You must document the failures!
I urge everyone who contacts me for help due to harm by oil & gas operations to always contact the proper state agency. It is well known that the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) exist to provide cover for industry and not to help protect the public or environment. So, it’s a hard sell to convince people to continue making complaints to those agency.
Change doesn’t come easily, especially in Texas. We need to continue documenting the monumental failures of both agencies.
Recently a Laredo citizen documented the failure of the TRC in a letter to the Laredo Morning Times. In her letter she describes trying to talk with David Porter about drilling, fracking and environmental issues but he threatened to call security on her.
Another Laredo citizen documented a different failure of the TRC concerning hauling Eagle Ford Shale drilling waste in open top trucks.
After the San Ygnacio townhall meeting that successfully prevented an oil/gas waste site from expanding in Zapata county, we spoke to Gil Bujano (TRRC)and told him that we (Mellie Hereford & Tricia Cortez) had pictures and videos documenting waste haulers’ sludge spills in Laredo. He tod us to contact the Corpus Christi office and to have them start a file of these spills. He added if it turns out its the same operator then we’ll look at pulling his permit-something to that effect.
Well, that was easier said than done. I called, Mellie called and Tricia called. It was very difficult to get someone to even confirm that the CC office was indeed responsible for the Laredo area. Eventually, I called Gil Bujano again and he told me to talk to Arnold Ott at the Corpus Christi office. He confirmed they were responsible and that TRRC had even added a “couple of guys” to the Laredo area. However, all he gave me was an e-mail in case we had something to report. I emailed his office and asked that someone please respond to me to confirm receipt. After about TWO WEEKS, Mr. Ott called and left a msg on my voice mail saying that yes, they had gotten my email but they were having some “IT” problems.
Later, I did get another call from Gil Bujano and told me that we should call instead to their CC office at 1-361-242-3113 24 hours a day. He said M-F before 5pm, someone will answer, other times someone will get back to you. It turns out thats their main number, the same number anybody else for any other reason uses to contact them. He did say that we should always refer to “waste haulerl spills” in order for the message to get to the right party.
Armando Cisneros
I like to help citizens keep track of state regulators’ failures. Together we will make a difference.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Absolutely!
If you don’t give them something to lie about, you can’t bust them for lying.
Because if they lie/fail enough, eventually they’ll get busted.
Isn’t that right, my drilling-industry-screwed Republican friends who have come to appreciate the value of an honest regulator?
Does anyone know what the real difference between the TRRC and TCEQ is? The TCEQ has higher quality liars.
David Porter is just an imbecile. I’d love to know the back story on how after 20 years of working as a Midland CPA, he suddenly decided to run for TRRC Commissioner. He doesn’t know a frac pit from his arm pit.
He refused to campaign. He refused to debate Jeff Weems. He appeared on a video at the same time Weems did. Porter stuttered when he could manage to say anything and mostly said “I don’t know’. Weems has been an oil gas attorney for more than 20 years, even working on an oil rig in his younger years. Weems traveled all over Texas campaigning, going door to door. Porter never left Midland.
When given actual facts about anything related to hydraulic fracturing or natural gas operations, his only response is “I don’t agree with you.”
Porter was elected because he ran on the Republican ticket. Industry far and wide immediately picked up on Porter’s ineptitude, and quickly decided he would be their ‘man’.
Industry gets to do what it wants, knowing that Porter will defend and support them (through his staff, of course, as Porter can’t string two sentences together) and Porter collects a nice check for driving a desk.
Both of these orgs. are rotten to the core. But, you better know that the RRC, in addition to being rotten, is a very dangerous org for ordinary citizens. As an example, the TCEQ does make a little effort to keep complaintant’s identity confidential–NOT so with the RRC they will identify you to the operator in a New York minute–and blame you for all kinds of stuff. Have experience where a complaint was made to the TCEQ–then the operator wanted to know who the hell is complaining–so the TCEQ referrs the complaint to the RRC–and then they know who the complainting person is. Believe you me this happens. My advise is that you better be “VERY CAREFULL” when making complaints to either one of these orgs. Comments please.
We have talked to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) numerous times and to many people down there. I don’t believe we should “fear” making complaints. I have always found the staff to be good listeners with lots of experience. Be very clear with what you need and that could help get your concern to the right staff person and/or department.
No doubt, the RRC culture is very friendly to the industry…but they just aren’t use to so many people being upset. They really do need to travel to our communities for specific hearings. It’s a very old agency that has been in a tango with the O&G industry for one hundred years. All of us can help change that.
It’s a ridiculous process. Citizens should not have to worry about intimidation and threats from Industry for reporting what they fail to. It’s supposed to be a self-report system, and everyone knows it’s anything but. The documentation is important-critical, even. That said, there needs to be something in place where if we’re all going to live by this self-report, there are serious consequences for not. This particular instance is a great example of the catastrophic failure of our regulatory agencies. When citizens complain, and CHK’s mouthpiece dismisses the claim by simply saying “It’s steam” and testing results prove otherwise, I want to know where the outrage is-specifically why the TRRC Chairman is not calling for someone’s head. But, Smitherman will not call for that someone’s head, as he is probably out on the golf course with that someone.
So the question I have is, now what? Now that this site has been proven to be dangerous, what happens now?
The TRRC seems to have let older O&G fields loose records of their facilities, including maps of where everything roughly is:
http://rancholoslosmalulos.blogspot.com/2010/12/el-paso-corporations-ticking-time-bomb.html
Calling 811 is useless in some areas of Texas:
http://rancholoslosmalulos.blogspot.com/2009/11/more-about-tractor-fire.html
http://rancholoslosmalulos.blogspot.com/2011/01/la-copita-pipeline-drama.html
An active gas pipeline, with *no* cathodic protection, and no one seems to know where it was?
As it is, ExxonMobil won’t respond to 811 requests there. I guess the TRRC won’t give them a fine big enough to make them change their ways.
Leaking condensate? No worry for the TRRC?
http://rancholoslosmalulos.blogspot.com/2009/11/rrc-ignores-more-leaking-condensate.html
This recent post from Elizabeth Burns:
http://rancholoslosmalulos.blogspot.com/2012/04/doing-math.html
“I asked Paul Templet who comes to the office to deliver the bribes/campaign contributions. It was always the lawyers from the high dollar corporate law firms. My friend, Big Oil, told me the most he ever had to pay in bribes to an elected official was $1800. He bought a ticket for a female RRC commissioner’s fundraiser in exchange for an automatic field consolidation approval. Big Oil told me that it’s just disgusting how cheap the elected officials are. He’s a high-paid oil company lawyer, so he oughta know! “
I like the Video, helps the RRC do it’s job. If Hwy Patrol gets them, City gets them, Sheriff gets the, Governors Task Force on Environmental Crimes gets them, Who cares as long as they are stopped from violating the law. I have worked the same problems in SE Texas where shale waste enters the state from Lousiana and is being dumped in Salt Storage Caverns. RRC has rules but you have to catch these people first. The material settles out at the bottom and liquid goes to the top, no baffles leads to sloppy stops at red lights in town and stop signs along the path. I have turned in request to Penalize the Operator, Trucking Company, Impounded the vehicle & jailed the driver.
You must start with the Operator and rub his nose in it because it is his waste and the way to the grave. The operator must police his waste and have people escort the shale to disposal to insure proper procedures.
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