There was a M 2.9 quake just north of Irving early this morning. There is no fracking near the epicenter but plenty just a little to the west.

Event Page

NBC5 news reports

A landowner in Robertson County, which is also known as Booger County, woke up Sunday morning to find the water from his well cloudy. This followed an event on Saturday where one of the many nearby sour gas wells was venting very loudly.

One interesting thing is that the sediment in the water does not settle to the bottom of the jar.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, there was a M 2.4 earthquake in Arlington. There was also a water main break and sinkhole. You can see a video of the water main break on Facebook.

Looking on the Texas Railroad Commission GIS map, I did not find any injection disposal wells in the immediate area. Please remember that injection is injection and disposal well injection, enhanced recovery injection and fracking injection all can and have caused earthquakes. Keeping that in mind, look at the maps below that show the approximate epicenter, according to the USGS, marked in gray. Notice the intense areas of fracking just just to the south and west of the epicenter.

NBC5 News report.

Range Resources’ case against Lipsky is the “poster child for what SLAPP is.” And what did Lipsky do to deserve the wrath of Range? He called the EPA. But, he only called the EPA after the Texas Railroad Commission failed to take action for months (see timeline).

After the Texas Railroad Commission declared that Range Resources did not contaminate Steve Lipsky’s well, Range filed a ridiculous $3 million countersuit against the Lipskys and the scientist they hired to test their water.

Highest Court to Weigh in on a Dispute Over Water
By JIM MALEWITZSEPT. 4, 2014 for NY Times.

The $3 million suit accuses the three of conspiring to “defame and disparage” Range Resources and force federal regulators to intervene.

Then Range tried to drag me into the suit. Even after receiving my discovery that showed I had no involvement with the Lipskys prior to the EPA stepping in, they still made me go to a court hearing and sit through a really stupid, 6-hour deposition (See: Fun with depositions Part One and Part Two). They harassed me and tried to bully me hoping to shut me up. But, like their cement casings, they failed.

Now Range wants to shut up all Texans. Obviously, they have a great deal of political power and the Texas Supreme Court has a long history of ruling in favor of business. This should be interesting so I hope to go watch the arguments. Maybe I’ll get to see David again.

Read the NY Times article.

I blogged earlier about the Earth, Wind and Fire Energy Summit coming to Dallas and you can read the entire brochure at that link.

One of the featured speakers is Dr. Nicholas van der Elst who will talk about frackquakes.

A featured Sunday speaker at the Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit in Dallas Oct.4-5

Dr. Nicholas van der Elst
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York

Nicholas van der Elst is an earthquake seismologist and postdoctoral research fellow at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in New York, studying the mechanics of earthquakes and faulting. His research holds a special focus on earthquake interactions and triggering, like in the foreshock and aftershock sequences that may lead up to or follow a larger quake. This incudes a focus in triggered earthquakes caused by deep fluid injection and disposal wells – a hot topic of discussion today in our region.

Van der Elst was featured in Science magazine in 2013 with other colleagues whom he collaborated with on a study focusing on the relationship of deep wastewater injection and midwestern seismic activity.

Fracking and Groundwater Contamination will be addressed by Dr. Zachariah Hildenbrand, UT Arlington whose water testing results found “alarming” levels of arsenic and other heavy metals in proximity to fracked wells.

Petroleum engineer, Kathy Martin, will give information about fracking.

There is still time to get in on the Early Registration Rates and One Day Attendance Rates Now Available

Earth, Wind, Fire Energy Summit One Day Rate

This is a huge mess. Workers are wading in almost knee deep gunk that has breached the earthen berms built in an effort to contain it. The gunk is flowing into a stream and will take about a year to clean up.

Why do they let the industry frack near streams, creaks, rivers and lakes?

Watch the video.

They say the well should be secure by tomorrow.

Wouldn’t it be horrible if this happened in a populated area like Denton? Oh wait. Already did.

A not so fictional tale of fracking in the neighborhood.

Register now during early registration to attend this first ever, one of a kind, 2-day educational energy summit.

Earth, Wind and Fire Energy Summit

Longtime no post. Here are my excuses:

• busy
• broken computer

But this post should make up for my absence.

Today Alan Septoff, Earthworks Communication Director, our driver and I were illegally detained by Mr. John W. Bones, President, Black Marlin Energy Services in Smiley, TX and his wife.

We were on a road marked with a county road sign and did not trespass onto any private property. I never trespass. I’m a 5th generation Texan so I know quite a bit about trespass and the law.

The driver of our vehicle who prefers to remain nameless, turned onto a paved road with no signage other than a county road sign. If there is a county road sign on the road and nothing that says private drive, one would assume it is a county road. We stopped adjacent to the Black Marlin Energy Services gate where workers were washing down the outside and inside of industry trucks and the flowback tanks that haul fracking and drilling waste. We were just watching the process and snapping a few pictures. I observed the facility with the FLIR camera but did not record anything.

Suddenly a rather large and extremely hostile man, Mr. Bones, rushed to the car and demanded we leave. He reached into the car and grabbed my camera which was not recording. There was some argument about the legalities of taking pictures on a county road which he claimed he owned along with all 4 of the homes on the road. He told us to leave, but when we decided to leave, Mr. Bones and his tiny wife stood in front of the car and would not allow us to leave, illegally detaining us on the road that was marked as a county road. Mrs. Bones called the Sheriff. Several times we tried to leave but each time the Bones couple stepped in front of the car. Mrs. Bones called us communists.

The Sheriff’s Deputy, M. Cowan arrived to try and sort it all out. It was obvious that he knew we really had done nothing wrong, but he had to navigate the treacherous terrain created by a bully who has some political clout in the tiny town.

During the conversation, we learned that the road Mr. Bones claimed was his property was maintained by the county, meaning the taxpayers pay for the maintenance of his supposedly private road. We also learned that he didn’t exactly own all 4 of the homes on the road.

At some point, Mr. Collie Boatright, a markedly less hot-headed partner in the facility, showed up. He seemed embarrassed by his partner and wife who were clearly out of control. He seemed to understand the potential PR nightmare.

Mr. Bones said that he was warned we were in the area by the owner of a recycling facility on a main road where we stopped to take video. The recycling facility owner was very nice and answered our questions. I asked him for a tour and he said he might arrange one for a little later in the day and asked for my card so he could contact me about it. Obviously he activated some kind of network alert and warned all the facilities in the area about us. I knew the industry did this but now I have confirmation.

Mr. and Mrs. Bones wanted the deputy to arrest us for “industrial espionage.” He explained that he deals with state law and industrial espionage is federal law so they would need to call the FBI. They said they intend to press criminal charges. As far as I can tell, the Bones family were the only ones who broke the law by illegally detaining us.

More to come on this from Alan.

Let me remind you once again:

Please see the pre fracking water test that shows Tim and Christine Ruggiero’s water was clean and safe.

Please see the post fracking water test that shows Tim and Christine Ruggiero’s water was contaminated with high levels of MTBE.

MTBE is an additive used in diesel fuel.

It was a flash fire of water that came suddenly gushing from a water well and sent four people to the hospital one of whom is a 4-year-old.

Flash fire burns four people; methane contamination in water source possible cause
Mineral Wells Index, August 5, 2014
By TODD GLASSCOCK

The fire’s cause was not known, he said, but there is a possibility methane had contaminated the water and had contact with something that caused the gas to ignite. Flash fires, in general, are caused by the ignition of a mixture of air and a combustible substance, such as a flammable gas.

People have asked if there is fracking in the area. Seems so.

Palo Pinto County is where a gas well explosion in 2005 left a crater the size of a football field. The flash was seen 100 miles away.

From the Denton Record Chronicle:

Blowouts, while uncommon and the result of various factors, come with great risks. In December 2005, an operator lost control of a Barnett Shale gas well being drilled near Brad in Palo Pinto County. The ensuing explosion blew a 750-foot-wide crater in the ground, and the fire burned uncontrollably for several days. Workers had left the site when trouble began hours before, but one crew member was injured when the flames engulfed his truck as he sat nearby.

What a horrible, horrible thing.