The questions and answers below were sent to us by an HOA. The questions were presented to the Town of Flower Mound regarding the Centralized Collection Facility (waste water dump) that Williams is proposing for Flower Mound. But before you read the questions and answers. Here is a little bit of history and information about this issue.
Williams and the residents of West Flower Mound Shiloh area have been trying to convince all of Flower Mound and the council that this waste water collection facility is just about them. Their truck traffic and their safety. Many Shiloh residents and Williams employees have stood up at meetings and said it has nothing to do with the rest of the town. The questions and answers below validate that it has EVERYTHING to do with the whole town and the surrounding communities.
This is about Williams wanting to set up a new business in Flower Mound and the fact that the town, by voting for this Centralized Collection Facility, will be helping them set up a new business venture. This will be a money maker for Williams. Which makes you ask the following question.
Since Mayor Jody Smith and Council Member Jean Levenick have signed leases with Williams, they will recuse themselves from discussing and voting on this issue...right? We will just have to wait till January 21st, 6:00pm, at the Flower Mound Town Council Meeting to find out.
In a recent article about a waste water disposal well in Argyle, Williams mentioned that they are looking at piping or trucking the waste from the proposed Flower Mound waste water site to Argyle. We have received e-mails from residents of Bartonville telling us they are being told they’ll be using the Flower Mound CCF for their fracing fluids too. Williams keeps trying to convince the residents of Flower Mound that they want to be good neighbors. But a huge above ground toxic dump with several tank batteries storing toxic waste, 1 to 2 miles from over 5000 homes and 5 schools, doesn't sound like the kind of neighbor anyone would want to live by.
Then the toxic waste will be put into the ground up in an Argyle disposal well. Apparently, Williams wants to be their neighbor too.
Read the Town of Flower Mound's answers to the questions below.
1. What would prevent Flower Mound from becoming a reclamation point for other communities and increasing truck traffic?
Nothing. The current proposal is to create a central point for Williams’ well sites in west Flower Mound (up to 100 wells). But there is nothing to prevent Williams from accepting tie-ins from other sites including other gas companies.
Besides the obvious danger of toxic water being stored in tanks batteries, we have the issue of pipelines. Lots and Lots of pipelines. Pipelines for "go to market", pipelines for the produced water, and pipelines for the gas lift line. It has to be mentioned, those two words that violate every person's property rights....eminent domain! Read the towns answer to the HOA's question about pipelines.
2. Have the infrastructure transport lines been identified? Where will the pipes run?
No. Williams will have to acquire access or create private easements (thru purchasing or condemnation) to accommodate these pipes. Three pipes would be involved: 1 for the “go-to-market” gas well production line, 1 for the produced water line, and 1 for the gas lift line (injected to stimulate the well and separate the gas from the water). Williams currently has an agreement with Atmos and has been tying into their gas line and easement. Atmos is the owner of the gas easement which runs thru Wellington.
This easement would be a 30 foot or more in width and only required to be 3 feet deep. Just keep in mind two things: The owners of the easement have the right to enter the property where they own the easement at any time. Once there is an easement you cannot build on easement.
This may be your last opportunity to protect our community from becoming the Industrial Toxic Collection Site for Williams and other Drilling Companies. Just because the collection facility may not be behind your home, does not mean that it won’t impact you. Toxic chemicals blowing in the wind and pipelines carrying Toxic Chemicals running 3 feet under ground. And lets not forget that this is an industry who can only do business (their words) if they are exempt to complying with the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Clean Water Act. That says plenty!!!
Let the Town Council know how you feel.
Show up and let your voice be heard, January 21st, 6:00pm, Flower Mound Town Hall.
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20 comments:
Flower Mound already has numerous toxic storage sites within the city limits that have been here for years. Most of them contain at minimum 30,000 gallons of a deadly and highly explosive hydrocarbon derivative know as "Gasoline". Let's not stop with Williams, I say we go all the way and burn our cars, and mandate people power only.
Whatever. so gasoline is stored in a tank at the gas stations. But, we don't allow all the gas stations from the surrounding communities to pump it via pipelines underground through our community to be stored here.
So I assume you don't think there is anything wrong with this right? What if it were a landfill/dump? Would you like one of those next to your neighborhood or child's school?
No, they truck it in using 80,000 lbs trailer tractor trucks. Did you see the one that crashed on the tollway exchange last month? Almost burned the exchange down. I think those trucks are allowed to travel up and down 1171 any time they want. And no I don't want a dump next to my neighborhood. That's why Williams is going to either pipe or truck it's produced water off the site and dispose of it at a authorized facility.
I have less issue with Jean Levenick having a lease than I do her insistence in defining conflict of interest so narrowly. Based on her public comments to date she seems to want to pin it on the Town attorney's legal advice. I haven't heard him say she HAS to vote. He's just giving his legal opinion that she can vote on issues if they don't impact Williams alone. She can recuse herself from any vote. Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear her say, "Although the town attorney tells me I can vote, I understand the concern and do not want there to be shred of doubt in the integrity of any vote I cast. I will not vote on this matter."
If this isn't a legal gray area, it's clearly an integrity gray area. It's not like she's voting on a zoning change suggested by some masterplan review committee. This is a zoning change driven by a request from Williams.
Gasoline is not pipelined throughout the community, nor does it have the potential to contaminate area aquifers. The general manager of the Bartonville Water Supply Corporation sent a letter to the RRC opposing the SDL that will likely handle the produced water from the Williams site. So are you calling him an "idiot" now too? A flaming left-wing radical? It reads in part "..as a responsible member of this newly created district [referring to the North Texas Ground Water Conservation District created in conjunction with the County Judge/Commissioner's Courts of Denton, Collin, and Cooke Counties]...and in an effort to protect the health and safety of this natural resource..." Well, at least someone is. Hey, these flaming leftist...oh wait, Denton County is 71% Republican, those damn Republicans, protecting water again. There are Republicans and then there are Gasicans, Gasicans are Republicans that other Rebublicans can't stand because they still are using the archaic argument that EVERY issue MUST be divided between left and right. The left has them too, but on this issue, the house divided will fall. Hint: It's not the left that's divided on this issue.
Citizens have every right to say NO now, regardless of what is stored in their communities-gasoline or otherwise. Don't be intimidated. Say no while you can, and your community will be better for it.
That "authorized" facility will be near someone's neighborhood and children's school. But I guess that is okay as long as it isn't in your backyard. Why don't you ask Williams why we (including you) are not important enough to spend the extra cash to recycle, re-use and purify on-site? Are you afraid it is going to cut into your royalties? I am getting sick of listening to you Shiloh people whine about the safety of your neighborhood. You signed a lease, knowing what was coming. Now you think it is okay to dump the crap on everyone else but you. You wanted it, you deserve to have it. In your neighborhood!!!!
If soon to be ex-Mayor Jody Smith and soon to be ex-council member Levenick want to do business with Williams, that's their business. However, being elected officials, they have an inherent responsibility to the people that elected them into office to serve the needs and to protect the residents of Flower Mound, not Williams or any other private entity.
If either one of these people truly were interested in putting the residents first instead of themselves, they wouldn't be hiding behind the very thin line of the law.
When you have a vested personal interest in the outcome of a vote, you don't vote. You should avoid even the appearance of impropriety and conflict of interest. To say there is no conflict because Williams isn't the only polluter in town wanting to kill people in Flower Mound with their poison is irresponsible.
Someone please let me know when these two boobs are up for re-election. I will be applying for a parade permit. My parade will be the 'Vote For The Other Guy' parade. Then again, it's probably more difficult to get a parade permit than a gas well drilling permit.
Gasoline is spread through out the community. And the tanks are linked together with pipes. And if a tank leaks, of is damaged, it has the potential to contaminate the water table. So, guess again bucko. In addition; there are no guarantees that an accident involving a tanker truck will not happen. Apparently you are perfectly comfortable with that scenario for the convenience of being able to fill your vehicle up locally. I don't think that the proposed site in Argyle has been approved. Do you require the town of Flower Mound to recycle it's sewage water and reuse it? No, and for the same reasons it's not reasonable to ask Williams to either. I don't know about you but I recycle my sewage water and use it to water my yard. How about you?
Tim you are so right about the parade permit. You even need one for a garage sale!!
As for bucko anon 6:55. I am so sick of hearing the same crap "you drive a car, you heat your house" etc. You need to come up with a better line than that. No one has ever said we don't want gas. We just want gas drilling done right. If that was being done, gas and oil wouldn't need so many exemptions. Yes, if Flower Mound recycled water for irragtion throughout the town, that would be great. I wish they would. Some golf courses reclaim water and reuse it too. All gas companies should do the same. It is the responsible thing to do when water is so precious. Since you seem to be a fan of recycling yourself, I am amazed you don't think Williams should be required to recycle and reuse.
Agree with Another concerned citizen, but you forgot the one about "it's the patriotic thing to do" "our military and fighting for oil" etc. I am sick of hearing how I am not a good American because I don't want dirty water to drink and dirty air to breath. By the way bucko. Gasoline does not run 3 or 4 feet underground throughout the community.
ACC 10:11, I think when a person/and or business buys a product and it becomes their property they can do with it what they want. No body comes into your house and tells you what to do with your water. They paid for it, it belongs to them. Just like Bridlewood's golf course. They buy the water from the city and water their golf course. It's their business not mine or your to tell them how to use it. I use the gasoline analogy to point out the hypocrisy in the majority of FMCAUD statements. Gasoline is acceptable, because even the environmentalist want the convenience of their vehicles. Just for whatever reason you have decided that you don't like gas production so you have no problem with trying denying their right to operate and do a legitimate business. And they must be doing it right because when I left a while ago they were still out there drilling away. I didn't see any cops, or the Feds, no state agency's, nothing. I am assuming they are complaint. And I know water is a precious commodity. However; we are blessed here in this area with plenty of water. Water has been here for Billions of years, and will still be here when the sun burns out and mankind is long gone.....
Really. Plenty of water? Why have we been on water restrictions every year for the last 5 years. Come to think of it the majority of the towns in the state of Texas have been on water restrictions. By the way, those pipelines Williams wants to run underground to and from this site, will go through property that doesn't belong to them. Property that they can take through eminent domain. As for doing it right, how would we know since they are exempt from every environmental act possible. Not one other industry receives those exemptions.
Anonymous Jan 15, 10:48:
Not sure if you are interested in accuracy but as an FYI Bridlewood golf course doesn't purchase its water. They use their own water source. Using the golf course run-off into their ponds to water again . . . hmmmm . . . would that be recycling??? I think they also supplement with their own well. For those who think our water comes from elsewhere so somehow contamination of the aquifer doesn't matter - here is a perfect example of why it does. If our local aquifer is contaminated you may have clean city water but the ponds fed by springs, on Bridlewood golf course or elsewhere, and local wells could be contaminated.
GO TO txsharon.blogspot.com (Bluedaze) NOW!!
Anon 11:23. At last check lake Grapevine was above 535 feet, and the corp was releasing water down stream. And refresh my memory, does the town of Flower Mound use eminent domain if it needs to put in a water utility? Or does the electric company have eminent domain if they need to put in an electric utility? If they do put in a pipeline somewhere, they will either own the land, or the easement. They don't get it for free. Most of the time they piggy back off of another utility's easement. Like the one they purchased from the town of Flower Mound to tie into Atmos' gas line.
Anon 10:48, Yes, I believe that would be considered recycling. I appreciate you correcting me on that point. I did not know that Bridlewood used surface and well sources for it course. Good for them. I sure it saves them a ton of cash. However; the same point can be made for the town sewer system. If it were to break or leak, it could potentially contaminate the table water with HIV, typhoid, hepatitis A,B,& C, tetanus, salmonella, leptospirosis, polio and entameoeba dysentery just to name a few. And that doesn't even take into account the bi-products washed in from the streets. All are bad, but just as they can build dependable sewer systems, they can also build dependable waste water systems. It's not an either or situation. I hope we can agree on that.
Can the residents of Flower Mound actually prevent the town council from allowing the construction of the central collection facility? Will showing up at the meeting and expressing your concern really have an impact? Has the decision already been made one way or the other? Is the meeting just a farce? I watched the last meeting on TV (for lifting the moratorium on drilling) as many concerned citizens came up to the mike and addressed the council members and shared their concerns. But, that did not change the outcome. Just makes me wonder....
Refined petroleum products (gasoline and jet fuel) do in fact run beneath Flower Mound from the North city limits to the south through the 11" Eagle pipeline system owned by Expolrer Pipeline. Has been there for over 30 years with no problems. It runs under Parker Square, the ball fields off of Gerault, and various "hiking trails".
Hmmm. Well there may not have been an pipeline spill here in FM but read this. Enough gasoline to fill 60 tanker trucks spilled. Pay extra attention to the pipeline company
"In March 2000, a 28-inch pipeline running from the Gulf Coast to Indiana broke in rural Hunt County, Texas, spilling enough gasoline to fill 60 tanker trucks and contaminating Dallas' drinking-water supply. The city pulled 25 percent to 30 percent of its water from Lake Tawakoni, which was tainted with a gasoline additive after the accident.
The company, Explorer Pipeline Co., eventually reached an $8 million settlement with the city and paid a $3 million federal fine"
http://www.pipelineaccidentprevention.com/industryinfo.htm
Accidents do happen. With all the extra pipelines being proposed we will increase our chances of having one here.
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