More Trinity Trash

WFAA had back to back stories on the Trinity River in Dallas and Fort Worth. The stories don't seem to be online yet, so we'll give you the rundown.

In Dallas, the levee collapse at I-35 and Regal Row seems to be causing some concern. The culprit? A water leak in the city utility line.

Two other sections have collapsed in the upper West levees in the past few weeks, but that is blamed on Mother Nature herself.

Over in Fort Worth, money is being given to improve Riverside Park, IF the neighborhood is willing to let it flood. Trinity River Vision wants to excavate the parkland 16 feet lower than it already is.

Neighborhood leaders are concerned about the already limited green space and the contaminants that would be left behind. The city isn't.

The Trinity River Vision Authority and the City of Fort Worth are holding a meeting Tuesday for residents. They say if they really don't want it, they will find other land to use as flood storage.

They said WHAT? Is that part of the Trinity River Master Plan? What other land? How will they obtain other land?

The meeting details are listed below. Lots of meetings tomorrow. Be there! And then share your story with Texas Lone Star!

Share your ideas about a new master plan for Riverside Park, 501 Oakhurst Scenic Drive, at a meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Fort Worth Harvest Church, 620 N. Chandler Drive. Residents can discuss and help determine recreational features that would be most desirable to the community. A Spanish interpreter will be available.

WHO? WHEN?

Jerry Lobdill and Don Young. 2007.

Too bad our city leaders wouldn't listen then. Prime example of nothing was done, it just got worse.

Make sure they hear YOU tomorrow.
The time is NOW.

I've been looking back at my email traffic since August 2007 when I first got into this urban gas drilling fight. Here's an email I wrote way back on September 13, 2007 talking about what I learned about the gas drillers' plans in one single evening at the Trinity Trees forum. I got the bit about rubber-stamping high impact wells wrong, but now even that part is correct.

And our City Council and Mayor want us to believe that they innocently never considered anything but the economic benefits when they were considering opening the city gates for this industry. They didn't just fail to do due diligence. They deliberately didn't think about it.

Why?

Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:08:26 -0500

To: Jerry Lobdill
From: Jerry Lobdill
Subject: About Trinity Trees
Bcc: Don Young

Hot off the press news:
http://thecaravanofdreams.blogspot.com/

DY

I posted to the blog the following comment:

We are facing a blitzkreig in the next year. Let's get real. The mayor has told all council members "I'm a very vindictive guy, and if you don't go along with me I'll get you." All but Silcox are scared of him. Moncrief's a gas industry shill and profiteer. His Barnett Shale profits this year will hit $1M. Know your enemy.

Now let me explain what the industry wants. They say they want about 3000 wells inside of Loop 820. At the Trinity Trees forum it was said (and not disputed) that they wanted a drilling pad every 7000 ft inside the city limits. These numbers are astonishingly consistent if one thinks of about 6 wells per drilling pad. This density would place 15 drilling pads on every MAPSCO page of the Fort Worth MAPSCO book. Look at any page and tell me how many pad sites you can place there that will not require a high impact variance. It sure as hell isn't 15.

So what this means is that they will be coming to council daily with applications for high impact variances. So far these have been rubber-stamped. Doing this makes a complete mockery of the ordinance. That is what is going to happen unless we can mount a strong grass roots attack to stop it. They're going to need about 400 or so to produce the city.

The ordinance is based on a desire by industry to create a moral hazard so that they cannot be held liable for the almost certain disaster that will come in the form of an explosive blowout followed by fire. There is no body of data that supports any given set back (300ft, 600 ft, whatever). The function of the law is to indemnify the producers and drillers. So let's not kid ourselves into thinking it's a safety measure. With the rubber-stamp "high impact" variance they can have their cake and eat it too. What do you think will happen to our taxes, our insurance, our property resale value?

We have to get organized on a city-wide basis, or we're going to have a city that is not fit to live in.

Just my $0.02

Jerry Lobdill

United

Don't miss today's article in the FW Business Press about the levels of benzene in the air you breathe. Just another reason YOU should attend the meeting Tuesday!

Short-term exposure of benzene can cause nausea, dizziness, headache and drowsiness, whereas long-term exposure may affect bone marrow and blood, and may cause leukemia, Honeycutt said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists benzene as one of 188 air pollutants that “may reasonably be anticipated to result in an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness,” according to the agency’s Web site.

State Representative Lon Burnam will be holding a meeting immediately following the community meeting tomorrow night. There is also a meeting on Wednesday. Busy week! Mark your calendars! Details on when and where below.

You can express your concerns about the gas drilling and pipeline issues at any of these three events:

Beer and Pretzels Mixer following a Community Sponsored Forum at 6pm
When: Tuesday December 1, 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Where: The Elvis Room, Hotel Trinity Inn and Suites (-I30 and Beach Street)

A Public Meeting Sponsored by Sen. Davis, Rep. Burnam, and Councilwoman Hicks
When: Wednesday December 2, 6:30pmWhere: Meadowbrook Elemenatry School (4330 Meadowbrook Dr.)

Join me for Coffee and Pan Dulce as I File for Re-Election
When: Thursday December 3, 8:30am - 9:00am
Where: Tarrant County Democratic Party (3004 W. Lancaster Ave.)

Q & A

One of our contributors has a question, and an answer.

To all who have fought so hard for some sanity to gas drilling...I have a question.

Exactly when do you become an "activist" instead of the city labeled "naysayer," or even worse, "CAVE People" (Citizens Against Virtually Everything)?

ANSWER: When you and truth can no longer be silenced by elected leadership.

Keep making noise! Hold your leaders accountable.

Unite tomorrow! Invite your friends and your family. It's their air and water too!

Watch the lastest from WFAA.com.

Where?

Carter Avenue. That's where.

Once again, Durango has the dirt.

And where do those folks suing the gas drillers in PA live? Carter Road, that's where.

TXSharon has the dirt on that.

Coincidence?

Be there!

Reasons...

Part of the reason we started a blog - We were tired of the news not telling the truth.

We aren't the only ones...read about the failed purple river project and it's contradictions here.

If the head of the Tarrant Regional Water District "doesn't know" specifics about what he's dumping in the Trinity/Horned Frog river, do we really want these people rerouting it?

Another reason...

We are thankful for Durango.

He's always out and about showing us what is going on in the city.

We didn't realize he had yet to have the honor of hearing Mayor Moncrief speak in person until today. Today being the day the Mayor poured chemicals into the Trinity River that he renamed Horned Frog River.

Read what Durango had to say about this close encounter here.

Thanksgiving...

We are thankful for our friends on Carter Avenue! Cheers to their victory and spirit!

We are also thankful for those that play a part in trying to save our cities and protect our residents. It takes a village.

And last but certainly not least, we are thankful for Durango.

As soon as I turned off Beach Street on to Carter Avenue I saw flags, lots of American flags, in front of every home on Carter Avenue, then more flags when I turned left on Sanborn Street, flags all the way to Mother Nature on Scott Avenue, a monument that continues to weep over the damage done to the Tandy Hills by Chesapeake Energy.

Was this the people of Carter Avenue celebrating that the American Way had worked? That truth, justice and doing the right thing had prevailed. That they had used the power of their freedom of speech to let other Americans know about the threat being directed at Carter Avenue?

Following the American flags down Carter Avenue leads you to Mother Nature. That has to mean something...

And from his later posting about David and Goliath -

Using the greatest power an American has, the use of their free speech, the people of Carter Avenue fought back against Chesapeake Energy and the corrupted elected officials of the city they live in.

And won.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Texas Lone Star

This land is your land

Maybe not.

Tarrant Regional Water District eminent domain cases, just in time for the Holiday.

Read all about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article, "Hearings begin for Trinity Uptown property seizures".

Sounds festive, doesn't it?

If that doesn't, you'll be happy to know the city is teaming up with the Water District to dump purple dye in the river. Again. They are also going to rename it for the game.

Check out the companies mentioned along with money, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article.

Want more? While we still appreciate efforts to conserve water, we have to wonder, WHO orders 7,000 toilets? WHO pays? The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the scoop on the Royal Flush.