If You Love Fracking, Vote for Robert Rivera

Robert Rivera, District 3, Arlington, TX City Councilman at Gas Drilling Town Hall  4/21/15
 ...a little dab'll do ya

On April 11th when dozens of families in West Arlington were evacuating their homes due to a gas well emergency, District 3 City Councilman, Robert Rivera was enjoying a fun-fest raising money for his re-election campaign.  So, if you love fracking, vote for Robert Rivera because fracking seems to be his issue.  His robo calls even said so.
  

Texas State Senator Konni Burton came to the party.   According to a report by Lobby Watch, Konni Burton received a ton of money from Oil & Gas ~ a whopping $261,667!  In fact, she received more oil and gas money than any senator in our State, and it looks like Mr. Rivera has aligned himself with her.  The average contribution for Texas Senators was $56,207.

See how much oil and gas money your representative received by scrolling through this Lobby Watch document:

Frack Ban Preemption Money

Tony Tinderholt, (R) HD94 and Bill Zedler (R) HD96 also came to the party.  Both voted in FAVOR of HB40.  It is disappointing, to say the least.  These men are from Arlington and ought to know better.  They sold us out.

The Texas House of Representatives voted on  HB40 last Friday, April 17th:

"Relating to the exclusive jurisdiction of this state to regulate oil and gas operations in this state and the express preemption of local regulation of those operations."   

This bill essentially strips local control of oil and gas activities from municipalities, violates property rights, and puts the health and safety of millions of residents at risk.  It is  carte blanche for oil and gas.  The bill passed with an overwhelming majority vote of 122-18, with a price tag of approximately $5.5 million.  

Next, it goes to the Senate Floor, so call and write your Senator now and urge them to vote "NO" on SB1165 or you may get a drill site ~ or even worse ~ an injection well  near your property line.  The oil and gas industry is ruthless.  They don't care who or what they frack.  If we lose local control, run for the hills!

It is puzzling why Rafael Anchia and Justin Rodriquez ~ two representatives who voted to preserve local control ~  are not included on this fundraising announcement.  During our town hall the other night Mr. Rivera gave our community the impression that he is aligned with both of these men. 

During the candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters earlier this week, Robert Rivera made a statement which seems to present an ethical dilemma.  He stated that a child doesn't care who paid for the equipment on a playground.  So if we are interpreting this correctly, it is acceptable to poison our communities with fracking pollution in order to purchase cool things for kids with royalties.  Is this the message to teach our children ~ that the end justifies the means? 

Earthworks dropped by the Fish Creek Neighborhood last weekend, and this is what the FLIR camera captured this time: 

Fulson Drill Site, Arlington, TX, Operated by Chesapeake Energy 

Video by Earthworks 

Fracking Air Pollution

It takes its toll.  It ages people.  When you've lived here as long as some of us have, it might just take a little more than a dab to do ya. 
 

Early voting begins April 27th, and Election Day is May 9th.

Vote for Marvin Sutton, Arlington City Council District 3.

Did Arlington Neighbors Know?

Lake Arlington Gas Drill Site, 3016 Little Road, Arlington, TX

Yesterday over a dozen families were forced to evacuate their homes when workers lost control of a gas well during hydraulic fracturing operations at the Lake Arlington Baptist Church drill site.   Vantage Energy operates this problematic site.  

Residents previously filed numerous complaints with the City of Arlington, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Railroad Commission of Texas.  They smelled chemical odors and heard explosions.  We listened to many stories from frustrated neighbors who, at the time, felt the authorities and the industry were not taking their concerns seriously.  First they were told there was a gas leak.  Then they were told there was no leak.  Then they were told there was a cracked casing.  Then they were told there was no cracked casing.  

It was a fracking run-a-round. 

So much for transparency.  

 
We wanted to find out what was going on, so we filed an open records request with the City.  Since our first attempt at obtaining information was rather broad in scope and was going to cost $272.50, we narrowed our search.   On March 11, 2015 we obtained a half dozen documents.  Here is a screen shot of one e-mail where Jason Eberle of Vantage Energy informs Collin Gregory, the City's Gas Well Coordinator, about a well control issue.

This begs the question ~ was this problematic well in January the same well that caused mandatory evacuations yesterday?   

When we visited the site and spoke with the Vantage Energy guard in November, she assured us that drilling is safe.

So far the Fire Department, Vantage Energy and Boots and Coots, a well control company have been unsuccessful at attempts to kill the well and fix the problem.  Toxic fracking fluid continues to bubble and spew out of the well, and nearby residents are still displaced from their homes.  

Questions Mount after gas well leak, evacuations.

Fracking Truck Traffic in the American Dream City

Photo attribution:  Fort Worth Star-Telegram

XTO has occupied the American Dream City again. 

This operator plans to drill four more unconventional gas wells at the Sue Barnett Drill Site located on Southeast Parkway in Arlington, Texas.  This heavy industrial site shares its fence line with a pretty horse and red barn, a lovely country home, and a small mom-and-pop business strip.  It sits catty-corner to a community college, next door to a subdivision of homes, and down the street from a junior high school and an elementary school.  It was quite the unexpected large-scale operation one would expect to see inside any residential community. 

It felt like a war zone this week as convoys of wide loads of Hodges fracking trucks filed in endlessly onto the pad site hauling all sorts of heavy industrial equipment and numerous tanks marked with "Danger" signs.  Even portable office buildings and trailers rolled in.  

Police in black unmarked FBI-looking vehicles ~ except for the flashing lights ~  escorted the massive trucks onto the pad site.   They appeared to be "police" since they had police patches sewn onto the sleeves of their shirts giving the impression that they were law enforcement.  These men were hired by the same trucking outfit they were escorting.  Thus, they did not issue a single citation for the numerous times their drivers violated the designated truck route which is clearly spelled out in the site stipulations for this particular drilling location.  We are waiting to hear back from the City to see what went awry.   

This week may have been Spring Break for many, but not for those of us who are trapped in Gasland...

TONS of #fracking truck traffic in our hood today. #Arlington #FromGasland @TXsharon @gardencatlady @WCGasette pic.twitter.com/z04LK3cHHH
— Fish Creek Monitor (@Fishcreek1269) March 12, 2015

Hodges' drivers violated truck route today on way to Sue Barnett #Fracking Site @ArlingtonRivera @CityOfArlington pic.twitter.com/eiYVlE1mOe
— Fish Creek Monitor (@Fishcreek1269) March 13, 2015

Video: Does Arlington have any walkable or bikeable neighborhoods? 7 months ago me and my 16 year old son... http://t.co/IbFyaUok8M
— Arlington Proud (@ArlingtonProud) March 12, 2015

*We heard back from the City, and here is the UPDATE:

Notice of Violation - XTO Energy - Sue Barnett - Transportation Route

 

Amount of Fine:  $0.00

Who You Gonna Call?

When fracking sites encroach upon your residential neighborhood, who DO you call when you hear an explosion, smell fumes, feel the earth move, or worse yet ~ who DO you call if a dam is breached?  

The Railroad Commission of Texas, the State agency that regulates Oil and Gas, requires gas operators to clearly display proper signage listing emergency contact numbers.  Since emergencies can happen at any time on any given day, one would assume that a responsible party would be available to answer these calls 24/7.  

Just out of curiosity, we tested the three emergency numbers listed at the bottom of the signage of this Vantage-operated Lake Arlington Baptist Church Site to find out who actually answers gas drilling-related emergency calls.  

 Signage at Lake Arlington Baptist Church Gas Drill Site, Arlington, TX

The first number rang and rang.  No answer.  No voice mail to leave a message.  We called the third number, and a recorded message said, "caller not accepting calls at this time."  When we tried the number with a Colorado area code, a guy named Dan answered his cell phone.  He stated that he is with Vantage, and that he is located in the Denton area.  That is a wonderful place to be since the citizens of Denton voted in favor of a fracking ban. 

It is curious that the number for the Railroad Commission of Texas ~ the State agency responsible for regulating Oil and Gas and protecting our groundwater ~ is NOT listed on this signage.  If residents call 911, the City is not required to communicate or report incidents to the appropriate regulatory agencies responsible for protecting our air and water.  That is the citizens' responsibility. 

Oil and Gas self-regulates.  

So, for instance, if an operator has a mishap and cracks a casing or experiences a pressure issue, they are required to self-report.  It's an honor system.  And we know how forthright they've been with our communities thus far.

So, who will you call when when you hear an explosion, smell fumes, feel the earth move, or worse yet ~ who you gonna call when the dam is breached? 

 

FLIR on Fish Creek's Fulson

Chesapeake, the Good Neighbor

At least that's what they told us... when the landman talked about a well that we would never know was there...

 Fulson Drill Site located on South Hwy. 360 near Sublett Road in Arlington, TX

Over Thanksgiving weekend Sharon Wilson, Gulf Regional Organizer, came to Arlington with Earthworks' new FLIR GF320 Infrared Camera in tow.  She has received proper certification to operate this specialty camera which carries a hefty price tag of around $80,000.  She travels all around the region detecting and recording gas leaks in real time.  

Our first stop on the itinerary was the Fulson Drill Site.  We saw emissions spewing from the gas lift compressor positioned at the north end of the pad.  The Fish Creek Neighbors have been inhaling these VOC's for several years now.  Because these plumes cannot be seen with the naked eye, it works out quite well for the industry.  Many residents in this area wrestle with health issues, and these pollution plumes which billow and blow in our direction can only contribute to ill health, both physically and emotionally.  It was an extremely windy day, but despite meteorological conditions, the camera did capture a snapshot of what's spewing into our air shed 24/7.

Please know that this camera is NOT merely detecting heat as the industry would have you believe.   It pinpoints GAS LEAKS.  Click HERE for the detailed list of what this FLIR GF320 camera is able to detect.  There is scientific evidence proving that exposure to these gases carries serious health risks to humans.  In addition, the volatile nature of these gases places entire communities at risk for fires and explosions.

We have been asking our City to acquire one of these cameras because we have not felt safe since nearly 60 of these heavy industrial mining sites got permitted in our city.  It's been perplexing trying to understand why our gas well inspectors haven't been utilizing these cameras all along when conducting quarterly inspections of drill sites.  So, we presented this suggestion at a town hall meeting.  Our City Manager, Trey Yelverton, concluded that this was not necessary since our State (TCEQ) handles air complaints, and our City would not want to over-regulate.  Now that this video and others have been released showing definite leaks ~ and they all leak ~ we wonder what Arlington will do now to protect the people who live here or visit the "American Dream City."  
 
So, who benefits from all this clean energy? (sarcasm)  The Fish Creek neighbors do ~ a little.  On rare occasions a royalty check comes in the mail averaging $7 or $8 per month.  This neighborhood owns 50% of their minerals, while Union Life Insurance Company retained the other half.   Also, since there are three leaseholds on the Fulson Drill Site, (Fulson, West Wing, and Forks) neighbors only receive royalties off of ONE lease.  Wells drilled and fracked off the other two leases produce collateral damage to nearby residents while people living elsewhere get to enjoy the monetary benefits.  But, that's a story for another day... 

Bad Form

It's bad business practice to announce a public meeting and then, upon arrival, redirect your guests to a new meeting place clear across town on a cold, winter night.  That's what Enervest did on January 5th.  

One of our activist friends remarked in a tweet, "Mama would call this Bad Form."  

 

Here is that public meeting announcement:
(Note:  Meeting is rescheduled for January 19th.  Enervest will mail a personal invitation to all property owners within 600 feet and neighborhood associations within one mile.)

Ironically, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss the City's updated ordinance which requires the establishment of the drill zone because industry is known for changing surface locations in order to access minerals.  That may work fine in rural areas where there is a lot of open space, but it just doesn't work well in city limits.  

Fracking doesn't work in city limits.   

We hope they don't suck as badly at fracking as they do in setting up meetings, but it's not looking hopeful.  We've seen the gas buster.  Here's how they roll in Denton, TX:

Video by Earthworks

In case you're wondering who will receive royalties from the Rolling Hills 9H well, (if approved) here is a highlight of some of the lessors from the 76-page Railroad Commission of Texas P-12:

Southwest Olshan Foundation Repair Co., LLC

Rolling Hills

Chesapeake Royalty, LLC

City of Arlington

Arlington ISD

Barbara J. Nash

Sanctuary Ventures III LP

WDIC/Hi-Life Properties Joint Venture

Moritz Interest LTD

Texas Health Resources

Foster Fish Creek Properties

Criswell Center Biblical Studies

Pebblebrook Village Condominium

Kroger

The Dallas Foundation (36.945 acres)

If the North Texas Quakeswarm continues ~ and we have solid reasons to believe it will ~ there will be a higher participation rate at future public meetings and local elections.  When houses come crumblin' down, people get motivated.   

Oh, and we understand a developer has plans to construct new homes near the Rolling Hills Drill Site very soon.  That's also bad form.