TEXAS ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

The Texas Department of State Health Services collected blood and urine samples from residents in the Dish area to test whether natural gas activity is affecting their health.

DSHS spokeswoman Allison Lowery said the department collected the samples from 28 randomly-selected adults last month.

"We're going to be looking at those samples to try to determine if there are elevated levels of vocs -- volatile organic compounds -- and that would include benzene," she said.

Dish, which hosts natural gas compression stations and other natural gas production equipment, is the town that conducted its an air quality study last year. That study prompted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to study air quality across the Barnett Shale natural gas field, finding elevated levels of benzene in some places.

Lowery said the mayor of Dish, Calvin Tillman, had asked the DSHS to conduct the health study.

The department sent the blood and urine samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for analysis. Results are due in the next week or so, she said. She said the department will notify the study participants of the results and issue a report to the community.

Here's an update on the discussion earlier this week about whether Oncor gave customers enough information about power outages during the snow storm.

Oncor spokesman Chris Schein says it occurs to him that customers don't realize just how dumb the electric grid is.

For example, Oncor might send a truck to fix a power line in a neighborhood, and most of the houses come back online. So the worker leaves for the next job, not realizing that a few houses are still out because of a second problem on the line. Until those customers call Oncor to say they still don't have power, Oncor doesn't know.

That's pretty dumb. And pretty frustrating for people sitting in the dark while the lights go on everywhere else in the neighborhood.

Advanced meters are supposed to address this issue because Oncor will be able to communicate with each meter and with technology along the lines. If there's a problem, Oncor will know which homes are affected, and have an idea of where the problem lies.

Because Oncor has begun to install smart meters, Schein said, techies were able to pull information from databases to help workers identify problem spots during the snow storm. Schein said this saved about 3,000 man hours.

However, Oncor doesn't yet have systems in place to automatically pull such information from the grid. Schein said those systems should be installed next year, making it even easier for Oncor to identify outages.

Meanwhile, the tree trimming problem persists. Schein said some people remain without power because they -- or their neighbors -- refuse to allow Oncor to trim fallen tree limbs from the lines.

Schein said one swell citizen parked his Hummer underneath his tree to prevent Oncor from removing a limb that had caused outages in the neighborhood. Here's the best part: The guy still had power at his own house. He just didn't care if the neighbors froze.

The Sierra Club plans to sue Energy Future Holdings and its power plant unit, Luminant, for air pollution violations at the Big Brown coal-fired power plant.

The environmental advocacy group said the plant, Luminant's oldest coal plant, contributes to ozone in North Texas. The club also accused the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of looking the other way.

Luminant spokesman Allan Koenig said in a statement the company is in full compliance with all regulations.

"We are in full compliance with all regulatory requirements and remain proud of our environmental record. We believe this claim is legally flawed. The Sierra Club indicated that it looks forward to 'working cooperatively' with us, and we welcome that opportunity just as we have in the past," Koenig said in an email.

Jump for the full press release from the Sierra Club.

The House Energy and Commerce committee today requested information about hydraulic fracturing from eight oilfield services companies. The companies include Halliburton, BJ Services, Schlumberger, Frac Tech Services, Superior Well Services, Universal Well Services, Sanjel Corporation, and Calfrac Well Services.

The move is significant because one of the committee's senior Democrats, Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, thinks the EPA should regulate the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, which is widely used to create gas wells in the Barnett Shale. Critics like DeGette think that fracking chemicals, including diesel-based fluids, could seep into underground water sources. Her main complaint has been the lack of federal regulation of the practice (it is left up to states to supervise the safety of oil and gas drilling.) In a hat tip to DeGette, the committee's top two Democrats, Chairman Henry Waxman and Rep. Ed Markey, write in a letter today that "there is virtually no federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing."

The committee has apparently been moved by the knowledge that some companies use diesel fuel as part of the cocktail they shoot underground. The big three oilfield services firms -- Halliburton, BJ Services and Schlumberger -- agreed in 2003 to stop using diesel fuel to fracture wells near underground drinking water sources. But the committee asserts that at least two of those three firms "continued to use diesel fuel in their fracturing fluids after signing the 2003 agreement with EPA." The committee's letter (pdf) says little is known about whether other companies, which have grabbed a larger share of the market in recent years, use diesel fuel in their fracturing mix.

Here is what the committee is seeking:

The Committee is requesting the most recent data on the types and quantities of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids with additional information on whether the companies injected these fluids in, near, or below an underground source of drinking water. The Committee also is requesting documents related to any allegations that the hydraulic fracturing caused harm to human health or the environment.

DeGette quickly responded that she welcomes the investigation. "I am particularly troubled by the revelation that companies have been using diesel fuel, apparently in violation of the Memorandum of Agreement with EPA. Natural gas is an important fuel for our energy future, but we must ensure that the way we retrieve natural gas does not endanger drinking water."

Markey, D-Mass., foreshadowed this move one month ago when his committee probed the subject with Fort Worth-based XTO Energy and Irving-based Exxon Mobil. Markey said there was no "conspiracy" to ban hydraulic fracturing, but that Democrats want to make sure it's done safely:

I just want to once again say there is no secret plot here to ban hydraulic fracturing given the fact that there have been 1 million wells I heard that have been drilled using that technique.

Two stories in print today offer hope to the nuclear power industry.

NRG Energy Inc. and CPS Energy said Wednesday they've resolved their differences over funding for two new nuclear power reactors at the South Texas Project. The resolution keeps the project in the running for the federal loan guarantees necessary to finance Texas' first new reactors in decades.

And, according to the Wall Street Journal, a new type of nuclear reactor--smaller than a rail car and one tenth the cost of a big plant--is emerging as a contender to reshape the nation's resurgent nuclear power industry.

Small reactors address some of the problems companies face as they consider building the usual, large reactors: Cost, finding enough cooling water, and the logistics and time it takes to build the massive equipment.

Shrinking reactors, however, doesn't address concerns among some environmentalists about nuclear waste storage and the risk of a terrorist attack on the reactor.

There's an old adage that says if the left and the right are mad at you, you must be doing something right. Maybe that applies to the situation President Barack Obama finds himself in concerning his energy policy.

Texans know that Gov. Rick Perry thinks Washington is using energy and climate-change policies to punish Texas and its dominant fossil-fuel industries. The governor, who is running for reelection on this theme, exploited this idea during his speech Wednesday announcing a lawsuit against the EPA over its greenhouse-gas endangerment finding.

Well, the Greens aren't happy with Obama, either. The New York Times today carries a story with the headline, "Environmentalists cooling on Obama." It cites a list of grievances including the president's support of loan guarantees for new nuclear plants and his embrace of "clean coal" technology.

One of the more interesting quotes comes from Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who unloaded on clean coal after Obama mentioned it during his State of the Union speech:

"N.R.D.C. knows there is no such thing as 'clean coal,' " Ms. Beinecke wrote in a blog post after the State of the Union address. "Every single step in the coal power cycle is dirty, from the profoundly destructive mountaintop removal mining to the smokestack emissions, which are responsible for 24,000 deaths a year."

As a somewhat proud owner of a car that recommends premium gas to run "optimally" (and I know there's plenty of smart folks out there who think premium gas buyers are dumb as stumps - my Dad is one of them, so spare me the talk about gas - I've heard it!), I can't help but notice that the difference in price right now between regular gas and premium unleaded gas is much, much higher than it has been.

At the Texaco at Royal and 75, the gap is now 40 cents a gallon. (I never buy gas there - it's almost always the most expensive around) Even at the Costco, the gap is 28 cents. It's typically been 15-20 cents in my experience, and in many places as little as 12-15 cents.

If you do gasbuddy.com or other gas-finding services, the gap between the cheapest regular gas and the cheapest premium is about 30 cents a gallon.

What gives? Answers after the click.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a renowned climate skeptic, but he's not the first person to challenge the EPA's endangerment finding. Last week, three groups petitioned the EPA to reconsider its finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health. That set the stage for possible regulation of CO2 under the Clean Air Act.

The groups include: the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think tank and conservative advocacy outfit; the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, an organized group of climate-change skeptics; and the Science and Environmental Policy Project, which has challenged the United Nations over findings that buttressed previous climate-change treaties. Greenwire says in its story yesterday that Freedomworks, the advocacy group headed by former Rep. Dick Armey of Denton County, is also involved in the challenge. (Interesting side point: Armey supports Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in her campaign against Perry.)

In their petition to the EPA, these three groups cite "scientifically flawed studies" as their basis for challenging the agency's decision. Many, if not all, of the studies come from the UN Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change, which most recently was accused of exaggerating the thawing trend of Himalayan glaciers. The CEI et al petition also cites omission of "critical temperature data" and manipulation of data to achieve desired outcomes. See the petition here (pdf).

From the Associated Press:

Gov. Rick Perry and other top Texas officials on Tuesday announced a legal challenge to the federal government's finding that greenhouse gases are dangerous to people, claiming the ruling was based on flawed science.

The EPA in December issued an "endangerment" finding about carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, setting the stage for future rules restricting such emissions.

Texas - which leads the nation in greenhouse gas emissions and is frequently at odds with the EPA - announced it has asked a federal appeals court to review the endangerment finding. The state also asked the EPA to reconsider it. EPA officials in Washington didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

"The EPA's misguided plan paints a big target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers and the hundreds of thousands of Texans they employ," Perry said. "This legal action is being taken to protect the Texas economy and the jobs that go with it, as well as defend Texas' freedom to continue our successful environmental strategies free from federal overreach."

Click here for the full story.

I don't know if Oncor truly did all it could to restore power as quickly as possible during the storm last week, as the company claimed. I do know that some customers expect magic. And Oncor isn't in the magic business.

This article reveals worrying expectations that some people have about electricity.

According to the story, Leon Simmons, a 69-year-old Oak Cliff resident, had to move in with his daughter in Cedar Hill when his power went out. He called Oncor to ask if the power had been restored, and the Oncor representative told him to go home and find out.

But the Oncor rep wasn't being flip. Unless you have an advanced meter, Oncor really doesn't know if your house has power. If your power goes out, Oncor only finds out when you call. Oncor might send someone to fix the line, but you are the only person who knows if the power is back on at your particular house.

The new, advanced meters Oncor is installing throughout North Texas are designed to fix this issue by allowing Oncor to communicate with the meter at your home.

Second, Oncor encountered several customers who refused to allow crews to trim trees back from the lines so that power could be restored. According to the article, Oncor had to call in the police in Dallas, Richardson and Fort Worth to allow repairs.

In many cases, fallen tree limbs caused the power outages. So, it seems clear that in many cases, those tree limbs would have to be removed to fix the lines. Some people might choose tree limbs over electricity, but their neighbors might prefer light, heat and television.

Again, I'm not saying Oncor behaved perfectly. I don't know. I'm just saying that public ignorance about electricity doesn't help.

Updated with statement from NRG.

The first federal loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors went to Georgia. Not Texas.

A couple of years ago, a planned expansion by NRG Energy at the South Texas Project seemed like an obvious first choice for the loan guarantees. NRG proposes building two new reactors using technology already in use elsewhere, and NRG was moving the project along faster than any other nuclear project.

But last year, as NRG and its partner, CPS Energy, squabbled over cost estimates and politics, a project in Burke, Georgia, continued to make progress. That project won the first guarantees.

If NRG and CPS can negotiate a resolution to their differences quickly, the South Texas expansion might still net a federal loan guarantee. And NRG has said it needs a loan guarantee to be able to afford the project, which will cost around $10 billion.

NRG said in a statement:

"We are pleased to see that DOE has started the process of issuing loan guarantees to start the nuclear renaissance in earnest. With the current issues between the partners, the STP Expansion was obviously not a contender for the first loan guarantee. However, we are continuing positive discussions with CPS Energy and hope we can achieve a settlement shortly that will allow the strengths of our project in certified technology, proven EPC contractor and contract, site and state support to put it clearly in lead position for the second loan guarantee."

Meanwhile, I think the situation calls into question whether nuclear reactors can be built in states that have deregulated their wholesale power industries. Power companies in regulated areas can expect to recoup their investments from ratepayers, and to begin doing so quickly.

But in deregulated areas like Texas, power plant investors must pay to build the plants, and hope to recoup the investment by selling electricity. If power prices drop, plant owners in deregulated states run the risk of going bust. This is particularly true for plants that cost $10 billion to build.

NRG has spent years working out ways to share the financial risk with investors and other partners. Legal issues with CPS put this process on hold.

Jump for the announcement from the Department of Energy.

Public Utility Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman is acting as a marriage counselor of sorts.

Smitherman on Friday facilitated talks between CPS Energy and NRG Energy, the companies that had planned to build Texas' first new nuclear reactors in decades, but had a falling out. The lawsuits and distrust between the partners could kill the project.

PUC spokesman Terry Hadley said Smitherman met with Nuclear Innovation North America chief executive Steve Winn and chairman David Crane, who is also chief executive of NRG, which created NINA. From the CPS side, Acting General Manager Jelynne LaBlanc-Burley and Chairman Charles Foster attended.

Hadley said the meeting at PUC headquarters in Austin lasted about four hours, and the group agreed to continue talking.

Smitherman told the San Antonio Express-News he wasn't asked to intercede by anyone, and he has the full support of Gov. Rick Perry, who appointed him to the commission.

"As a chairman of the PUC, I am incredibly focused to make sure there is plenty of energy in the state," he told the Express-News. "It's an incredibly important project. It's important that we get this project done."

NRG and CPS, the San Antonio municipal utility, are joint owners of the South Texas Project nuclear power plant, along with Austin Energy. NRG and CPS agreed to jointly invest in building two new reactors, but when San Antonio officials became concerned about the cost of the expansion, the relationship between the companies began to unravel into lawsuits and accusations.

Unless the sides can continue to cooperate on the project, the expansion could be doomed. Without CPS, NRG would have to find another investor quickly, in order to win the federal loan guarantees that are necessary to keep the project affordable.

Few Americans consider Steven Chu a household name.

We, Gentle Readers, are those Americans. So let's get our geek on, and enjoy Energy Secretary Chu's celebrity status this weekend.

The Department of Energy says Chu will appear on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition this Sunday. The DOE and Oak Ridge National Laboratory helped design an efficient home and neighborhood learning center in Washington.

The builders used efficient technologies, including an insulated concrete form foundation, triple-layer insulated windows, hybrid electric water heaters and a geothermal heat pump, compact fluorescent lighting, and solar panels for electricity, the DOE said in a press release.

Will Chu wield a hammer? Will he wear a tool belt? Will he tear up when the family discusses its hardships? The program begins at 8 p.m. Central.

The natural gas industry is paying inordinate attention to Calvin Tillman, the mayor of tiny Dish, Texas.

Sure, he's the guy who commissioned the air quality study that has triggered more studies around the Barnett Shale, as well as political chatter about drilling moratoriums and new regulations. If these things come to pass, drilling and completing natural gas wells could become much more expensive for producers.

The typical -- and wholly expected -- industry response has been to point out the limitations of the Dish air quality study and to counter the results with other data.

But something has changed in the past few weeks. As Mayor Tillman heads to New York and Pennsylvania next week to tell his story in six towns, industry groups have begun to attack.

Now, the Texas Pipeline Association has told Tillman it will officially request a list of the people who contributed to the town's legal fund.

And an industry advocacy group called Energy in Depth issued a snarky press release that poses questions to Tillman. The questions are designed to show that natural gas drilling isn't as worrisome as Tillman might say.

So why is the natural gas industry so afraid of the mayor of a town of 362 people?

"We are very concerned about what's happening in New York, so anytime someone comes to exaggerate or possibly lie about their experiences, we're going to fight that," said Jeff Eshelman, a spokesman for Energy in Depth.

As I've stated on this blog before, I think natural gas executives worry that if regular people become fearful of drilling, politicians will place stlff regulations on the industry and people won't be very eager to lease their land to producers. Those outcomes could make drilling and completing a well more expensive, and, in some cases, unprofitable.

Jump for the Energy in Depth press release.

So the town of Dish placed a 90-day moratorium on natural gas drilling, and now the industry would like a list of the people who contributed to the town's legal fund.

This is the town that commissioned an air quality study after residents complained of odors from local natural gas facilities and health problems caused by emissions. The mayor of dish has been soliciting donations for a legal fund to handle natural gas concerns.

The Dish study prompted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to conduct its own air quality study, which showed heightened levels of benzene in some areas, but no overall problem.

Some residents and politicians doubted the TCEQ results, and called for a ban on drilling. This prompted the city of Fort Worth to consider commissioning its own study. Which prompted Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo to say that while a moratorium is overkill, the natural gas industry really better get it together.

And then Sue Ellen called Cliff to say he's the father of her child, but she can't leave J.R.

The University of Texas at Arlington has found a way to turn coal into crude oil, and, perhaps more importantly, the money to do so on a large scale.

Researchers with UTA's Center for Renewable Energy and Science Technology expect to license the technology to a company, which will build a refinery by the end of the year to turn lignite coal into oil. According to a press release, the process can produce oil for around $30 a barrel -- far less than the current market price for crude of around $75 a barrel.

While the process doesn't create renewable fuel, it would create a domestic source for vehicle fuel and plastics.

The center recently received $700,000 in federal funding, bringing the center's total funding to $2.4 million.

Jump for the full press release.

My colleague, Terrence Stutz , wrote the following fact check on Bill White. To hear both Democratic candidates for governor talk about energy and the environment, head to the Environment Texas blog.

White on utility rates

THE CLAIM: Bill White said Texas electricty rates were lower than the national average before deregulation and residential rates now are "higher than they are in the rest of the nation, including neighboring states like Oklahoma and Louisiana."

THE FACTS: There is no dispute that rates in Texas were low compared with other states before the Legislature deregulated the electricity market with a 1999 law. And there is also little debate that electric rates jumped in many parts of the state after the market was opened up to competition in 2002.

A study in early 2009 by a group that negotiates power prices on behalf of cities concluded that Texans pay more than the national average for power and that prices have risen faster than in any other state with retail electricity competition. Other studies indicate that prices would have been higher in Texas if the market were still regulated.

A federal government report last year found that Texas was just below the national average, with the 18th-highest rate, for overall electricity prices. But for residential costs, which White focused on, Texans pay more than the national average. Oklahoma and Louisiana both had average rates that were well below Texas.

BOTTOM LINE: White's statement is true.

Terrence Stutz

Jump for White's platform on electricity.

Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carillo told natural gas operators to inspect their systems and fix any leaks to protect themselves against an "environment of heightened awareness and often false accusations."

"By and large, Texas oil, gas, and pipeline operators continue to do an excellent job in regular maintenance and upkeep but it is prudent, particularly in this environment of heightened awareness and often false accusations, to be ever-vigilant to ensure that our Texas energy sector continues to be the economic development and job creation powerhouse that it is today," Carillo said in a statement on Tuesday.

His advice comes at a time when some people in the Barnett Shale natural gas field have tried to halt natural gas drilling out of concern that emissions could be health hazards.

The town of Dish is contemplating a moratorium on new drilling permits. Fort Worth is considering commissioning its own air quality studies, even though a study by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality showed little reason for concern within the city limits. The TCEQ study showed high levels of benzene in some places, but no widespread problem.

"I'm urging operators to get out there and make sure they double check their operations. If a valve is leaking, fix it; if a thief hatch is open, close it. Don't wait for us to come inspect the facility and require you to fix the problem," Carillo said.

Carillo also declared he will "not overreact to this situation" by supporting a drilling moratorium.

Jump for the full press release.

Austin carbon capture company Skyonic will get $3 million in stimulus funding to add its technology to a San Antonio cement plant and turn carbon dioxide into baking soda.

Skyonic will wheel its CO2-to-baking-soda trailers from a Luminant coal-fired power plant, where Skyonic conducted a pilot project, to the Capitol Aggregates Ltd. cement plant, according to a spokeswoman.

Spokeswoman Lauren Whittenberg said $3 million won't cover the entire cost of the San Antonio project. She declined to say how Skyonic will finance the rest of the cost, nor would she say what the company will do with all that baking soda. The idea is to sell the baking soda and other chemical byproducts to make the project profitable.

Jump for the full press relesae.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., the private equity company that bought TXU Corp. and continues its program to build three coal-fired power plants, is expanding its portfolio of "green" investments.

The company said Monday in a press release that the green investment program includes four of KKR's investements: First Data, Lehigh Phoenix, Oriental Brewery and Tarkett.

For two years, KKR has been working with Environmental Defense Fund to develop analytic tools and metrics to help companies improve greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water, forest resources, and priority chemicals. "These tools help managers to cost-effectively improve efficiency and reduce waste, while addressing the environmental impacts of their business," the release states.

"The Green Portfolio Program highlights that environmental performance and business performance can go hand-in-hand," said KKR co-founder Henry Kravis, in a statement.

Originally, Energy Future Holdings, formerly known as TXU, was to participate in the program.

Spokeswoman Lisa Singleton said in an email: "EFH was targeted as one of the initial participants project, but after extensive review and consideration, it was determined that the company has an extensive system of reporting practices and environmental controls already in place. I'm sure the conversation about our potential involvement will continue as KKR expands the program."

When KKR and partner TPG bought TXU Corp., the companies faced big, public opposition to TXU's plans to build 11 coal-fired power plants. The investors trimmed the plan to three plants.

The new plants do not include technology to address greenhouse gas emissions.

Jump for the full press release.

The Houston Chronicle's Loren Steffy poses an important question that the electricity industry tends to wave off: Will people even _use_ their smart meters?

Many of the officials with companies installing smart meters base some projections of how much the meters will cut demand on some assumptions about human behavior. Studies have shown that the new, high-tech meters that show consumers how much juice they are using real-time can guide people to cut their usage as much as 10 percent. But that assumes people are actually watching the meter. And than responding by doing something different.

Steffy writes that his family started out watching the meter, but didn't tend to change their behavior. "Look at how it jumps when we turn the dryer on," he writes. Eventually, they stopped watching the meter entirely.

Officials with one Texas company have conceded that most people just aren't going to study their electric meter readings and go around the house adjusting lights and appliances accordingly. But Direct Energy is betting that people will make adjustments if they can be done easily, with technology that people use anyway for more exciting things, like channel surfing or reading Facebook updates from their inlaws.

The board of commissioners for the town of Dish will vote tonight on banning natural gas drilling out of concern for citizens' safety.

Dish, which conducted its own air tests in the area and found worrying emissions, is considering imposing a moratorium on natural gas drilling permits, according to a press release. The Dish study prompted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to conduct its own tests throughout the Barnett Shale, which found high benzene levels at some sites, but no widespread air-quality issue.

"It is clear that the State of Texas is not going to take appropriate action to protect the citizens of Dish. Therefore, it is up to the local municipal government to take these steps," Mayor Calvin Tillman said in a statement.

This is why news of environmental concerns among local people is worth following. When people are worried about energy facilities, whether that concern is warranted or not, bad things happen to the energy industry.

It's sort of like when Americans feel worried about terrorism, whether there is any actual threat, defense executives celebrate. It's similar in the energy industry, only when citizens feel worried, oil executives groan -- and hire more public relations people.

Here's an excerpt from the Dish proposal:

A moratorium is hereby imposed on the receipt, processing and approval of applications for oil and gas well permits that would permit mineral extraction and/or oil and gas exploration and extraction within the corporate limits of the Town of DISH. The moratorium shall be in place for ninety (90) days following the adoption of this Ordinance and may thereafter be extended by the Town Board of Commissioners for good cause shown.

Jump for the full text of the proposal.

From Dave Michaels:

The Obama administration cleared the way Wednesday for more ethanol to be used in cars, trucks and airplanes after government scientists ruled the fuel is greener than they previously thought.

A proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency in May found that some types of corn ethanol were in fact worse for the environment than gasoline, a finding that limited how much ethanol could be blended with gasoline.

But more studies showed that new corn ethanol plants could meet the greenhouse-gas reduction targets set by a 2007 law, the EPA said Wednesday.

Click here for the full story.

Our colleagues from the other fork of the Trinity River report that the City of Fort Worth may do its own air testing near natural gas sites to ensure the city's drilling ordinances are adequate.

The news comes after the Texas Commissionon Environmental Quality released a study showing no pollution problems at natural gas sites in Fort Worth. Some residents worry that drilling for natural gas in the Barnett Shale field, and the equipment used to process and move the gas, could cause harmful pollution.

From the Star-Telegram:

City Council members plan to use city funds to pay for air testing around natural gas sites in an attempt to settle disagreements over how much -- or even whether -- drilling and production contribute to air pollution in the city.

Mayor Mike Moncrief said he wants the council to vote as early as next week on spending for a new round of tests. The money would come from the reserve of funds from drilling on city property.

If there's evidence of a pollution problem, council members may be willing to rewrite the city's gas drilling ordinance to further protect residents.

Click here for the full story.

According to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Texas is among the states that have escaped the worst of the recession because of a relatively heavy reliance on oil and gas production.

The modern myth is that Texas is no longer dependent on energy, that we've diversified our economy so much, that we are no longer captive to the volatile energy cycles.

Not so, according to the report. In fact, the oil and gas industry contributed a larger portion of the Texas economy in 2008 than in 1982.

Really. Let me repeat: A larger portion of Texas earnings came from oil and gas in 2008 than in 1982. In 1982, 7.2 percent of Texas' earnings came from oil and gas. In 2008, the amount rose to 8.4 percent.

And Texas produces more oil and natural gas than any other state. Rather than fret that we are too dependent on a particular industry, the report offers evidence that the situation benefits Texas.

The report finds that "the economies of energy states remain highly sensitive to changes in energy prices and follow a much different economic cycle than non-energy states. The energy states posted far stronger job growth prior to the recession, entered the recession much later and with more momentum, and have posted smaller cumulative job losses than non-energy staets," the report says.

Because the energy boom/bust cycle tends to be counter to broader economic cycles, the energy states haven't experienced recessions as deeply as other states, according to the report.

Energy states, including Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma did eventually see their economies decline, once the cycle of high energy prices had passed.