a half-mile down stream from where fracking trucks drop saltwater into an injection well.

And while they party every chance they get, they are busy bursting their own bubble.  WHO pays for that?

The glut has benefited businesses and homeowners that use natural gas. But with natural gas prices at a 10-year low — and falling — companies that produce the fuel are becoming victims of their drilling successes. Their stock prices are falling in anticipation of declining profits and scaled-back growth plans.              

Rain, rain, go away

Everyone knows that never works. 
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram continues to write about the emergency warning sirens.  Thanks to Clyde Picht and Mother Nature, they exist. 

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram also talks about record rainfall today.
Flooding problems were reported in low-crossing areas in Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving Euless and Colleyville, area police reported.

Let's see, a tornado and record rainfall in April.  History repeats?

Usually.

One month before the Fort Worth tornado -

In 2000, Councilman Clyde Picht wrote a letter to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  At the time he was the only one in town advocating for emergency sirens.  The mayor, city council and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board all were against spending money on sirens that protect people.

What was he basing his position on?  History. It tends to repeat itself. 

A month after Clyde wrote the letter, the tornado hit.  Lives were lost, just like he said. 

Currently, this mayor, council and paper disagree with what Clyde says about the Trinity River Vision.  What's the next Editorial Board going to say? 

Clyde's comment after rereading the commentary he wrote in 2000 - 

It’s too bad we had to wait for the disaster we knew was coming before we made a decision to upgrade our warning system.

Sounds familiar.  The following will too, read about Fort Worth, twelve years ago, before the tornado.

Two million for warning sirens?  A bargain at twice the price!
 
            When German bombers attacked London during the Second World War they lacked the precision guidance of today's weapons. On the other hand, the British radar showed only the general direction the bombers traveled so throughout the city air raid sirens wailed to warn the people of impending attack.

                Now, sixty years later, the National Weather Service has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in high tech equipment that can tell with a degree of precision the path a tornado will follow. The detection of severe weather is in the 21st century but the Fort Worth warning sirens are more suitable for the Battle of Britain. Our sirens will blare throughout our 250 square mile city, if they blare at all. Because of their age replacement parts are not readily available. Ten to fifteen percent of the system fails when tested, and on occasion, the whole system has been known to fail. With the rapid growth of our city some areas on the developing fringe are totally without warning sirens.

                Some things are fact. We live at the Southwest end of what weather experts call "Tornado Ally." Tornadoes have caused massive destruction and loss of life to the West, South, and East of Fort Worth. Severe weather caused major destruction in Fort Worth, pelting us with hail the size of baseballs in 1980 and 1995. Weather experts say that we will be struck by a killer tornado similar to the one that raised havoc in Moore, Oklahoma, last year. It's not a matter of whether, but when.

                In a recent commentary (2/21/00), Star-Telegram writer Jack Z. Smith reported that as a consequence of the Moore disaster that city is going to double the number of sirens. In my own conversation with Emergency Management Director, Gayland Kitch, he told me that even though the tornado occurred during rush hour, with plenty of radio and TV coverage, some residents didn't take cover until they heard the warning sirens. Smith reports Kitch said he feels that sirens help save lives and that Fort Worth would be wise to invest in them.

                Some things are fiction. According to Smith, the Mayor and some Council members feel that warnings sirens are not worth the $2-$3 million cost. They think radio, television, Internet, cell phones, E-mail and weather radios will substitute for sirens. It is not uncommon to have power outages during severe weather. With the power outages go your radio, television, Internet, and E-mail. Few computer owners are foolish enough to operate them during thunderstorms without UPS. A battery-powered radio will still work, provided the batteries are good and you have it with you. Cell phones might work if you've got them, but they don't always perform well even in good weather. First-hand reports from Oklahoma demonstrate that cell phones fail when tornadoes are near. Weather radios, like cell phones, are fine if everybody has one. Not everyone can afford or will want to buy a weather radio for $40-$80 (cost according to Smith). Most people probably wouldn't have one nearby during severe weather, in any case. Twenty-two people lost their lives when tornadoes hit Georgia in mid February. They came at night when folks were tucked safely in their beds. Or so they thought. Computers, cell phones, radios - all off. 

                A state of the art warning system has advantages that all the aforementioned devices don't have. The per capita cost is very nominal. A system will last many years and perform with high reliability. It can be used to warn residents in the path of severe weather without alarming those in safer areas. It can be localized to warn of hazardous spills on freeways and rail lines. It has a voice capability to describe circumstances that may require residents to take cover or remain in their homes and can warn children playing outside. With correct placement they are likely to be heard inside the home as well as outside.

                Lives will be lost in the event of a major tornado transiting Tarrant County. Adequate warning will save many lives, which might otherwise be lost. Ironically, the City Council was presented a proposal by the Fire Chief for the 1998 Capital Improvement Program that would have replaced the current warning system. The council turned it down and chose to use some of that money for park improvement. Pity the poor folks in the park who might be whisked away to Oz because they don't own a cell phone or weather radio, and live in a city where they are expected to take more "personal responsibility" for their safety.

                Like the unfortunate homeowner who installs a burglar alarm after the family heirlooms have been stolen, the City of Fort Worth will some day upgrade its woefully deficient disaster warning system after a major storm wreaks death and destruction. It willstill be cheap at twice the monetary price but what's the value of a life?

Come again?

Did the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board just criticize the former Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board?

Did they say the lone voice that spoke out was right?

Today that lone voice is still speaking out putting the citizens safety above the popular vote.

WHAT will the next Editorial Board say about the current one?  WHAT will they say about that same voice continues to speak out?   Maybe YOU should listen.

No one cares, until the next storm comes.  History repeats.

An Oct. 21, 1997, Star-Telegram editorial decrying Fort Worth's sporadic storm-warning system as not worth modernizing because it was "redundant" with other modes of communication made Editorial Board members cringe Wednesday when they read it.


Did the collective "we" really say, "The sirens [that] blare out the warning of an approaching tornado or hailstorm are about as useful today as fenders on a compact car"?


If anecdotal evidence is any indicator, the warning provided by sirens was remarkably useful Tuesday in keeping North Texas residents safe as tornadoes bore down on the region. Facebook posts and online comments credited Arlington's warning system in particular for alerting residents to the nasty weather headed their way.


Images of the damage leave one amazed that no one was killed and only injuries that weren't life-threatening were reported.


The Editorial Board's 1997 skepticism about updating Fort Worth's siren system was shared by then-Mayor Kenneth Barr and other members of the City Council who thought money would be better spent on a traffic light system that expedited firetrucks getting through intersections.


Then-Councilman Clyde Picht was the lone voice calling for additional and more reliable sirens.


Talk about the storm-warning system quieted down -- until the March 28, 2000, tornado upended lives and businesses in downtown Fort Worth before flattening homes in southeast Arlington and southwest Grand Prairie. Five people died and more than $450 million in damage was reported.


By 2003, the Fort Worth council had approved $3 million to upgrade and expand the city's sirens.


Read more here: Broad-based storm-warning systems proved their value during North Texas tornadoes

Take Cover!

Tornado sirens currently sounding in South and West Fort Worth, Tarrant County. 

There has been a tornado sighted on the ground in Johnson County.

Be safe, neighbors!

Fort Worth Firebomb

It's being reported that Wendy Davis' office was firebombed this afternoon. 

Luckily, Wendy wasn't present and no one was hurt. 

WHO would do such a thing? 

What's the ETA on karma?

Do no harm

Isn't that the oath doctor's take?

Seems the industry does not share the sentiment. 

What if something was making your child sick and your doctor was forbidden to tell you about it?  WHAT would you do?

Truth-out has a three part gas drilling series YOU must see.  YOUR life may depend on it.

Fracking: Pennsylvania gags Physicians

Fluids used in fracking include those that are “potentially hazardous,” including volatile organic compounds, according to Christopher Portier, director of the National Center for Environmental Health, a part of the federal Centers for Disease Control. In an email to the Associated Press in January 2012, Portier noted that waste water, in addition to bring up several elements, may be radioactive. Fracking is also believed to have been the cause of hundreds of small earthquakes in Ohio and other states.

The law, an amendment to Title 52 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, requires that companies provide to a state-maintained registry the names of chemicals and gases used in fracking. Physicians and others who work with citizen health issues may request specific information, but the company doesn’t have to provide that information if it claims it is a trade secret or proprietary information, nor does it have to reveal how the chemicals and gases used in fracking interact with natural compounds. If a company does release information about what is used, health care professionals are bound by a non-disclosure agreement that not only forbids them from warning the community of water and air pollution that may be caused by fracking, but which also forbids them from telling their own patients what the physician believes may have led to their health problems. A strict interpretation of the law would also forbid general practitioners and family practice physicians who sign the non-disclosure agreement and learn the contents of the “trade secrets” from notifying a specialist about the chemicals or compounds, thus delaying medical treatment.

The clauses are buried on pages 98 and 99 of the 174-page bill, which was initiated and passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signed into law in February by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.

“I have never seen anything like this in my 37 years of practice,” says Dr. Helen Podgainy, a pediatrician from Coraopolis, Pa.

In the long run

Is it worth it?

It's rhetorical.

It's Fort Worth.

Shepherd knows drilling accidents happen, but the nature center needs the money. So, he hopes gas companies can find the value in the wildlife not just the gas reserves below.

"BS responses"

Coming from Fort Worth.  How fitting. 

The subject today?  Injection wells.  Seems we aren't the only ones who noticed the "citizen input" meetings are similiar to those supposed "citizen input" meetings for other Fort Worth projects.  You remember, the ones where when the citizens started giving their input, the city shut the meeting down? 

Read the latest in the Fort Worth Weekly.  YOU can't afford to miss it.  Take note of the players, YOU need to know WHO they are.  

It sounds if the city is most concerned about "truck traffic".  Really?  That's your biggest concern?  And WHY would earthquakes need to be discussed on a national level when they are being felt in Fort Worth?

“You can tell the Planning Department has instructions to make this [lifting of the current disposal well moratorium] happen,” the longtime statehouse Democrat said. He’s clearly angry over how the disposal well issue has been presented. City staffers, he said, are giving “bullshit responses” to what he believes are very real concerns.

The league is not opposed to “safe drilling that respects the environment,” Wood said. “We are, however, opposed to the destruction of our most valuable and increasingly threatened natural resource — water — by its contamination and injection into disposal wells.”

Hogan said the weakness of the setback requirement is evident in the frequency with which the council has waived similar requirements for gas wells. In a substantial percentage of cases, he said, the council has allowed the standard 600-foot setback for gas wells to be  reduced even when drillers produced waivers from less than half the affected property owners.

The city staff presentation notes that having disposal wells in the city, served by pipelines, would cut down on the traffic of heavy trucks that damages city roadways and results in surface spills, including accidents involving tanker trucks.

Trice acknowledged that allowing injection wells within the city won’t stop operators from drilling other wells in the surrounding county. And it’s correct, he said, that having disposal wells in the city would reduce truck traffic only if the wells are served by pipelines.

Asked about the city staff’s views on seismic dangers, Trice said, “I’m not sure we have a take [on that issue].” The staff is concerned, he said, but “that dialogue is more appropriate at a state or national level.”

“We would hope if there is a dire safety question,” the Texas Railroad Commission or Environmental Protection Agency would address it, he said.

Texas Eminent Domain Superheroes Unite

For the benefit of THE PEOPLE.  Monday, across the state of Texas, many will come together to save Texans property rights.

There are 80 properties in the way in Texas with the Canadian pipeline, up 90 in Tarrant County with the Trinity River Vision, how many due to the freeway projects taking place across the state, what about local pipelines?  WHO's next?

WHO's standing up for YOU?  Your "leaders"?  Of course not.  THE PEOPLE. 

MEDIA ADVISORY

In Texas Private Property a Growing Issue for Keystone Pipeline

A new statewide coalition of groups and advocates for private property rights is announcing its support for landowners along the path of the Keystone XL pipeline in Texas. The group charges that TransCanada, the company proposing to build the pipeline, has used eminent domain to bully landowners and condemn private property.

“Texas politicians talk tough on eminent domain, but with Keystone we have a pipeline acting as a ‘common carrier’ and bludgeoning private property owners with eminent domain when there’s a real question whether it meets the legal requirements to do so,” said Debra Medina, former Republican gubernatorial candidate and director of We Texans.

WHAT: Press conference on private property and eminent domain issues facing Keystone XL

WHEN: Monday, February 13th (various times, see below)

WHERE: Dallas – Turley Law Center, 6440 N. Central Expressway, 10:30am
       Houston – Location & Time TBA
       Austin – Texas Railroad Commission, 1701 Congress Ave., 3:30pm
       San Antonio – Location TBA, 3:45pm

WHY: Landowners and prominent private property advocates uniting on Keystone XL

The coalition boasts a diverse group of advocates who are hosting press conferences around the state on February 13th. Press conferences will feature private property owners from East Texas who’ve had property condemned or been bullied into negotiated settlements and who say their story has not been told. The press conferences will be as follows:

• Dallas – Calvin Tillman, former mayor of DISH, TX will present landowners Julia Trigg Crawford and Eleanor Fairchild
• Houston – Debra Medina,executive director of We Texans and  former Republican candidate for governor, will present landowner Mike Hathorn
• Austin – Linda Curtis, director of Independent Texans, and Jessica Ellison of Texans for Accountable Government will present landowner Julia Trigg Crawford
• San Antonio – Terri Hall, director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, will present landowner Eleanor Fairchild

The coalition of advocates points to more than 80 cases in Texas where TransCanada, a foreign pipeline company, condemned private property belonging to Texans. The group also points out that the company misled landowners, telling them the pipeline had all necessary permits and repeatedly telling individual landowners that they were the last holdouts, making the pipeline seem inevitable and securing more favorable terms for the company.

The groups advocates draw parallels between the Keystone XL pipeline and the Trans-Texas Corridor, a proposed highway that many of them were active in defeating.

Debra Medina –  979.253.0220
Calvin Tillman – 940.453.3640
Linda Curtis – 512.535.7208
Terri Hall – 210.2750640
Jessica Ellison – 512.653.9179

Putting the Cat Back in the Bag

When you cannot depend on those who are paid to protect you, you must protect yourself and your family.

A letter from former DISH Mayor, Calvin Tillman. Protector of THE PEOPLE.

YOU can't afford to miss it. Unless of course you have no skin in the game....

For those really smart people who think that everything is fine in Gasland, please let me know...I bet I could find you a great deal on a house with a compressor station in your back yard, because it is very easy to say things are fine, when you don't have any skin in the game.

Since the town of DISH released the results of the ambient air study in 2009, the oil and gas industry has worked overtime to put that cat back into the bag. They first attacked the consultant that conducted our study, and then came after me personally with numerous threats and frivolous public information requests. They also spent a tremendous amount of resources to find any angle to put a cloud of doubt around the study, although the lab results clearly showed a problem, and subsequent studies show similar results including those studies perform by the oil and gas industry themselves. This rhetoric did not stop at the industry public relations departments, but also went to the highest levels of government in the State of Texas. Our state wide elected Railroad Commissioners can be heard on public record regurgitating the same vile comments that the industry groups were spewing, all working in collusion to make this little problem go away.

Once the Town of DISH started to get attention worldwide from this air study, the industry worked even harder to cloud the truth. Through my research it is apparent that the oil and gas industry will dispute any and all actions that cost the industry money, even likely spending more money to dispute the facts than accept responsibility and correcting the problem. Although, if they would show even one ounce of responsibility, it would pay huge dividends to their public image. One example of this propaganda is the AskChesapeake (CHK) website. Before the town of DISH air study was made public, there was a section of this website that admitted to the release of many of the chemicals found in DISH, and other areas, including the carcinogen benzene. The site indicated that these chemicals were tightly regulated by numerous state and federal agencies. When the DISH study was released, it became apparent that these sites weren't quite as regulated as Chesapeake (CHK) had indicated. Therefore, shortly after the release of the DISH air study, which had Chesapeake's (CHK) name all over it, that section of their website disappeared, and was replaced with a page that basically said " a little benzene exposure is ok".

The industry also likes to deflect blame from themselves by pointing out other industries that pollute. They act as though bad behavior by others makes it alright for them to do it. I have heard that there have been idle threats aimed at municipalities from Chesapeake, stating that if air testing was accomplished at any of their facilities, they would hire a firm to test the air around some of the area's largest employers. Hmmm, didn't see that advertised on AskChesapeake.

Now when traveling to make presentations around the country, I carry a library of air studies, and numerous photos from around the country. I explain these studies and photos during my presentation, because I know by now that someone will accuse me of dramatizing these issues. The industry would much rather show a photo of a little deer running in front of a drilling rig, than an aerial view of DISH, or better yet, the satellite images that show thousands of large well pad sites. That makes it a little difficult for them to say that there will only be a few wells here and there, and the land will be returned to its original condition. Therefore, the group of paid liars, show up and video my presentation, trying to find something to take out of context and use against me. They then write some hack piece on their websites that are only read by those looking to get paid by the industry, and that makes the band of thugs applaud.

Another issue that follows the same pattern is the small community of Dimock, PA. A private water well actually exploded and yet now the claim is that everything is fine, again trying to put the cat back in the bag. Anyone who has visited the affected people in Dimock, know that everything is not fine, but rather still quite a mess. But the state agency designed to protect the people of Pennsylvania are also working in collusion with the oil and gas industry. This agency has allowed the industry to stop delivering fresh water to those whose water wells are tainted by the irresponsible activities of others. With these sort of actions, does anyone wonder why people are moving out of Gasland? When you cannot depend on those who are paid to protect you, you must protect yourself and your family. None of us are in this position because of our own doing, or because we want to be.

There have been numerous university studies that have attempted to validate the industry's stories. Whether it deals with health impacts, or economic impacts, if they are funded by the industry, they always paint a rosy picture. While typically those who perform studies that are not funded by the industry, typically tell a different story, and if the story is not rosy, it is attacked. In the industries eyes only the studies they fund are valid, and not too many studies show a rosy picture if they are not industry funded. There have been numerous air studies accomplished throughout the Barnett Shale. First there was the DISH Study, that was followed up by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality testing, then the industry performed a study, and lastly the City of Fort Worth perform a study. If looking at only the lab results, all of the studies have very similar findings. There were the same chemicals detected and at levels above the Effects Screening Levels, including benzene that was detected in all of the studies. Frankly, some of the benzene levels found in the other areas were much worse than those found in DISH. However, the study in DISH indicated that there might be a problem with being exposed to benzene, while the other studies indicated that being exposed to a little benzene was ok, and when the levels were very high, they stated that they were being corrected. Although the lab results showed problem, the press release said everything was rosy. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality actually lied to the public about their test results, and had a subsequent internal ethics investigation that showed how this organization intentionally misled the public when they stated that they had not detected benzene in eight air samples, when results showed that half of the samples had elevated benzene levels. No one was ever held accountable for this intentional misleading of the public.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) even came to DISH to take blood and urine samples. This showed several elevated chemicals in the blood and urine of over half of the households, and most of those chemicals had been found to be produced by the compressor station; however, the TDSHS said things like household chemicals and smoking caused the elevated levels, when only four of the twenty seven people tested actually smoked. I was one of the ones who gave samples for the test, and along with 2/3 of those tested, I had toluene in my system. The TDSHS blamed this exposure on my commute, which I had not accomplished in 72 hours, and the half life for toluene is said to be 4 hours. During the meeting where they presented this information, there were several questions posed that the TDSHS could not answer, such as what the number of men vs women that were tested, were there different results in men vs women, how far did each person live from a well or compressor site, did those who lived closer to wells or compressors have higher exposure than those living further away. After it became apparent that the person responsible did not do an effective study, she admitted that this was not a scientific study, and that it should not be looked at as such (you can find the presentation on youtube). However, it has been treated and touted as the smoking gun that things are fine...nothing to see here . There have even been those in academia who have supported this study after it was admittedly flawed, while both the university professors, and the TDSHS are both paid by the State of Texas, where negative talk about the oil and gas industry is not tolerated. Consequently, the governor, who has never had a real job, made a run for President of the United States due to his support from the oil and gas industry, although that is not working out to well for him.

I do not have PhD that follows my name, nor am any kind of scientist, doctor,or lawyer. I admittedly do not understand things like climate change or global warming, but I do believe that I have a little common sense, and I have a lot of smart people that consult me. Therefore, when the benzene level goes up, so does the risk of someone getting cancer, and my children waking up to massive nosebleeds is not normal. Since moving from DISH 9 months ago my children have not suffered one nosebleed in the middle of the night. So although I am not a scientist, and can't explain why my children were getting nosebleeds, or why the noxious odors gave me a headache and a sore throat, I know I feel better now, have a lot more energy, and that moving out of Gasland was a smart move for me and my family. For those really smart people who think that everything is fine in Gasland, please let me know...I bet I could find you a great deal on a house with a compressor station in your back yard, because it is very easy to say things are fine, when you don't have any skin in the game.

Calvin Tillman
Former Mayor, DISH, TX

To whom it may concern -

A letter and a video from a Fort Worth citizen.

Mayor and City Council

Gas wells are being drilled on regular basis in the City of Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Gas Drilling Ordinance requires the gas drilling companies to provide an emergency response plan with each well permit request.  In reviewing the information provided by Chesapeake Energy for the Rutherford 1H Gas Well, their emergency response was a Xerox copy of the area with a line drawn from the fire station to the well site location and nothing else.  There was nothing provided about what their plans were or what procedures were in place to inform the nearby apartment residences or businesses in case of an emergency.  There was nothing provided that would protect the public or what actions they should take to protect themselves or even if there was anything in place about who should call the fire department.

I find this rather frightening considering many of the apartments nearby (less than 600 feet) house elderly and children as well as the adult human beings that rely on the City offering some sort of protection.  I know I do.  As we know, or you should know, the City Fire Department is not equipped to respond and take action in the event of any sort of gas well site emergency.  There sole responsibility is to cordon off the area and keep spectators at a safe distance.  They do not fight the fire or even go on the gas property.

Fires and other tragedies occur as a result of gas drilling, it is a high risk industrial operation.  A few days ago there was such a fire at a gas drilling rig in Oklahoma and was expected to burn for several days.  I assume they had some sort of plan in place for a gas fire or emergency.  What ever plan that was in place did not work and they were apparently not prepared.

In watching this fire burn, several things were apparent, the crews were off to the side doing nothing and there was a great deal of smoke, heat and toxic fumes being sent into the air.  The crews were obviously more than 200 or 300 feet from the site and probably more than a 1000 feet.  I assume the crews were trained about what to do in the event of an emergency.  Local citizens and children, like in Fort worth are not trained and this could lead to disastrous results.  

The Gas Well Ordinance requires there to a setback of 300 feet, except in the case of grandfathering which is 200 feet, which the Council seems to still improperly allow.  The setback is to the protected use or the house.  Most houses in my neighborhood have trees or bushes in their yard and in that event, the distance now becomes much closer, in the event there are no trees, dried grass will do.  The fire and the heat from the well fire would catch the trees or grass on fire and eventually lead to the nearby houses being destroyed also.  This possibility is more likely than not at some time and will happen in Fort Worth.  I think this is irresponsible on the City's part.  The citizens have a right to reasonable safety in their own home or where they work.  The citizens currently do not have that.

Please note the safety provided by the drilling company, Chesapeake Energy, for the well fire.  It consists of ONE rather small stream of water in the lower left hand side of the video. lol  That is their safety procedure.

These gas well fires are not unique.  There were two in Oklahoma within a matter of a few months.  I have included a video link to the well fire on January 6, 2012.

Another gas well caught fire in Oklahoma on September 20, 2011.  

THE Women want to know

Y'all better answer them.  Don't they publish a voter's guide every election?  You go, girls.

Read the letter in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Ordinance revisions

The League of Women Voters of Tarrant County applauds the Fort Worth City Council for commissioning a comprehensive, independent study of air quality in the Fort Worth area, and for charging city staff to make recommendations for additions to the gas drilling ordinance in response to the study findings.

However, we are disappointed that the City Council chose not to adopt any of the proposed revisions.

The health issues raised by the study remain, so we ask: When will changes be made to the ordinance to address these vital issues?

-- Judy Wood, president, LWV
 Tarrant County, Fort Worth

WHO thought that was a good idea?

WHO is the genius that thought drilling next to the Comanche Power Plant was a good idea? Read about it in the Fort Worth Weekly.

All the same players and issues.  Texas is starting to sound like a broken record.  Gas drilling, water, dams, fracing, earthquakes...the list goes on.

Too bad you can only believe half of what the Corp says...which half do you believe?

“All of our infrastructure is aging,” he said. “It’s a nationwide issue. We have concerns [about] hydrofracking. We don’t have the data on it, and that’s what we need to get. We don’t want to do anything to put an undue strain on a public infrastructure. Public safety comes first.”

They forgot to buy the doctors

More than 250 pediatricians, family practitioners, otolaryngologists, endocrinologists, oncologists and other doctors, along with the Medical Societies of at least seven upstate counties and the regional office of the American Academy of Pediatricians, wrote to Governor Cuomo today, warning that the state has failed to analyze public health impacts of hydraulic fracturing in its rush to approve permits for drilling.

“We are greatly concerned about the omission of a critical issue related to the development of natural gas using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking: human health impacts,” the doctors and medical authorities wrote.

Mallard Cove Update

The compressor stations on Randol Mill have been generating a lot of noise and they aren't even there yet.  People are waking up.  What happens when sheep get pissed?

The Fort Worth Weekly and the citizens that comment, give you the update.  YOU can't afford to miss it.

The Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods is urging the Fort Worth Zoning Commission to deny a rezoning request that would pave the way for an industrial site with up to 15 compressor stations near Randol Mill Road and East Loop 820. Mallard Cove residents have already been battling an adjacent sand mining operation (“Dust-Up,” July 28, 2011) and now they’re facing the prospect of living in a nightmare situation a la DISH, the little town north of Fort Worth that got so littered with compressor stations that residents began getting sick from fumes.

“I have looked at the zoning of the immediate area, and what I see is all residential [zoning] or neighborhood-friendly business [zoning] and no heavy industrial,” said homeowner Jim Ashford, adding that the zoning change “is not in the interest of the health and well-being of the neighborhood either financially or from a health and safety stand point for the citizens.”

UPDATE - Mallard Cove Zoning vote here.  

UPDATE - Mallard Cove Council Meeting December 6, 2011 here.  

Arlington Hero

Fire Chief Crowson is wanting security cameras at all gas drilling sites.  What a concept, someone concerned with the safety of the citizens and the emergency responders instead of the industry and a dollar.

We salute Chief Crowson.  Read about him in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

WHO is Mel looking out for?

Though some drillers already monitor their sites, an ordinance amendment proposed to council members Tuesday could make security cameras mandatory for natural gas facilities within 1,000 feet of homes or other protected areas.

Fire Chief Don Crowson said the security equipment could help deter vandalism and more serious crime, as well as help identify whether a mechanical failure, operator error or storm was behind a gas release.

"The industry is going to be here for a long time, and we want to take the necessary, proactive precautions that help keep the sites safe," Crowson said. "Having something that watches those sites is a good thing. People who live near those sites would believe it's a good thing, too."

"The more security we can provide, the better," Cluck said. "We do something very dangerous. As long as we respect that and treat it appropriately, that's OK."

This year, Arlington firefighters have responded to natural gas releases at two sites caused by weather or equipment issues.

Though Councilman Mel LeBlanc is concerned about how much surveillance cameras might cost drillers, he said, he applauds the city for working to maintain a balance between "underregulating and overregulating" the industry while protecting residents' health, wealth and safety.

"There is a median path we should be taking here to make sure we don't strangle or retard the efforts of the natural gas industry or make the environment difficult for them to operate in," LeBlanc said. "At the same time, we want to protect citizens."

Does that say FORT WORTH??

The City council wants to look at the gas drilling ordinance?  OUR city council?

Somebody pinch us, we must be dreaming.

Read it in the Fort Worth Business Press.

At the Pre-council session of Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting, some council members raised objections to issues related to multiple-well site permitting, grandfathering and other factors related to gas well drilling.