The contractor hired by Range Resources to drill at Rayzor Ranch likes to save money by cutting a few corners here and there. Rather than paying to have their sewage hauled off, they decided to route it from the two 5th wheel travel trailers used on site into the field behind the drill site. Ew!
A vigilant neighbor, Cathy, found the evidence, toilet paper and all, and took some video that you can see HERE. That link will also explain a lot of the backstory and how I happened onto the scene. You have to read the backstory or the rest of this won’t make as much sense.
The Denton Record Chronicle could have quoted Rodney Waller, senior vice president for Range saying:
Range Resources is terribly sorry for the poor judgment of our contractor Pioneer Drilling Company and the foreman has been warned that taking shortcuts of any kind is not an acceptable practice.
If only Waller has said that; but he didn’t. Here’s what he said:
Waller said he believes residents overreacted to the spill out of anger over recent air quality tests that found elevated levels of benzene and other harmful chemicals during several stages of the drilling process at the first Rayzor Ranch well.Waller said the tests, performed for neighbors by Flower Mound-based Wolf Eagle Environmental, were inaccurate and unscientific.
The Railroad Commission “did call by phone, and we did explain to them what the situation was, and they understood the political issues that were going on for all those people to call,” Waller, of Range, said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it except try to deal with the public there.”
I can promise you that we didn’t overreact to the spill. We laughed like maniacs. In trying to get out of the deep doo doo on the far side of the sound barrier, the drillers created a shit-storm of drama and attention with their pretend spill.
Mr. Waller, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a M.E. in Atmospheric Science Bachelor of Arts degree, is a certified landman and a CPA. Rodney Waller does not know shit from Shinola when it comes to accurate science. He is a bean counter, not a scientist! And one of his bean counting gigs was with Arthur Anderson the firm that counted Enron’s beans.
And would somebody please, PLEASE explain to me WTF politics has to do with any of this?
UPDATE: I’m calling this DoodyGate.
UPDATE 2:
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
HOLY SHIT!
So silly of me to forget- The operators DO NOT have to report the AMOUNT of any spill- just that there was one. And, since the TRRC really doesn't want to know anyway, not one of them apparently has either the courage or the COMMON SENSE to ASK, we may never know. The TRRC will be happy to drop their chloride monitor in the…soup and tell you what the chloride level is, though.
Remember the red fluid running out of the wet bubbling pockets on our property…the ones that caught FIRE….I specifically asked them not to measure the chloride level, I asked to know what it is. So they tested it….for chlorides. 650 ppb chloride. I feel so much better now, knowing the salt content. Case closed.
Waller doesn't even have the qualifications to disagree with any findings. In fact, I think it's fairly obvious that he's LYING. If the only toilet facilities are in these two trailers, and they have not been hauling it off or putting into tanks and merely dumping the stuff illegally on site-and they are claiming it is only ONE barrel (42 gallons) then he must be measuring it-or just guessing. This what Self-Reporting does. In other words, the system expects these people, whose income is dependent on telling half-truths at best, to tell us what happened and how much.
So, what happens when there's a HUGE spill of fluids if TRRC doesn't track the size of a spill? Or, it's grossly under reported in size? It'll really hit the fan when a few hundred thousand people loose their drinking water for a few days.
And, the Feds tend to notice such things as well.
The feds are paying close attention.
Again, the operator is not required to report the amount spilled, only if it's more than 5 barrels, I think. That said, the operators often use that as their excuse not to report, because if they don't actually measure the amount or bother to find out, they just make something up. Or, as they often like to say "Follow Gas and Oil Industry Standards". which is double speak for saying that it's 'More than 5 barrels'. The operators know that the TRC will not ask, nor take any initiative to measure it themselves, because it's not required. The TRC does not bother doing anything more than what is required of them, which is minimal at best.
…trailers use a sump pump to go into a septic tank…then there is a laterial line that lets the grey water run off from the top…ie same as any septic system
…its the same as any grey water that your city uses to water their golf courses…
…the reason you see toliet paper is because if your not using "water degradable paper" like RV toliet paper…it floats and can be carried out by the grey water…
…have none of yall ever lived on a farm, or even a rural house with out "city sewer system"?…
…and hyro based spills (water based) spills have never been reportable…unless high in Na Cl (salt) ask any fire or police officer who has worked a wreck involving a fluid spill…
…are yall ever going to get the facts straight?….
Are you ever going to learn reading comprehension?
This site is right in the heart of the city limits so gray water lines are against the law here.
I've lived in the country most of my life with septic systems so I know that even in the most rural areas, you are not allowed to dump sewage–it's against the law.
The reason we see toilet paper (and thank you are acknowledging that the toilet paper is obvious) is because the drilling crew was illegally dumping their sewage rather then paying for a pump truck to pick it up and dispose of it properly. Your comment shows that is must be a common practice within the industry as I've been told by others.
The spill was a mud spill and according to TRC regulations the driller is required to report the spill "IMMEDIATELY" and it says that in all caps. Please check me on that. =)
If you find a "fact" that is not "straight," please let me know. So far you haven't.
Thank you for commenting.
What facts did I get wrong? I live in a rural area, and am on a septic system- but according to your logic, Anonymous, my seeing toilet paper in my yard wouldn't be indicative of illegal dumping or a spill, but that we've used the wrong kind of toilet paper.
Just because these spills have never been reportable doesn't mean they shouldn't be. There's a reason why they aren't being reported-because the industry lobbied politicians to let them have their way. If these spills were reported, your industry would be in a lot of trouble.
More importantly, since these are 'hydro based' spills, maybe you could give us your address- I'll be happy to drop off a load of free 'fertilizer' for you. How much would I bring? Can't say- I don't have to report that.
For a group of people who are so incredibly proud of themselves and their profession, never do anything wrong, have snappy, but yet often incorrect answers, I've never quite understood why they are so afraid to use their names. Maybe it has to do with the fact that your bully tactics aren't working anymore, and there are WAY more of us than there are of you.
Fact is that workers at well sites commonly sit on the porcelain device, do the appropriate chore and then pull that lever! Down it goes to the pit. Done all the time!
There is no pit and no portable toilet. You cannot just dig a hole in the ground and shit in it in the city. There are appropriate and lawful ways to get rid of solid waste material. That would be like saying the city would allow me to put an outhouse in my backyard.
It appears the workers are going into the 5th wheel trailers on site sitting on a porcelain device, do the appropriate chore and then pull the lever and dumping their waste on to the ground across the street from a city park.
Maybe we could just buy some chickens and put on the site and that would take care of the shit on the ground.
After the well is completed I will have a big chicken dinner for all the chicken shits who post Anoymous.
Chickens eat shit??? Who knew?
Nice to know that drilling companies think it's perfectly okay to dump- or pump excrement and urine into the pit 300 feet outside my daughter's bedroom. This might explain the two videos I have of two different workmen urinating right on the ground-nowhere near the pit, though. The porcelain must be reserved for the senior ditch diggers, I guess.
A chicken will eat anything, anywhere, anytime. A chicken will shit and turn around and eat it. I have seen a chicken eat a piece of chicken.
We might have to get some East Texas chickens to do the dirty deed but I know they are up to it. Nasty critters but tasty.
I think, maybe, I don't eat chicken. blech
Hey Anonymous 1:16 p.m. your ignorance is showing! I guess you don't realize that most of us in rural areas are on septic systems. The only time I've ever seen toilet paper from a septic system was when a neighbor illegally pumped his tanks into a ditch, he got caught and was fined a nice little sum. There is NO toilet paper in grey water. Systems with leach fields have perforated pipes that extend underground and leak out the grey water. Solids and TP stay in the first tank & are broken down by bacteria. Ever so many years, we have our tanks pumped and hauled away. I'm on aerobic, so I get several inspections each year, our septic company reports to the Denton County Health Department. FYI, those of us in the rural area have had it with the unscrupulous operators and the lack of respect you are showing to our homes and neighborhoods. We carry cameras and video equipment now and have no problem documenting and reporting the countless violations we observe.
It surely isn’t smart to cut corners when the things at stake are really important. There is no amount that can repay health, safety and environmental preservation.
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