"Please pray for me. At 5:30 a.m. my dog woke me up to let him out and I heard another loud sound coming from across the street at the gas well. I looked out and saw the gas escaping. I couldn't leave because of the ice on the street. I called the fire department and the Chesapeake emergency numbers and they managed to shut it down. I am really struggling. It seems that we can't live in this neighborhood."
This is not the first time this sort of event has happened near Janice's home. It also happened on the evening of November 2nd. The Fort Worth Star Telegram wrote about that initial gas release, but the article is confusing because it it reports:
"City officials in Fort Worth, Arlington and Denton say such incidents are not common."
(Maybe that is a typo.)
(Maybe that is a typo.)
The story goes on to read:
"Ed Ireland, who heads the industry-sponsored Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, called the shutdown systems “highly reliable” and simple to use. “Most of these producing sites within cities have what’s called ‘the big red button.’ And that’s the training: You enter the site and push the button,” Ireland said.
"Those procedures didn’t work as scripted, however, that evening at Chesapeake’s well site at 6990 Ederville Road, at the southeast corner of Interstate 30 and East Loop 820, near Janice Colston’s home."
(We understand the fire department did not have access to the pad site.)
Click here for the full story.
Below is a satellite image showing the close proximity of this Fort Worth, Texas gas drill site in relation to homes and a park:
Arial view of Ederville Gas Drill Site, Fort Worth, Texas
Do these operators have no shame? We feel for all the people in North Texas who are prisoners in their own homes. It is tragic that so many residents are traumatized by gas drilling activities in their own backyards. It's time to stop the madness. Time to end the greed. Time to stop messing with Texas women!
Janice Colston also wrote... "Yes, this morning at 5:30 a.m. my dog woke me up to let him go out. I heard a loud sound coming from across the street where the Ederville gas well is located. I looked out and saw the white cloud of gas spewing upward. I called the fire department and police and all the Chesapeake emergency numbers I had. The supervisor from the site called me to say they already knew about it but I don't believe him because it wasn't shut off until I started making the calls. It was very frightening especially since I could not leave the area because of the ice."
ReplyDeleteSo, how many wells are on that site? Ed Ireland's statement shows how very little this industry cares about "the people." And he basically insulted the entire Fort Worth Fire Department with his insinuation that it's all "simple to use." And he's the spokesperson for the industry? This is all very sad. How many more of these incidents have occurred and not been reported simply because people are uninformed and fear reporting anything since they signed a contract and truly believe the city is taking care of them?
ReplyDeleteIt's the Anniversary of Pearl Harbor today. Seems many have forgotten what it was our fathers and grandfathers fought and died for...freedom is not just a word. It means we must work hard to have a voice in our government and make sure that the right decisions are being made for the benefit of the people.
Thank you, Janice Colston, for being courageous and doing the right thing. You may have saved the lives of others in your neighborhood by your actions. Sorry you must live so close to this drilling site. It was very irresponsible and reckless for Fort Worth and Chesapeake to place it so close to you and your neighborhood.
Six wells have been completed, and we received word today that they're disturbing the neighbors again with their activity and diesel trucks on site.
DeleteWe tried to figure out what they're doing over there by looking it up on the Ask Chesapeake website, but it doesn't look current. That "Good Neighbor Standards" list is a farce too. Nothing about heavy industrial mining in residential neighborhoods fits in the category of "good neighbor." Living next door to gas drilling is worse than living next door to a serial killer. The process is totally incompatible with residential land use. It needs to be banned before its too late.
http://www.askchesapeake.com/Barnett-Shale/Neighborhood/FortWorth/Pages/Ederville.aspx