Ho, Ho, Ho, and a Lump of Coal

One of our community bloggers gave us the most thoughtful Christmas present.  Why, it's just what we need - a reminder of another dirty fossil fuel.  We think this one should be re-gifted and presented to all  the men and women in the shale gas industry who have been working so industriously in our community this year.

For some highlights from 2012, click here, and here, and here.

Wishing you and yours a Very Merry Christmas!

Industrial Terrorism - Our Children's Future?

Dropping off your child to school and seeing a gas drilling rig in the backdrop will make any parent's heart sink - particularly for those who know what we know.  

We recently listened to Dr. Theo Colborn, Environmental Health Analyst,  read a letter she wrote to President Obama about how chemicals in our environment affect our children's health.  Some of  these chemicals are by-products of the fossil fuel industry. 

Click Here to listen to Dr. Colborn's letter to the President.  In this video she states that her college-aged grandson sums it up well by noting that "this is nothing more than industrial terrorism in the womb."

 

So we must ask the question:  Why is this XTO gas drill site sandwiched between an elementary school and a community college and in very close proximity to several other public schools including two junior highs? 

Look inside the red circle.

The purple marker represents the location of the Sue Barnett Gas Drill Site.

The blue marker to its immediate left is Beckham Elementary School.

The blue marker to its immediate right is Tarrant County Junior College.

Blue marker #1 is Barnett Junior High School (remember the Barnett Sinkhole?)

O.K., you get the rest...

Sue Barnett Gas Drill Site located at 1901 S.E. Parkway, Arlington, TX

Operator:  XTO Energy 
December 19, 2012

  Environmental catastrophe in the making 12/19/12

Shale Gas operators have taken over Arlington, yet our City won't zone these sites as 'Industrial.'

   Y'all come back.

Office space available.  Seems to be a trend around here.

More Code Violations at an Arlington, TX Gas Drill Site

We think the trees are dead. 

A City of Arlington employee (formerly with TCEQ) went out to the Fulson Drill Site operated by Chesapeake to inspect a complaint about the dead trees which were planted in the brutal heat of July.  Here is the e-mail dated Friday, November 30, 2012 of her findings:

From: "Jessica Minley" <Jessica.Minley@arlingtontx.gov>
To: "Brian Sample" <Brian.Sample@arlingtontx.gov>
Subject: Complaint

Hello Brian,

To address the tree aesthetics complaint, I found that there is a mixture of living and dead trees on the Fulson site. As it is not planting season, the trees have been noted as an area of concern to be addressed during the appropriate season. Also, the trees are upright and blend aesthetically with the surroundings (fall season). Please contact me with any further questions or concerns. Find attached a picture of a living tree on the site.

Thank you

 

We wonder if the City worker removed her blinders before conducting the investigation.  Did she note this breach??  This is not the first time we have had  gaps in these walls at this Chesapeake drill site. 

We really appreciate the ongoing  partnership between the City of Arlington and Chesapeake in keeping our communities safe.  Thank you.

(Click HERE to view the City's link of the Gas Drilling Ordinance.  For fencing requirements, scroll down to pages 39 and 40.) 

Who's Railroading Whom?

The Railroad Commission of Texas inspected our sinkhole at Barnett Junior High.  They sent Mr. Smith, Engineering Technician III, from their Kilgore office.  It's a shame they do not have a local office in our area.  They really need one.

His inspection report included a brief conversation with Javier, an Arlington Independent School District crew worker.  We think Javier was the one carrying the shovel.  After Mr. Smith witnessed Javier patching up this ground collapse at the school's driveway entrance, he popped over to the West Wing Unit of the Fulson Drill Site where he noted that nothing unusual was taking place.   Wait... looks like he forgot to mention all that drilling, fracking, and perfing  under homes and under that sinkhole in 2009.  

We would like to know why the Railroad Commission does not have any ethical or moral obligation to make sure that Javier was remediating this sinkhole correctly.  We are pretty sure there is a certain way this must be done or else it could collapse again and be even larger next time.  Much Larger.

We called a sinkhole remediation expert, and they DO NOT recommend shoveling dirt in the void and patching it with concrete because this, potentially, could happen:

 Click Here for full story.

 

Is the Railroad Commission of Texas regulating the Oil & Gas industry or they enabling the industry to railroad us?

What can you do to change the status quo?   Contact your Representative about how our State Regulators are failing to protect citizens living in Shale Gas Extraction zones.  Click Here to see who represents you.

We encourage you to continue emailing us at Fishcreekneighbor@gmail.com if you have questions or if you have sustained property damage after drilling began in your community.  Include location and photos, please.

For the time being...all you need to know is the hole has been covered up, and all is well in the Gas Patch.

The Barnett Sinkhole

This photo shows a sinkhole by the parking lot entrance to Barnett Junior High School in southeast Arlington, Texas.  It has been there for some time, but since it wasn't clear as to whether this was on  City or School property, it remained in a state of disrepair.   We just learned that it is the School District's responsibility.  Originally, the issue was suspected to have been caused by a leak in the City's water main; however, that turned out not to be the case, according to an AISD official.  The reason for the ground collapse remains a mystery. 

Sinkhole at Barnett Junior High between parking lot and Prescott Drive, Arlington, TX

Barnett Junior High School located in the heart of a shale gas extraction zone in Arlington, TX

Now take a look at this Railroad Commission of Texas GIS map showing the horizontal well bores coming off the Fulson Drill Site operated by Chesapeake in Arlington, Texas:

 

Notice that the West Wing 1H well was drilled beneath the location near that sinkhole.  Could all of this drilling, fracking, and extraction of natural gas be the culprit?  It certainly may be plausible, but only time will tell... 

In the meantime, while we're waiting for these revelations, click Here to read about subsidence.  And click Here to read about the Wink Sink on Texas Sharon's blog.   We hope to bring you more updates very soon...  Shortly after this blog story was published, this weird event happened in Ohio. 

The Path of Least Resistance

Water is seeping up through cracks in the pavement of the Fish Creek Neighborhood in Arlington, Texas.  Local residents have concerns that this may be linked to gas drilling and fracking in the area.  One homeowner stated that in her 13 years of living here, this is the first time she has witnessed such a thing.

 Click Here and Here to link to YouTube videos.

It hasn't rained in quite a while, yet look at all this water that is springing up in a neighbor's yard.

The Water Department is still investigating but has determined that the seeping water is not municipal water, but groundwater from an underground spring.   The lab is testing the water samples.  Rumor has it they are testing for salt, because fracking fluids contain salt, according to a dispatcher with the Arlington Water Department.   Since these containers are on a nearby unsecured gas pipeline installation work site, we hope the lab is looking for these chemicals too:

https://climatejusticetaranaki.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/excerpts-from-appendix-i-msds-25march2012.pdf

 brown goop??

Lana Wolff, Arlington City Councilwoman, came by our neighborhood Saturday morning to witness this strange phenomenon.  We are sincerely grateful for her concern ~ considering that she doesn't, technically, represent our district.  Robert Rivera does. 

In addition to all the drilling and the fracking, we wonder if the massive gas pipeline construction project currently underway near our homes may be causing the groundwater to seek  new pathways.  Like BIG GAS, water seeks the path of least resistance.  Fortunate people find their new path by moving the heck off the Barnett Shale.  Wish we could...Perhaps someday...

Meanwhile, the City of Grand Prairie, Texas received a lump sum of $587,620 from DFW Midstream to lay UNodorized gas gathering pipelines through the community.  Here's a taste of what this looks like:

Click Here to read these details on the Westchester Gasette. 

Amen.

If you use these pictures, attribution is appreciated. :-)