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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Drilling, Drones and Guns ~ Arlington, TX Week in Review

This morning somewhere between that dreaming and waking state ~  moments prior to putting my boots on the ground ~  three headlines of this week's current events filled my head:   

Arlington, Texas Week in Review:


Drilling:

Click  Here, Here, Here, Here,  and Here
to read this week's top stories about the Rocking Horse Gas Drill site situated 359 feet from a daycare facility.  City council approves this controversial gas well permit despite strong opposition from the community.

Here is the February 5, 2013 Rocking Horse Public Hearing:


Drones:

 Click Here  
to read how Arlington, TX spends $202,259 of taxpayer money for two drones.
   
“It will help with significant applications across the community, from potential hostage situations to anything that will keep an officer out of harm's way,” Rivera said. 

and,

Guns:

Click Here  
  for the update on the conceal carry demand in Arlington.  Applicants come like clockwork every ten minutes over fears of stricter federal gun laws.


What does this say about our current state of affairs in Arlington, Texas?    

"As The Huffington Post reported in February, a study published in the journal "Psychological Science" showed that children who score low on intelligence tests gravitate toward socially conservative political views in adulthood--perhaps because conservative ideologies stress "structure and order" that make it easier to understand a complicated world."

The article  goes on to say,   "And now there's the new study linking conservative ideologies to "low-effort" thinking." 

For that full story, click here

It's been three giant steps backwards for Arlington.  

Over and Out.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Ordinance

Security Cameras:
 
"Those cameras are difficult to come by...I always hesitate to make a commitment on time when I'm not entirely sure...I'll do our level best to install that camera within the next few weeks...We're going to come back to you on February 5th for the gas permits...so I don't know whether I can achieve the installation of that camera...", states Lynda Gearheart, Chesapeake Project Manager - Urban Development.  

Chesapeake seems to be having difficulty getting those backlogged surveillance cameras installed on their gas drill sites.  They were in violation all four quarters of 2012.  The Arlington, Texas gas drilling ordinance 11-068 Section 7.01 states:

25. Security.  At all times, the operation site or compressor station shall have a minimum of one security camera mounted inside the enclosure.  

Signs shall be posted on the fence or wall of the site to indicate that activity on the site may be recorded by video surveillance.  Camera systems shall be maintained in proper operating condition... 

To see the gas drilling ordinance in its entirety, click here.

This clip from the January 22, 2013 Arlington, TX City Council meeting for a Special Use Permit for a zoning change for the Rocking Horse Drill Site shows how much wiggle room our City gives to Chesapeake.  Their zoning request was approved that evening, and they will return on February 5th to request a gas well permit. 

Get Microsoft Silverlight  

Chesapeake might want to consider ordering these surveillance cameras in bulk because, according to the latest gas well compliance reports (4th quarter 2012) posted on the City's website, they are in violation at most of their gas drill sites throughout the City - AC/360, Agape, Arkansas, Bright Star, CH Enterprise, Doskocil, Duke....just keep scrolling alphabetically.  Your neighborhood drill site is probably in some sort of violation.  

Why have an ordinance if no one will enforce it?

Next City Council Meeting:
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
6:30 p.m.
Arlington City Hall
101 West Abram Street
Arlington, TX

Friday, February 1, 2013

Tremor Hotline


Fortunately, our gas well coordinator has this covered.  If you live in Arlington and feel the earth move, please contact Collin Gregory, Gas Well Coordinator, with the City of Arlington, Texas.  Mr. Gregory will track these tremors and look for patterns.  Then he will either hire an outside firm or rent equipment to determine the cause of this seismicity.  Please include the date, time, and what you felt:

Collin Gregory, Gas Well Coordinator
817-459-6593
Collin.Gregory@Arlingtontx.gov

State Farm insurance also has you covered.  In light of all the fracking earthquakes, they are urging residents to purchase earthquake insurance.  

Fuel Fix writes,   

"Earthquakes in the Tarrant and Johnson counties of Texas have become more common during the past four years.
According to the earthquake database, those counties have seen roughly 30 earthquakes in the past four years, but before 2008, the area didn’t see a single earthquake."

Click here for the full article, North Texas Rocked by 11 Earthquakes in 40 Days.

For more in-depth information, read Seismicity in the Oil Field.

Thank you, Collin for tracking these earth movements.   The Fish Creek Monitor dedicates this song to you: