News from the NCTCA North Central Texas Communities Alliance

The NCTCA had their kick-off meeting last night in Fort Worth. Many communities were represented. Flower Mound, Fort Worth, Colleyville, Denton, Decatur, DISH, Argyle, Bartonville, Arlington, Burleson, Midlothian, and Cleburne.


Calvin Tillman, Mayor of Dish, spoke about the continued testing in his town. The TCEQ is finding similar issues as the Wolfe Eagle study did back in the late summer. He said the need for green completions and other safe drilling practices must be mandated. Other states have better regulations and the gas companies are abiding by those rules. If Texas demands it, then it will have to be done.


Mayor Tillman stressed the importance of local government ordinances’ protection of towns and cities in the Barnett Shale.


There is talk about a permanent monitoring system in Dish and they will continue to work with the TCEQ and Wolfe Eagle. Their residents are getting ready to do biological testing with the Texas Department of Health Services.


Senator Wendy Davis spoke about bills from the last legislative session and how many of those that died on the floor will be brought back to life for the next session. Here are some of the issues these bills will address:


Pipelines and eminent domain.
Mandated green completions dealing with venting and flaring
Protection and better regulations for rural/county areas without ordinances


Senator Davis said the bills will include that the laws be retroactive to protect existing drilling activity.
Senator Davis mentioned some studies assigned by the Lt. Governor. Here are some of the issues in the studies.


Monitoring the environmental roles of state agencies like TCEQ and Texas Railroad Commission related to gas drilling.
Studying how they respond to drilling related issues.
What is the proper agency to regulate and monitor gas drilling industry?
What are the roles they currently play (not very effective right now)?


Senator Davis stated we have an EPA administration like never before at the national and regional level.


After the results on the Fort Worth air study were released earlier this week, Senator Davis met with the TCEQ. They said the test was the first one conducted and they admitted this was not an ideal situation for many reasons including the temperature. TCEQ also recognized that they need to do real time and long term testing.


The question about who funded the testing and where did the equipment to do the testing came up since TCEQ had stressed that they lacked the money and the knowledge to do the testing back in early fall. Senator Davis did not know the answer to that but said she felt that some of the burden should be on the gas and oil industry. She said that there should be third party objectivity to do the tests, read the tests and determine where and how testing is done.
Senator Davis feels TCEQ needs to partner with the EPA and other local sources like Universities to conduct the testing.


For more information on the NCTCA go to the website at http://www.nctca.net/

"Together we bargain, divided we beg."

Great video about Dish, TX

Txsharon has posted a video about Dish, Tx and the effects drilling has had on their health.

Split Estate-The Movie will air again on Planet Green

If you missed the world television premiere of Split Estate in 2009, the film will air again on Planet Green, a network of Discovery Communications, as a part of its Reel Impact documentary series on Saturday, January 16; Sunday, January 17; and Thursday, January 21.

Here's the broadcast schedule at a glance:
Saturday, January 16: 10PM ET, 9PM CT, 8PM MT and 7PM PT
Sunday, January 17: 6AM ET, 5AM CT, 4AM MT, and 3AM PT
Sunday, January 17: 2PM ET, 1PM CT, 12PM MT, 11AM PT
Thursday, January 21: 11PM ET, 10PM CT, 9PM MT, 8PM PT Click here for your local channel finder

After viewing the film, take action at 1Sky.

Tell your local newspapers editors that America needs a strong clean energy bill. Here's how: http://action.1sky.org/t/6411/letter/?letter_KEY=237

Buy the Split Estate DVD: http://www.splitestate.com/buy_dvd.html

Question: Does the first TCEQ first study results represent the whole picture?

The TCEQ released some results from their first air quality study yesterday. This study was conducted in Fort Worth ONLY. TCEQ tested 127 natural gas production sites out of 1600. Not even 10%. So it is interesting that the TCEQ can claim "No Cause for Concern".

The Star Telegram reported that the tests were a one day snapshot and admitted that previous tests showed high levels of hazardous chemicals being released. The tests were done in other areas of the Barnett Shale in North Texas. Here were their findings.

DISH 540 ppb.
Decatur 15,000 ppb.
Weatherford 24 ppb
Springtown 93 ppb.
Justin 30 ppb.
Cleburne 5.4 ppb.
The average benzene level is .2 ppb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality toxicologist Dr. Mike Honeycutt had this to say about the results from the test site in Decatur:
"That would be equivalent to opening up a can of gasoline and holding it up under your nose"

This was brought to our attention after posting this article. Here is what the TCEQ has on their website about the Dish, Tx study done my Wolf Eagle Environmental Engineers and Consultants.
The highest potential one-hour maximum benzene concentration is below the health effects level observed in short-term animal and human studies; however, it is possible that adverse health effects could occur from exposure to this concentration. It was not possible to determine if residents were exposed to this concentration of benzene based on the information provided.

The TCEQ’s Toxicology Division is concerned that the monitored concentrations of benzene at several of the sampling locations could pose a long-term health risk to residents in the area if the concentrations are representative of normal and prolonged ambient conditions.

Several monitored and potential one-hour maximum concentrations of target compounds and tentatively identified compounds could have resulted in odorous conditions. Persistent or recurrent exposure to levels that significantly exceed the odor threshold may cause odor-related effects such as headache and nausea. This is consistent with citizen reports of odors in the area.

The TCEQ’s Toxicology Division strongly recommends additional sampling in the area and possibly long term (at least one year) monitoring for VOC, NOx, ozone, including an Automatic Gas Chromatograph (AutoGC) monitoring station, to fully evaluate the long term ambient concentrations.

The TCEQ will continue to test other sites in North Texas and also test in warmer weather which can make a big difference in toxin levels in the air.

The Gathering Line

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

Express Energy Uses Mafia Like Tactics On A Fellow BloggerNEW Information On Express Energy! Express Energy Being Sued For MULTIPLE Employment ViolationsRead it at Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths.

Take a photo-tour of some of the wells in our backyard in Upstate NY at Marcellus Effect

The Texas Department of State Health Services is looking into a possible cancer cluster in Flower Mound. 5 children and 2 adults have been diagnosed with Leukemia. All live near gas drilling activity. Read about it at www.stopthedrilling.blogspot.com

How does Texas compare with other states? A statistical analysis with graphs reveals the truth at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

How do yoga, the Bible, and hydrofracking relate to each other? Peacegirl sees a connection. If it were an answer by Karnak the Magnificent (you would have to be a certain age to know about Karnak!), it would be amusing, but it's not. Yoga, the Bible, and Hydrofracking brings up the issue of doing harm. Is hydrofracking harmless? No. Another question: Who will listen? There are many people who are telling their stories about how gas drilling has adversely affected their lives. Is anyone listening? From Peacegirl at Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends. From atop the Marcellus Shale,

Splashdown reports that a recent PA Supreme Court ruling states local municipalities can regulate where gas wells are located through zoning ordinances, pre-empting PA's Oil and Gas Act. Read how Greenfield Twp. stopped Exco Resources from drilling a misplaced well, despite their DEP permit.

Update on Flower Mound Leukemia Cases

I received an e-mail from TXSharon today stating that a woman from Flower Mound contacted her to tell her that she has Leukemia. The woman mentioned that her friend who lived in Flower Mound had Leukemia and passed away from the illness. Sharon also writes about the dangers and health issues the industry employees are subject to just to get a paycheck.

We mentioned that we knew of 2 adults (one male and one female), along with 5 children here in Flower Mound that have been diagnosed with Leukemia. We are not sure if the woman who contacted Sharon is one of the adults, since we do not ask for names unless the person wants to share that with us, but the woman who passed away is a case we did not know of.

We had a comment from someone saying that cars, pumping gas, etc contribute to benzene levels in the air. Yes this is true, but now with the excessive amount of gas drilling, it is just another major source of toxins in the air. Dr. Armendariz conducted a study back in the summer of 2009 stating that gas drilling activities put as much pollution into the air as DFW traffic. We found more info on the dangers of benzene in this Prenatal Airborne Hydrocarbon Exposure Study. Some can continue to go on with blinders on but it would benefit all to stop and take a serious look at what is going on here in all of North Texas, not just Flower Mound.

Remember the day when everyone believed smoking and second hand smoke had no negative health effects??

Disposal Well in Argyle May Mean More Pipelines for FM

We mentioned a disposal site just over the border in Argyle in previous posts. It seems Williams may pump excessive amounts of drilling waste from their proposed waste water facility to this new disposal site. This article in the Denton Record Chronicle talks about the new disposal site and compressor station.

Funny, Williams never mentioned pumping the waste FROM the Waste Water Collection Facility to a disposal site before. They just keep the surprises coming. What could this mean? MORE PIPELINES! Read below.

Officials with Williams and Bosque say the public would benefit from centralized locations for gas compression and wastewater disposal, for aesthetic and practical reasons. For example, Bosque plans to send wastewater to the disposal well through underground pipes, limiting the need for gas drillers to haul it by truck on public roads to other disposal sites, the company’s president said.

Williams hopes to drill 100 new gas wells in Flower Mound and is asking city leaders there to approve plans for a centralized compressor and wastewater collection facility, Swan said. That facility would pool wastewater from Flower Mound gas wells and store it in aboveground tanks for later disposal elsewhere — including, potentially, the proposed disposal well near Argyle, he said.

Bartonville Water Supply Corp. is protesting the disposal well and Argyle may follow suit. They will have this disposal site and underground pipelines carrying toxic drilling waste water through their communities. Many residents are protesting this facility as well. It will be interesting what position Flower Mound will take on this issue since we can assume most of their waste will be going to this disposal well via pipelines.

Again, the main concern is regulation of this type of facility. Texas leads the nation for the most drilling activity and the worst regulation. Even though there is no record of an accident concerning the companies involved, we all know that it is physically impossible for the Texas Railroad Commission to inspect all the drilling activity. In addition to the 50,000 permitted oil and gas injection and disposal wells, they are responsible for over 250,000 gas and oil wells. As of 2008, the TRC had less than 100 inspectors. Do the math!

In Texas, the railroad commission oversees more than 50,000 permitted oil and gas injection and disposal wells, including nine in Denton County. Other than brine, injected fluids can also include small amounts of drilling mud, fracturing and well treatment chemicals, and residual hydrocarbons from oil and natural gas, according to the railroad commission.