True Intent of HB 40???

Read this eye opener and then take the quiz at the end. Psst....it is a real easy quiz!

What Is In The Air In Flower Mound?

Happy New Year! While we have been asleep and not paying attention, gas production has not taken a nap here in Flower Mound. For those of you wondering why you may be experiencing allergy symptoms, nose bleeds, burning eyes, scratchy throats, asthma etc. this could be the culprit Click here

FloMo Waits for Results From New State Cancer Cluster Study

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is conducting another cancer cluster study after the recent UT Study by Rachael Rawlins was release a couple of weeks ago. Rawlins', a UT lecturer and professor, study was published in the Virginia Environmental Law Journal. The study questioned federal and state guidelines related to natural gas drilling and its possible health effects.                    

Rawlins' study also questioned results of a 2010 cancer cluster investigation conducted by the DSHS back in 2010. Parents of children diagnosed with leukemia were concerned that their child was not included in the original study which would make the numbers greater than what the state had used for their research. Also, as noted in many previous posts, the DSHS stated the elevated breast cancer result could be due to overall population increases in Flower Mound and the likelihood that women in this area are more frequently screened for breast cancer.

The original study results left many of us questioning who the DSHS is really there to protect.

Click here to read the recent article in the Flower Mound Leader.

New UT Study Flower Mound Cancer Study

UT has just released a study on the Flower Mound Cancer Cluster. If you remember, the original study was conducted by the state back in early 2010. Of course the state study was incomplete because it did not include quite a bit of data that needed to be taken into consideration. In addition to the lack of complete data, the state basically dismissed some of the alarming conclusions by blaming it on population growth and economic demographics.

Back in 2010, Eric Miller, the DSHS epidemiologist who conducted the analysis stated, 

“We found nothing in the data to indicate the community is at higher risk for these types of cancers. However, we understand residents’ concerns and will continue to analyze new cancer data from these two areas.” 

"The breast cancer result could be due to overall population increases in Flower Mound and the likelihood that women in this area are more frequently screened for breast cancer."

“Flower Mound’s significant population increase alone could account for a higher average number of cancer cases between 2007 and 2009,” 

I received an email from someone in the Texas Department of Health Services stating that before the state study was released, it traveled all the way to the governor's office. Anyone surprised? That should say a lot about what ended up being released to the public and the many concerned families who had children and others diagnosed with cancer in our area.

In 2011, The Denton Record Chronicle published an article stating that breast cancer was on the rise in Flower Mound. Yet the state hasn't revisited this issue since they released their study.

The UT study recommends increased government monitoring of health impact studies and regulations of air pollution. Something many of us have been pleading for since the start of drilling on the Barnett Shale. Hopefully the UT Study will open the dialog again about this very important issue that in the past has been so easily dismissed and swept under the rug. 

60,000 Gallons Of Drilling Fluids And Waste Spilled!!!

It has been reported that over 60,000 gallons of oil and gas related fluids were spilled due to the flooding in Colorado.

Pipelines, transportation and storage of oil, gas, frack water and  drilling waste is dangerous. How many permits and variances have been granted too close or in flood plains in Texas?

Some of you in Flower Mound may remember that the town almost let in a huge Centralized Collection Facility (CCF) that would allow the transportation of drilling waste via pipelines throughout the town. The waste would have been stored in multiple storage tanks called tank batteries. Just like the tanks we saw overturned or floating in the flood waters in Colorado. Thankfully the residents woke up and rallied to stop the CCF.
Here are a few past posts about the CCF:
Click here and here

We have heard that drilling seems to be starting up in neighboring towns again. In fact, it appears most of our concerned residents have quietly slipped back into a peaceful sleep when it comes to gas and oil production issues. Last time everyone was sleeping over 80 wells were permitted and close to 60 wells were drilled......

It Is Election Season and We Haven’t Forgotten!

We had planned to stay quiet this election season until we saw Mike Walker accuse his opponent Joy Bowen of being pro drilling. Seriously, are you kidding?

No matter how you feel about gas drilling, the Flower Mound Oil and Gas ordinance must be followed. That is why we fought so hard to make it stronger. If a pad site meets the criteria in the ordinance, it will be approved.  Of course Mr. Walker and his supporters twisted Joy Bowen's statements in an attempt to take attention away from his own gas drilling history.

We asked Joy Bowen for her stance on drilling. Here is what she told us. Joy Bowen supports our extremely protective and nationally recognized drilling ordinance. Joy Bowen has stated to us that she would never vote to weaken the ordinance and would always be open to making it even stronger as new technology presents itself. Joy Bowen has never signed a gas lease. Joy Bowen has never supported putting wells near homes, schools, parks, and hospitals.  In 2010 Joy Bowen, along with 6000 other residents, signed the Flower Mound Cares Petition to stop the Centralized Collection Facility.  We can’t say the same about her opponent.

Mike Walker was appointed to the Oil and Gas Board of Appeals in 2006. During his service, he voted to grant many variances. The most disturbing vote was in mid-2008 when he was the only member to vote for all variance requests at the Riverwalk property. This is the property where our new hospital sits. One of the variances on which he voted YES would have allowed a pad site 695 feet from a day care center and 312 feet from a public park. Click here and go to page 151 to read the variances and how Mr. Walker voted.

In 2008, as a board member on the Bridlewood HOA, he participated in meetings with Williams Production. The purpose of these meetings was to explore putting gas wells on Bridlewood Golf Course in the middle of homes and schools. The meetings were conducted secretly without input or notification of residents and despite Bridlewood's HOA documents defining Bridlewood as a non-drilling community. Outraged Bridlewood residents voted to recall Mr. Walker in 2008. Even with 62% of the voting members in favor of recalling him, he refused to step down based on a technicality. For documentation, click here, here, here, here and here. Mr. Walker continued to serve on the Oil and Gas Board of Appeals. His service on the board was to vote for granting or denying variance requests, exactly what Williams would need to drill in Bridlewood. Yet, he met with the gas drilling company anyway? His tenure on his HOA Board and the Oil and Gas Board of Appeals is marred by his record of poor judgment, lack of transparency and appearance of conflict of interest. All the above links to documents came from the blog, Bridlewood Quality of Life Coalition.

UPDATE: We found this map of the proposed wells on Bridlewood Golf Course.

We can’t forget Jean Levenick’s gas drilling record. Mrs. Levenick and her husband signed a gas lease with Williams back in February 2009. In January 2010, she refused to recuse herself from discussions and voted to amend the ordinance to allow for the zoning of a Centralized Collection Facility. Why recuse herself? The only company advocating for a CCF at the time was Williams! The same company she signed a gas lease with. Here are her comments from the meeting minutes. 

“Mayor Pro Tem Levenick stated that the process tonight would lay the groundwork to process a future application. She stated there had been so many emails and so much information. She read a portion of an email about leukemia clusters, and asked people to stop sending out false information.”

In spring of 2010, after 6000 residents signed the Flower Mound Cares Moratorium and CCF petition, it was presented to the Town Council. Mrs. Levenick voted NOT to accept the petition. The no vote would forced the town to hold a special election. The no vote would delay the moratorium from going into effect and could have allowed a company, most likely Williams, to put in an application for a CCF. Click here for meeting minutes. Read pages 17 through 20.

As fate would have it, there was some controversy and Jean Levenick decided not to run for office again. A new council majority was elected and they immediately accepted the petition.
This open letter written by one of our local journalist said it all.  

Click here to read previous posts on this blog about Mrs. Levenick.

We met Tami Ryan and asked her how she feels about gas drilling and our protective ordinance. Here are her answers. Tami Ryan also signed the Flower Mound Cares Petition in 2010. Tami Ryan is opposed to weakening the ordinance and is committed to protecting the health, safety, and quality of life of our residents.

With the industry pushing for LNG exports, we need to make sure we have the right people in office to assure our community will always have the best protections in place. Here are a few paragraphs from a recent article that sum up the LNG export issue.

Eben Burnham-Snyder, a spokesman for House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Rep. Edward Markey said “Sending more of our natural gas resources abroad, instead of keeping more of it here for consumers and manufacturers and providing a diverse energy supply, is not a policy to make us more energy secure…[it] makes us less independent, not more.”

Berman added, “These companies have stupidly, imprudently overproduced their own product to the point they can’t make money at the price they’ve created themselves. So now they’re looking for a solution to that problem, and they’ve managed to convince a number of idiots in Congress that this is a good idea.”

Tad Patzek, chairman of the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas said “We are at that stage right now and it’s only going to get worse,” he said. “We will be encroaching more and more on where people live.”

People of Flower Mound, we cannot afford to vote for candidates that have failed us in the past when it comes to gas drilling. Do your research before voting.

Here is the candidate slate for 2013.

Place 1

Joy Bowen http://electjoybowen.com/

Mike Walker http://walkerforfm.com/

Place 3 (Uncontested Race)

Mark Wise place3@flower-mound.com

Place 5

Tami Ryan http://www.tamiryanfortc.com/#

Jean Levenick http://jeanlevenick.com/

Flower Mound don’t take a gamble on protecting the Oil and Gas ordinance and the health, safety and quality of life of all in our wonderful community.

Early Voting - April 29, 2013 through May 4, 2013, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. May 6-7, 2013, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Election Day - May 11, 2013, 7:00  a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

We will only post comments from real people. If we can't verify that a name is real, we have the right to refuse posting the comment. We will not post any inflammatory or crude comments. We have the right to refuse  posting any or all comments. We are not responsible for the comments and opinions of others.

 

Great Article About The Shale Boom and Bust

Peter Gorman of The Fort Worth Weekly has written a great article about the Shale Bust. Many of us saw this coming. He brought up some interesting facts and points

We have seen production from local wells drop significantly. They have brought in gas lift compressors to "squeeze the blood out of the turnip".

The wells, especially in “sweet spots” like the Fort Worth section of the Barnett Shale, saw declines in production that no one could have imagined.

But the banks that had lent all that money to the energy companies needed their loans repaid, so energy companies had to keep drilling new wells to maintain production volumes. It looked good on paper and kept stock prices at reasonable levels for a few years, but with a couple of exceptions, nearly all of the gas companies have seen their stocks nosedive in the last year.

 Geologist David Hughes had this to say in the article.

“What you have to remember when looking at a shale play is that drillers head for the sweet spots first, the places with the most accessible quantities of gas,” Hughes said. “When the first few wells come in, a leasing boom follows. But the majority of the wells drilled are not going to be in the sweet spots — maybe only 15 percent will be. So when we look at the drop in the Haynesville play, what we’re seeing is that if the sweet spots are drying up, drillers wind up going after less productive areas in the play. But with the cost of each new well in the Haynesville at about $9 million — and that doesn’t include the leasing rights or costs of pipelines and so forth — and the price of gas at $3.30 per thousand cubic feet, who in their right mind is going to keep drilling?”

“You need to drill 1,500 new wells every year, each of which has the same average first-year production of a 2011 well, to simply keep [total] production flat.”

When they start exporting LNG, and they will, the industry will be looking to drill in every nook and cranny to get natural gas. The oil and gas industry will reap the profits.

The drop in price, however, encouraged a lot of industries, including power companies, to retrofit their plants for natural gas rather than coal or oil. And without an abundant supply of gas over the long haul, that may prove very costly for consumers once the surplus of cheap gas is gone. Add to that a new wrinkle that not many people saw coming — the exportation of natural gas to countries willing to pay a premium for it — and the cost of natural gas in the United States could increase tremendously in the next five to 10 years

Americans get ready to be screwed in every way!

To read the Fort Worth Weekly article Click here