Dallas, Fort Worth, Katrina, House of Cards and the Corp of Engineers…

Funny, when we first started watching this House of Cards season, someone in our group yelled, “It’s Eddie Bernice Johnson!”  Seems we weren’t the only ones.

Jim Schutze at the Dallas Observer puts the story together for you, in case you aren’t able to see all the similarities on your own.  Now how the hell do we get him to Fort Worth?

ON HOUSE OF CARDS IT'S WASHINGTON'S FAULT. IN REAL LIFE IT'S OURS.

I’m sure you remember Hurricane Katrina, but just in case — August 29, 2005, 2,000 people dead, 34,000 rescued in New Orleans alone, $100 billion in damage over 90,000 square miles.

At that time Congresswoman Johnson chaired the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Faced with mounting evidence that federally supported flood control levees had failed in New Orleans, Johnson did the right thing. She pushed for a national review of levee safety all across America.

Oops.

The technical survey of federal levees found 150 seriously flawed levee systems in the United States. The big oops for Johnson was a finding that the Trinity River levee system through Dallas and right through Johnson’s congressional district was no damn good. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rated the levees in Johnson’s district “unacceptable.”

“Unacceptable” may sound like something a father tells his 13-year-old daughter about her skirt. But if you dug deeper into the maddeningly mild language of the Corps report, “unacceptable” really meant that the levees in Dallas were inadequate to meet even the minimum federal flood safety requirement. 

Even deeper in Corps of Engineers documents was their conclusion that the toll from the New Orleans flood – waters that rose in neighborhoods but spared downtown New Orleans – might be far out-stripped in casualties and property damage in a Trinity River flood, which would be a wall of water aimed at the heart of downtown Dallas.

So what happened next? Did those D.C. jackals talk Dallas into lying down for this “unacceptable” peril to life, limb and property? Did Claire Underwood, that hard-eyed, stiff-walking, snotty First Lady from House of Cards come down here and pull the wool over innocent little eyeballs?

Hah! It is good to laugh. No, I’ll tell you exactly what happened. That Corps of Engineers finding that our levee system was unacceptably unsafe flew straight in the face of a big highway-building project along the levees that was heavily favored by the city’s Old Guard, many of whom had been checkbook-backers of Johnson from the earliest days of her political career (hence, the airport concessions), and by the city’s only daily newspaper, which is owned by the Old Guard.

The city of Dallas joined a consortium of cities around the country that were having similar “risk” problems with their levee systems. Together they used their combined congressional heft, of which Johnson was a key element, to jawbone the Corps of Engineers into redefining the word “risk.”

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “hazard, danger, exposure to mischance or peril.” The Corps of Engineers, threatened with having its budget cut off at the waist, redefined flood risk to include the existence of warning and evacuation systems, which, in Oxford English terms, might mean, “hazard, danger, exposure to mischance or peril unless you get lucky.”

And guess how that worked out for the levees protecting residents of Congresswoman Johnson’s district? The Corps of Engineers announced that under the new definition the Trinity River levees in Dallas, previously ruled unsafe at the level of a so-called 100-year flood, now could be deemed safe at the level of a 100,000-year flood but also possibly even at the level of a 400,000-year flood.

So, 100,000 years, give or take 300,000 years. Wow. That’s some levee, considering that only 30,000 years ago Cro-Magnon man was just beginning to move from the Near East into Europe. Imagine some Star Wars bar scene on an asteroid in another galaxy 300,000 years from now: A group of Ewoks, Coruscani Ogres and Derkolos are knocking back ice-cold brewskis, planning a vacation trip together to tour the Amazing Levees of Dallas, the oldest built structures in the entire universe of universes.

In other words, it’s a kind of in-your-face federal bureaucratic middle finger. It’s the Corps of Engineers saying, “Fine, Congresswoman Johnson. Sure. Come up here to D.C. and threaten our institutional existence, which dates from the Battle of Bunker Hill, because we tried to protect your constituents from disaster. You want to keep the levee system you’ve got? Here are the keys to it. Drive safely.”

By the way, Johnson later joined U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, in using a last-minute rider on a national defense spending bill and other legislative sleight-of-hand to entirely exempt the Trinity River from important provisions of federal law protecting wildlife, wetlands, public parks and historical structures, some or all of which might have interfered with the highway project the Dallas establishment had been seeking for 20 years.

Another one??

Another child nearly drowns in the Trinity River.

What’s it going to take?

The Tarrant Regional Water District previously said, the area is clearly marked with signs.  Some beg to differ.

Remember, these folks want to give you better access to the highly contaminated river.

The mother of the last victim the river claimed speaks out on WFAA.com.

Trinity River Bridge

The best thing about this article, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is the comments....

Wow. three million for a bridge to downtown that does not really dump into downtown. I guess the bridge at Henderson that connects to the old Tandy parking lot (downtown) was not pretty enough. Oh wait, I forgot, that bridge is being torn down for lake kay

3 million?  Ridiculous.  Where's Mayor what's-her-name who was going to stop all this unnecessary spending and get the budget in line?  That's right, she's busy spending the $3 million the federal government just gave her to strip 200 houses of lead paint.

If someone wants a bridge across the river let them pay for it.  If someone wants lead paint removed from their home let them pay for it.  Whether it's city, state, or fed money it's still taxpayer money.  Quit spending it frivulously.


HOW much is it?  And WHO pays?  You already know the answer.

Federal grants administered by the Texas Department of Transportation provided $2.3 million while the city kicked in $459,000 and Streams and Valleys raised $200,000 from private donors, said David Creek

Smell that?

Durango shows you the mess left behind from the sanitary sewer line break at the Tandy Hills.

But, as we all know, we have more important things to worry about spending money on in Fort Worth than the water/sewer infrastructure. Or sidewalks.

The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and its billion dollar price tag, that's the priority project for this town.

A town in dire need of having a little lake, some canals and an un-needed flood diversion channel to replace flood control levees which have worked fine for longer than half a century.

With all of Fort Worth's water main and sanitary sewer breaks I wonder if the town can lay claim to being the leakiest town in America?

Occupy Wood Shed 6%

If you want to see what YOUR tax dollars paid for, you're invited to come out to the Woodshed Wednesday afternoon.  We hear there will be a big group taking a look before the boycott starts Thursday.  We're also told they'll be going to eat bar-b-que at Pappa's on the Trinity River after they occupy.  So, no tent needed to make a statement.

DFW.com just did an article on the repeatedly delayed opening.  Wonder why they didn't do one of the flooded Wakeboard park? 

Love and the Trinity River Vision Authority have taken some heat because the TRVA signed a 10-year lease with Love without open bidding. But Love says he hopes the restaurant, located just west of University Drive not far from Hoffbrau Steaks, will help open the door for other restaurants along the river.

"I've gotten beat up a little bit in the last couple of months," he continues. "But I'm trying to make [the river area] better. When I did the lease, I said, 'I want to do something for the river.' Somehow that backfired on me. I thought people would be excited about the fact that they could come here and drink a beer and 6 percent of it goes back to the [district]. I mean, that's pretty cool."

The Pirates are Coming

Oh wait, they're already here.  They are throwing the Party in Fort Worth this year. They even put a rig with their flag on the invitation. 

The Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund throws this party every year with a theme and a sponsor.  Radio Shack hosted the River of Dreams back in 2006, highlighting the Trinity River. Mayor Moncrief asked Chesapeake to sponsor 2012 before his reign was over. 

The purpose of this group is basically to "promote" Fort Worth to national media. Where is the group promoting the citizens?  Those who should be will be at the party.

The Fort Worth City Council will be Honorary chairs.  At up to $25,000 a table (that level does come with parking, there are other options in the thousands that do not) WHAT is that costing us?

We noticed many familiar names on the "list".  The circle of Fort Worth.

We noticed an unofficial list too, looks like Durango will be in attendance, maybe it will be THE Party in Fort Worth after all.

The Wave of the Future

Or not.

Durango has been on a Tarrant County Transportation boondoggle roll. 

WHO pays for all of this?  YOU do.  All of YOU.  The better question is, WHY?

Fort Worth spent $6.4 million on their fleet of eight 80 passenger futuristic buses. This $6.4 million came from people all over America, courtesy of the Federal Recovery Act.

I assume this is part of what is known as The Stimulus.

The buses were initially bought to provide transport to the Super Bowl.

Has there been any sort of investigation by anyone into how much money was wasted by Fort Worth in that particular Boondoggle? Some of the disaster was weather related, courtesy of ice storms and snow. But some of it was hubris related.

That's weird...

FW Weekly wonders why the Fort didn't make the weird list.  Yeah, us too.

City leaders took such pride in Fort Worth being named one of the country’s most livable large cities of the 2000s, and then invited gas drillers to invade neighborhoods. That’s pretty weird.

Or how about those Trinity River Vision players inviting residents to come swim in the Trinity River near downtown and watch concerts? That’s odd seeing as how the water has long been considered feces infested and filthy and was untested at the time of the invitations.

Most of the time

Rumors in Fort Worth turn out to be true.

Read about Bud Kennedy and the Trinity River on Durango's blog, where else?

YOU pay

Over and over again.

Teri Hall and TURF spell it out for you, the Dallas Observer lays it out for you.

WHO's involved?  Oh yes, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Army Corp of Engineers, TXDOT and the Trinity River.  No, not Fort Worth, this time in Dallas.  YOU get the drift...and the shaft.

Notice how the cost escalates, as usual.

It's a total OUTRAGE to build this road 100% with federal and state tax money and then charge drivers a toll, a second tax, to use it! This is a tax grab, plain & simple.

But he didn't need to make much of a case; as Michael Morris, the head of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and TxDOT and city officials explained earlier this week, the Horseshoe Project is a slam-dunk. The $700 million is there, courtesy the state Legislature and myriad other funding sources that will pay for the bridges -- the other two Calatravas the city so desperately wants running over the Trinity River, for which there's $92 million in federal funds. (Pensock did say, at one point, that the project will more than likely cost closer to $800 million when it's wrapped in five years, fingers crossed.)

There are, of course, a few issues to deal with before the traffic jam, including finishing a design and getting a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, since, as Pensock said, the bridges go over the levees, which presents "a particularly sticky issue due to flooding.

"I don't know if we'll ever be able to truly solve congestion in Dallas." 

Who will come to their rescue?

We have a couple of guesses.

Another piece of Fort Worth history is in danger of ending up like Heritage Park. 

Will anyone save Carl Bell and the beloved Fort Worth Cats?

How many of you from the "old school" have black and white photos of you or family members entering the Cats game? 

Priceless.

Check it out on the Fort Worth Weekly.

The city’s oldest and most popular sports team is in danger of folding. If the Cats get skinned, that’s a lot of history down the drain, seeing as how they played their first game here in 1888.

Have you guessed

WHO will be bailing out the Fort Worth Cats yet?

YOU will.

Read Bud Kennedy's take about the Cats and the election...

Whats in the Trinity River, again?

Kudos to WFAA for finally testing the water in the Trinity River and calling attention to it.

Mind you the numbers they will be posting are from City of FW and TRWD.  The same who weren't  testing the water while promoting the summer tubing series.  Oh and their spokesman says 'you still would not be able to tell the public it's safe'

Feel better?

Thanks to Chris Hawes and Libby Willis for finally getting it done.  Citizens getting it done.  We like it.

YOU Do Not Want To Miss This

Dear Friends of the Trinity River,

Please join us for an unprecedented event that promises to be an enlightening and educational evening. Bring your questions. And bring your neighborhood associations, groups and clubs - all taxpayers need to hear this.

Sincerely,

Your friends at TRIP

Trinity River Talk

Have questions about TRV?  Want to hear both sides?

Join us.

October 12th @ 6:30 p.m.
Botanic Garden, Fort Worth  - Lecture Hall

Panelists include:

Jim Lane - Tarrant Regional Water District Board member and former Fort Worth City Council member

J.D. Granger - Trinity River Vision Authority Executive Director and former Assistant District Attorney

Mark Rauscher - City of Fort Worth - Trinity River Vision Director

Clyde Picht - Former Fort Worth City Council member

Steve Hollern - CPA and former Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman

John Basham - Consulting Meteorologist

TRIP would like to thank the SPJFW for moderating this important community event for the citizens.

Enough already!

The Tarrant Regional Water District is suing Oklahoma for their water.  Again.

After millions of dollars and many futile attempts.  Hello Boys, it's Oklahoma, not Tarrant County.

Jim Oliver is quoted in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about wanting to do what's right for the citizens.  Yes, you read that right. Maybe a good place to start would have been testing the Trinity River before having the citizens float in it. 

Maybe spend some of OUR money researching proven water planning options instead of suing our neighbors. 

Read the article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Then stock up on water.

It's about damn time

Finally...Last year our readers asked Channel 8 why they would promote tubing in the Trinity River, during the same newscast that they honored the child who died from bacteria in the Paluxy River. Since the Trinity River Vision (headed by JD Granger, son of our Congresswoman, Kay Granger) and the Tarrant Regional Water District were urging people to Tube the Trinity without 'testing the water' so to speak.

Nothing was ever done. You know the rest, it just got worse. All summer long those appointed to protect you and YOUR water spent your money to advertise to you to 'Jump on in'. Do sheep swim?

Channel 8 tested it, finally. And guess what? The river is kind of like the Vision, full of fecal matter. Didn't TRIP (www.savethetrinityriver.org) tell us that? We heard some of the same things at their meeting last week. We hear their about to tell you something else. YOU won't want to miss it. We also hear the TRVA and the TRWD will now start testing the water, that's what we need, more special interests regulating themselves. That's going to cost us, in one way or another.

WHY has the river not been tested till now? Timing is everything.

Old News Bandwagon

For a couple of years we (and Durango) have been telling you about water being removed from the creeks and river for gas drilling purposes.  Now that we're in a drought, someone is finally paying attention.  Reminds us of local flooding issues, no one cares, till the rain starts again.

Odd how it all comes back to water.

Thanks to the Watchdog, Don Young, for getting the "news" involved. 

Check it out on CBSlocal.com

While many North Texans are being asked to conserve water during a statewide drought, three large pipelines are pulling millions of gallons of water out of the Trinity River in Fort Worth, near West Seventh Street.

Where are the pipelines taking the water? Follow them past raised sidewalk sections and roadway crossings and you will end up at a natural gas well located just outside of Trinity River Park, operated by Chesapeake Energy.

There are several more "quotes" and so called "facts" in the article, but they all made us want to say, BS. 

Congrats to TRIP!

Good example of what THE PEOPLE can do when they come together.  Read the message below from the Trinity River Improvement Partnership. 

Dear Friends of the Trinity River,

TRIP is pleased to announce that our documentary video project, Up A Creek, has been selected by the Neo-Relix Film Festival in Glen Rose, Texas. It will be shown as one of the featured programs at 2:00 Saturday, September 3rd, and at 12:00 Sunday September 4th.

Up A Creek is a story about the real dangers of flooding that exist in the Fort Worth area, and seeks to inform citizens about the misplaced priorities of our elected officials and their plans to spend close to one billion dollars of tax money to benefit the development community.

Our presentation begins with a heartbreaking, true story of flooding, tragedy, and a lack of local governmental foresight and accountability. Local critics of the Trinity River Vision Project then pick up the story and cover a wide-ranging series of topics, from eminent domain abuse to TIF financing districts, legislative manipulation, lack of local media scrutiny, where flood control is actually needed. It addresses the role of the Tarrant Regional Water District and where our local and federal tax dollars are going with this project. The video ends with a call to action, urging voters to educate themselves about the project and help TRIP to offer a more realistic alternative.

TRIP... Our Mission: Support public and civic organizations to achieve maximum balance in preserving property rights, the environment, flood control, and historical considerations, while achieving reasonable development and a clean and adequate water supply.

Please join us. Visit us at www.savethetrinityriver.org

Hello? Anyone there?

Part of another letter from a citizen to the City of Fort Worth.  Do they read their emails?  Concerened about lack of transparency? Gas Drilling? Budget?  Water?  It's all here...everything but a response.

Dear Mayor and Council Members:

The CITIZENS of Ft. Worth are not pleased with both the lack of advance notice for Tuesday's Gas Drilling Workshop, as well as the misleading dates and lack of opportunity for citizen participation.

The following facts will illustrate our concerns:

1. In previous information issued by the City, and in the City News (e-newsletter) issued in July, it was noted that this Gas Drilling Workshop would be part of the series of Budget hearings, and the date listed was August 30th.

Not only was the date moved UP a good 2 weeks, but the citizens were given absolutely NO advance notice of this change. (NOTE the emailed copy below that I received, showing that it was sent by the City on MONDAY evening, 8/15!)

Obviously, there were folks who probably did find out over the weekend (after the Council's Agenda's are posted on the previous Friday); however, due to the fact that this was scheduled for a DAYTIME meeting, it severely limited advance planning or contact opportunities for the CITIZENS.

NOTE: Citizens are currently preoccupied with returning from vacations, and getting their children ready to start school this coming week.

I will compliment Asst. City Mgr. Fernando Costa on the apparent very comprehensive lineup of speakers and presenters. We would have appreciated more ADVANCE notice of these presentations so that CITIZENS could have had time to contact the Mayor, Council and Staff with the questions that WE wanted

addressed with these critically important subjects.

Any feedback and information shared by the CITIZENS will still be important, but the optimum timing for conversations with each of you would have been prior to Tuesday's Workshop. May I remind each of you that YOU are focused on these issues because it is your JOB....... the citizens are not checking these sites 24/7, and deserve NO LESS than at TWO WEEKS NOTICE when critically important issues like the gas drilling.(and related budget items) ..... which impacts EVERYONE...... are up for discussion and decisions are being made.

2. Below is the copy from your "Budget Workshop - Day 2 Recap" of the upcoming dates for the four public Budget hearings. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? There's only ONE evening meeting, and this last week's Council meeting was also a daytime meeting! To schedule only ONE evening meeting and make it just ONE week before you are going to VOTE on the Budget is totally inadequate lead time for citizens to participate.

Obviously, it's too late for this Tuesday's meeting to be changed. However, we believe that the Mayor and Council should consider either adding another EVENING meeting for Aug. 30th ( a day workshop was originally scheduled for that date), or figure out some way that there will be an additional opportunity for an EVENING meeting (far in advance of your Sept. 20th vote) when Mayor, Council and Staff will be present. We are aware that folks can submit their comments via email, but it is not the same.

(from the City's website):

City Council will vote on the final budget Sept. 20, following four public hearings:

10 a.m. Aug. 16
10 a.m. Aug. 23
7 p.m. Sept. 13
10 a.m. Sept. 20

3. The GAS DRILLING issues, as you realized from your Tuesday Workshop, are far-reaching and not ones with "simple solutions." There are very serious threats to the health and safety of our NEIGHBORHOODS that need to be addressed.  You were able to hear and see presentations from representatives from these various entities, and know that there are changes that need to be made in both the Gas Drilling Ordinance, as well as Budget allocations.

In a year when the City of Ft. Worth is facing another LARGE BUDGET DEFICIT, it is time to face the reality of creating an EIF - Environmental Impact Fee - that will be assessed to ALL GAS DRILLING, PIPELINE AND RELATED COMPANIES doing business in Ft. Worth. Those fees should be placed in a separate Escrow fund , to be used ONLY to pay for things like the Air Quality Study, as well as BASELINE testing of any sites proposed for gas drilling & fracking, pipelines, compressors, storage tanks, and any related equipment or activity.

NCTCA has long advocated for this Environmental Impact Fee; it is a justified fee that the INDUSTRY should bear, NOT the citizens. We also believe that revenues from such a fee should be used to REIMBURSE the City accounts for the recently completed Air Quality Study. To pay the $1 MILLION-plus out of the Gas Drilling Revenues is to ROB the citizens and our City treasury of funds that should be directed to other much needed items....... oh, say, like POOLS or LIBRARIES!

4. As you can see from the noted items above, Friends, there is a PRESSING need to address and resolve these issues...... and not a lot of time to do so!  For example: In case no one's noticed, WE ARE IN A SEVERE/ EXTREME DROUGHT, AND TO CONTINUE TO GIVE THE GAS DRILLING INDUSTRY CARTE BLANCHE FOR WATER USAGE WHEN CITIZENS ARE BEING REQUIRED TO CUT BACK IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! Cities like Grand Prairie, Southlake and others have realized the URGENCY, and have issued WATER restrictions on the gas drilling acitivities for the duration of the severe/ extreme drought conditions. This issue impacts not only our CITY BUDGET, but also our Water Department and our "precious jewel" - Trinity Park ( Chesapeake has huge pipelines running through our gorgeous trees that are draining water from the Trinity River as I write this!)

Cowtown is seeing many farmers and ranchers in the area selling off large numbers of their herds due to the drought. We cannot wait til we get to an EMERGENCY situation and run OUT of water to address this issue!

You are proposing - FOR THE THIRD YEAR - another RATE HIKE ON OUR WATER BILLS, which, in essence, amounts to a TAX. The City should be RAIISING the fees on an industry that it using our TREATED WATER for fracking, and not being limited in their usage in any way! This is UNACCEPTABLE, and requires a change in the Ordinance, as well as City policy.

The Tarrant County Water Board has recently warned that they anticipate that as of Sept. 1st, ALL cities in the County will be placed under mandatory water restrictions during this drought period. CITIZENS have yet to hear how you plan to address both the fiscal and the physical issues related to WATER used by the shale gas industry.

Mayor and Council Members: I've cited THREE main areas of concern:

1. Scheduling another EVENING public hearing for the Budget.

2. Addressing the critically important issues, as outlined in your Tuesday

Workshop, at a public hearing to allow feedback from the CITIZENS. (and including many of these same presenters to answer questions).

3. Creating a written POLICY NOW related to the WATER usage by the gas drilling industry during this SEVERE/ EXTREME DROUGHT period, and, especially, if water restrictions are required of the citizens. We ask that you consider these three points, and make public announcements related to each, with advance notice to the citizens, on how you plan to address and resolve these issues.

We know that our new Mayor Price has had to "hit the floor running" (or, "peddle FAST on her bike"!), and that's required immediately jumping into the Budget challenges. All of the above issues require both TRANSPARENCY with the Citizens, and a willlingness to face and make the HARD decisions necessary for positive solutions that will protect the health and safety of the citizens and neighborhoods.

NCTCA - the North Central Texas Communities Alliance - continues to stand ready to help and serve as a RESOURCE as you make these hard decisions. Please feel free to contact me anytime to discuss these matters further.

With best regards,
Esther McElfish - President
NCTCA - North Central TX Communities Alliance

Fracing up the river...

Seems we've mentioned this before...

Gas drillers removing water from OUR rivers and creeks.  Ultimately, WHO pays?  YOU do.

Read about it on FWCANDO.  Then, DO something.

Now, in the middle of a record-breaking drought and with the blessing of the Fort Worth Mayor and City Council, Chesapeake is preparing to frack the well with water from the river. As of last week, they began ramming water-sucking pipes through the park, right next to the duck pond and playgrounds where children play.

Hey Brother, can you spare some outrage?