Drilling for natural gas in urban Dallas/Ft Worth. Had y'all heard of this?

[sammytko]

http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/trinity_trees/


My high school ultra conservative friend just told me about this. They sold thier rights to some gas company for 6K for 3 years for 1/4 acre. They live blocks away the Univ of Texas - Arlington. They live in a regualar planned community. I think she's nuts.

They already suffer from all kinds of ailments - her mostly in her head I think. Their middle kid is autistic.

I think they just follow the right wing mentality and want go around saying they have a gas lease etc.

[MicaelS]

1. Yes....

Been going on for quite a while here in Ft Worth. Rigs all over the place.

[sammytko]

2. What do you think of it? nt

[MicaelS]

3. It's controversial

TPTB claim it's good for the economy and getting us off foreign oil. Other people are concerned about air and groundwater pollution. Personally, I'm undecided. I have not done enough research on the issue to make a qualified judgement.

[noamnety]

4. Gasland

You should watch it.

She should watch it so she knows what to look out for if things go wrong. (At least that's how I would present it to her. A hard sell and lecture will make her not watch it.)

http://gaslandthemovie.com/

Their website has the schedule, and it's on HBO/HBO on demand currently. Everyone should watch it - it's like the "An Inconvenient Truth" of natural gas drilling.

Basically, fracking (drilling for the gas) is not just drilling. It also requires injecting toxic chemicals into the ground at the drilling site. From the gasland website:

"For each frack, 80-300 tons of chemicals may be used. Presently, the natural gas industry does not have to disclose the chemicals used, but scientists have identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene."

"What is the Halliburton Loophole?

In 2005, the Bush/ Cheney Energy Bill exempted natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. It exempts companies from disclosing the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. Essentially, the provision took the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) off the job. It is now commonly referred to as the Halliburton Loophole."

[noamnety]

6. I want to add that you shouldn't dismiss her ailments

If it seems like she has a steady stream of ill defined symptoms, understand that the whole area she lives in has one of the highest levels of fracking in the country - meaning one of the highest levels of unregulated poisons being injected in the soil, water table and air. The documentary talks about the incidents of ailments among people who live in those areas. It's possible she is already suffering the effects of the drilling just from living in that area.

These are some of the common side effects from exposure:

asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, autoimmune diseases, liver failure, cancer and other ailments such as headaches, nausea, and sleeplessness.

[sammytko]

9. From our conversations, I think she has been like this for years

I just got in touch with her again a couple of months ago through Facebook. I'm fascinated by her memories of high school and our town. Its as if we lived in different worlds.

I now know that she put a great deal of pressure on herself to make good grades and just do things to be noticed by her parents. She kind of went on a small tirade on Facebook on Father's Day that even shocked her brother.

She suffers from gluten issues, but hasn't been diagnosed with celiac disease. She has all kinds of allergies, back problems, thought she had a heart condition, already had her gall bladder out. I think she just needs to relax. I feel bad for her also, cuz she seems angry.

[sammytko]

8. I saw the website and will post it on our facebook thread.nt

[MrsBrady]

5. it's been all over the news here for months -- they are drilling everywhere

all the judges in Tarrant county(fort worth) are republican...so good luck with a law suit.


do you live here? you'd have to be living under a rock to not know what's going on.

Many neighborhoods in DFW are being approached to lease their land to drilling
...because if the pipe is underground and goes under your land they have to pay, i guess.

some are opposed, some sign and don't care, some sign even though they don't agree with the drilling (cause it makes you wonder if you don't sign the lease you wonder if they'll drill anyway and you won't see a penny), some neighbors are getting together to get more money.
a whole lot of different stuff going on.

They are drilling near my home. It's insanely stupid to be drilling in the midst of residential neighborhoods. And there it is.

[sammytko]

7. no, live close to san antonio.

i do stay close to home and just do my school thing. Another friend piped up and said they were offered money for gas drilling in our area. Their property is out in the boonies, so i'm kind of okay with that.

[mwdem]

11. They just put in a well close to my neighborhood.

If you don't lease your land, they'll still drill, supposedly just around your land. When we went to the neighborhood meeting with the landmen, they had maps showing exactly where the wells will be drilled. I asked for a copy, was promptly turned down. Unless you can organize your neighborhood, and the surrounding neighborhoods, they will drill anyway. Most don't care, just want their little bit of money.

[MrsBrady]

17. yep n/t

[noamnety]

10. Morning kick

I'm surprised you didn't get more comments on this.

[av8rdave]

12. You may as well sign a lease if you can get a deal

If you don't, they're going to drill under your land anyway, and you'll never know it.

[sammytko]

13. Im not in a location where this affects me.

I just think its crazy that they want loud noisy equipment around them and possible contamination of their water supply.

Seriously, what they got comes to barely 5 dollars a day! $5500 dollars for a 3 yr lease.

[Paladin]

19. They Don't Have To Drill Under Your Land.

They can drill around your land on the lands of others who have granted oil and gas leases, and drain all the oil and gas off your land, without your getting a dime's worth of income. It's called the Rule of Capture---all perfectly legal. If you don't want your minerals developed, somebody else may get them.......

[KamaAina]

14. They allow drilling in a planned community?!

:wow:

[sammytko]

15. money is money to these there folks

that is why it is so shocking to me.

I've been reading this blog http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/ and it details the history of the run for the leases.

Communities banded together to get the highest price etc.

You'll see pictures of rigs in the middle of a park. They try to baffle the sound with barriers, but still, its there.

Then they pump all this salt water and other stuff into the ground to fracture the shale and where does that water go? Of course you can say that there is already naturally occuring contaminents in the ground, but still, why add more.

[MajorChode]

16. It's been going on for some time now

They are not so aggressively going after new leases since the price of gas has dropped, but there are thousands of gas wells all over the area now. It's a pretty common sight.

[ChoralScholar]

18. It is rampant in central and north-central Arkansas.

We've been having tons of small earthquakes since it started. The drilling companies insist it's coincidence.

[raptor_rider]

20. All the time

Here in the San Juan Basin. Natural Gas and Oil drilling is all over the place here.

[MadMaddie]

21. A disaster in the making

it's unbelievable they are allowed to do this in populated areas.

When something does happen they will feign surprise that it could have happened. Round and Round we go...