landslide
The vote to ban fracking in the city limits of Denton was a landslide.

Do not forget that the people of Denton have been struggling for five years to achieve some level of “responsible” from the oil and gas industry.

This did not happen because of one bad operator. That suggestion is complete and utter doody starting with Range Resources fracking across the street from McKenna Park and dumping their sewage into the field. Fracking in Denton has been one long string of bad operators.

Denton is representative of Texas–a predominately Republican city that happens to have two universities–and it would be folly for politicians to ignore that fact. Republicans voted for the ban proving that fracking is a non-partisan issue. Republicans won every race in Denton.

I like love how the Dallas Morning News sent a warning to Texas lawmakers.

People drove pickup trucks with Greg Abbott stickers to the polls, voted straight Republican and still voted for the ban. Eighty plus year-old ladies voted for the ban then ranted against Obama. They voted in Myra Crownover again despite her threats to support legislation to make the ban illegal and her years of supporting industry over her constituents. It will be interesting to watch the awakening.

That’s how bad the reality of fracking is. No one can live with it, not even industry’s political base.

This is industry’s own fault.

There are some things that money can’t buy, even a mega crap-load of money. The opposition buried Denton in deceptive mailers which just made people angry. The mailers at the top with blue banners, those were from Ed Ireland and were not reported in the campaign spending. Even ads during the Cowboy football game didn’t deceive people.

oppositionmailers

Denton just ruined the win percentage for the Epstein Group.

The stage at Dan’s Sliver Leaf is not big enough for everyone responsible. It didn’t feel right for a few to stand up there when so many worked together to made this happen. Everyone played an important roll and we all worked together like a giant siphonophore. Each part of the Denton fracking siphonophore had an important, specialized part that made the whole work and thrive.

This are amazing, talented, hardworking women and they certainly should have all been on the stage at Dan’s.

Rather than reflecting upon their irresponsible actions that brought Denton people to this point, industry quickly filed two lawsuits against the city. That’s how they roll. Never address legitimate concerns, just steamroll over the people.

This is what it looks like to release bottled up emotion from a five-year struggle.

Cathy&me

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A Medical Perspective on Oil and Gas Development

by TXsharon on November 3, 2014

in health

This is a presentation given in Mansfield, TX by Anne C. Epstein MD, FACP
Lubbock TX Board of Health.

This presentation clearly shows that fracking is a serious threat to health and should never be in neighborhoods.

Health Risks of Oil and Gas- Development

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This is a sign from a frack site 200′ from a family’s backdoor. Thirty-percent of Denton city limits is permitted to allow fracking 200′ or less from homes.

Frack_Sign3

Vote FOR the proposition to prohibit hydraulic fracturing in the city limits of Denton.

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Yesterday residents in Denton were treated to yet another mailer from the people who support “Responsible Drilling.” This one, from the wife of one of the two board members, was particularly offensive.

JudyJonesSee larger version HERE

The mailer reminded me of a quote I saw yesterday in a video about the BP spill.

“Somebody ought to feel something other than greed.”

The family depicted in the picture above is one of the rare Denton mineral owners who actually lives in Denton. Their minerals are valued at more than the entire Denton Independent School District.

  • Average annual mineral value held by DISD (from DCAD): $143,00
  • Annual mineral value held by Jones Family Trust (DCAD) : $169,000

So, while the Jones family sends out deceptive mailers leading Denton residents to believe schools will go bankrupt and park swings will break if a ban on fracking is passed, this family gains more from fracking than all the students in Denton schools.

The Jones family are big supporters of “Responsible Drilling” but, until yesterday they have failed to define what that means.

When asked in an interview with the Dallas Business Journal to describe his idea of “Responsible Drilling”, Bobby Jones the treasurer of Denton Tax Payers for a Strong Economy had this to say:

“I guess I don’t see where it falls on the oil companies,” said Bobby Jones who has a pad site within 300 feet of his home. “They haven’t done anything wrong.”

There you have it Denton voters! “Responsible Drilling” means more of the same and the “Responsible Drilling” supporters believe the “oil companies” have no responsibility and have done nothing wrong.

Mr. and Mrs. Jones, according to the complaints logged with the state, your Denton neighbors disagree.

Searching the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s complaints from last Halloween to this Halloween yielded hundreds of complaints. Here is a sampling from the Southridge neighborhood where fracking occurred on the Acme Brick site:

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

The complaintant states there is black smoke outside and there is a bad smell in their living room.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

STRONG ODOR FROM 9:15 AM THAT LAST APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES. ODOR INDUCES EXTREME HEADACHES.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

EXHAUST SMELL WAS SO STRONG THAT IT BURNED THEIR EYES.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

DUST IS GETTING IN EYES AND THROATS CAUSING ITCHING AND BURNING SENSATIONS OCCURRING BETWEEN THE HOURS OF ~6:00 AM-~7:00 PM.

A sampling of the complaints from the Meadows of Hickory Creek and Vintage nieghborhoods:

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

SORE THROAT, TROUBLE IN BREATHING, COUGHING AND HEADACHES DUE TO EMISSIONS FROM GAS WELL DRILLING SITE.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

SORE THROAT, FATIGUE, NAUSEA AND BAD HEADACHES DUE TO EMISSIONS FROM ALLEGED SOURCE.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

COMPLAINANT WAS WALKING IN NEIGHBORHOOD AND IS NOW EXPERIENCING BURNING LUNGS, SORE THROAT, COUGHING AND A DIFFICULT TIME THEIR CATCHING BREATH.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

THE COMPLAINANT ALLEGED THAT A LARGE ABOUT OF FUMES WERE BEING GENERATED BY THE FACILITY AND THESE EMISSIONS WERE CLEARLY VISIBLE. COMPLAINANT ALLEGES THAT THE FACILITY IS CAUSING HEADACHES, WATERY EYES, AND SINUS ISSUES. ALL OF WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUS ISSUES.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

NEARBY DRILLING RIG CAUSING STRONG CHEMICAL ODORS, EYES IRRITATION, AND HEADACHES.
THERE IS A FOG OF EMISSIONS IN THE AIR MAKING IT HARD TO BREATH

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

DIESEL FUMES. THE COMPLAINANT STATED THAT OUSIDE THE SMELL WAS VERY STRONG ALMOST MAKING THEM FAINT.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

FUMES THAT LEAVE A BITTER TASTE IN THEIR MOUTH AND THE FUMES HAVING A SULFURIC SMELL AND ROTTEN EGGS SMELL.

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

OVERPOWERING CHEMICAL ODOR WHILE WALKING OUTSIDE FOR 10 MINUTES, EXPERIENCED A PIERCING HEADACHE AND NAUSEA, THROAT IRRITATION, AND EYE BURNING

There are hundreds of complaints like these listed at the TCEQ website.

How about this? Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

How about this? This child has a fracking site 200′ from his bedroom. Does this look like “Responsible Drilling” to you?

Asthma

If you don’t want fracking in your backyard, vote FOR the proposition to prohibit hydraulic fracturing in the city limits of Denton.

UPDATE: While you’re here, don’t miss my conversation with Randy Sorrells at the polls in Denton.

UPDATE: Vote to keep this sign out of your backyard.

FatalVaporsSign

 

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The fact that breathing hydrocarbons can be lethal should not surprise anyone. Breathing hydrocarbons kills babies and adult oilfield workers. What you may not realize is that these same hydrocarbons are in the air venting from the oil and gas facilities in your backyards.

I’ve blogged about Dustin before. When I have time to blog, all kinds of people contact me. Several people close to Dustin contacted me after my blog post. I understood how important the deposition was. You’ll have to read the article and connect some dots to know what all that means.

Dustin, like several other men in the story, was a flowback operator. Flowback is part of the completion process where the fracking fluid comes back up to the surface. They store this fluid in tanks onsite that have 16″ x 16″ vents on top because the flowback is so volatile it will blow up the tanks if not vented. That venting of flowback is bad news for neighborhoods. Here’s what it looks like:

This is across the street from Apogee Stadium in Denton

And this is in the Meadows of Hickory Creek neighborhood in Denton. You can clearly see that the fumes are crossing the fence-line and trespassing into people’s backyards.

Here is what I want you to understand:

“If the emissions are bad enough to cause death,” Subra said, “they have to be causing severe health impacts.”

The same thing that killed Dustin and these other men, “hydrocarbon poisoning due to inhalation of petroleum vapors,” is in the air around all these facilities.  Even industry’s own air testing confirms that. The question is not IF you will be exposed but how often and to what extent? Here’s why:

  • Permits in Texas allow these facilities to vent 25 tons per year of volatile organic compounds. (Other states like Colorado allow much less, but not good old Texas.) There are ways operators in Texas get around that permit requirement and vent even more.
  • All the tanks come with vents. The purpose of a vent is to _________?
  • These facilities are also allowed special get out of jail cards called “allowable emission events.”

Here is a video of a facility with three tanks and all three tanks are venting. Now you know what those pipes sticking up are. They are vents.

Imagine this behind your house. People in Denton, TX live less than 200′ from tanks like these.

And industry’s response when confronted with this fact of constant exposure is not to suggest improvements so neighbors won’t be exposed to petroleum vapors ,but rather to dismiss it because it’s permitted.

They call that “Responsible Drilling.”

When confronted with an even more egregious example…:

…the response is to attack the messenger.

It’s no wonder the opposition to fracking continues to grow. This industry is stuck on stupid.

stuckonstupid

Breathing petroleum vapors can kill you or make you sick. Duh!

UPDATE: Industry’s response to this post:

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My conversation with Randy Sorrells today at the polls in Denton

October 23, 2014

I was doing a little poll watching in Denton this morning. It was a fine, cool morning unlike the previous days where I felt like I was melting. And the “Responsible Drilling” hired guns where not there misleading voters so things were quite pleasant. I saw a man wearing a “Responsible Drilling” t-shirt and recognized […]

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Today was a bad news day for fracking

October 22, 2014

This is a very busy time for me with early voting in Denton. The “Responsible Drilling” hired guns at the polls are misleading voters about how to vote so they must be constantly watched. And today has been a busy day for some rather bad news for fracking. I’m popping in there with some random […]

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If you need help reading your water test results, contact me

October 21, 2014

If you receive results from water testing and you don’t know what it means, I can help with that.

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Study: Higher concentration of gas wells means more hospital visits for residents

October 12, 2014

“Our studies indicate that over time an increasing number of wells is significantly correlated with inpatient rates of hospitalization,” Penning stated. The study has not been released yet but the results were revealed recently to a Senate Policy Committee meeting. Ruth McDermott-Levy, associate professor and director of the Center for Global and Public Health at […]

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Dirty tricks and deceptive polling anger Denton residents

October 11, 2014

The fracking industry is covering Denton in layers of slick, deceptive mailers and now they are doing more manipulative polling calls. All this is only serving to anger Denton residents. From Facebook: Just received a very interesting survey call. The industry folks must be nervous. The caller invoked Putin and Russia, and Al-qaeda and Al […]

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In the beginning: Fracking in Denton

October 9, 2014

In the beginning… Cathy McMullen evacuated Wise County because she was surrounded by fracking. She moved to Denton where she thought it would be safe. Shortly after Cathy, I evacuated Wise County because we were surrounded by fracking. We moved to Denton where we thought we would be safe. I didn’t know Cathy and she […]

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