Is The Trinity Hole A Trinity River Levee Sinkhole In The Making?

I know I've mentioned it before, but to refresh your memory, 2 Saturday's ago I had a weird run-in with an Express Energy truck at the site of a water pumping operation in Fort Worth, on the Trinity Trails that run into Gateway Park.

After I had the run-in, I blogged about it, with pictures of the Express Energy truck barreling towards me on the paved pedestrian, no vehicles allowed, trail.

Soon after I blogged about the ugly incident, orange traffic cones were placed on the trail, with a sign saying "Utility Work Ahead." The traffic cones blocked the Express Energy trucks from driving on the Trinity Trail.

This morning I got a comment from "Anonymous" to the blogging about the Saturday Express Energy truck incident.

Anonymous said...

"DO ANY OF YOU HAVE A REAL JOB? walking around a park? huh? if your worried about the pavement being muddy? start by picking up the trash and dead bodies that are at the end of the hill... wheres the pics of that?"

Dead bodies? At the end of the hill? The hill reference sort of indicates this is an Express Energy person, aka shill. It's been pretty clear someone at Express Energy has been reading what I was saying about them every since I started saying stuff about them.

The best example of that came when I blogged about there being no permits posted. I then got a comment telling me there were permits posted, among other things. I quickly checked the site, to find no permits. And had my first encounter with Express Energy trucks.

After reading today's rather illiterate comment (I Ieft it as written, except for removing profanity) I decided I'd not been to the Express Energy 6 pump Trinity River water sucking site in awhile. So, today that is where I took one of those walks, which Anonymous finds perplexing that someone would do such a thing. In a park.

Well, there has been no attempt to fix the muddied, rutted, Trinity River levee. Maybe the water suckers are coming back, so what would be the point of fixing anything?

As you can in the picture, the levee got rutted up some more due to the Express Energy trucks being blocked by those orange traffic cones.

But, it was not the mud and ruts that surprised me today. Those I expected to see.

It is what the geologist, who walked with me today, found that was a bit unsettling, and, well, strange.

If you look at the picture at the top you will see a large hole. This large hole is about 100 feet west of the pedestrian bridge that takes you to Gateway Park. The large hole is on the north side of the paved trail, slightly south of the new "road" muddied in by Express Energy.

The Trinity Hole was weird to look into. My first reaction was how do I know that I'm not standing on a very thin layer of earth, with the Trinity Hole just being a little eye into the cavern?

My geologist co-walker said it looked like the beginning of a sinkhole. That it appeared that water had found its way into the levee and had eroded the hole.

The Trinity Hole is near where there was a leak in the pipeline, during the Express Energy water pumping. I took a picture of that leak on the Saturday I had the face-off with the Express Energy truck.

Looking in to the Trinity Hole it was too dark to see anything. So, I aimed my camera down the hole and took a flash picture. It looks like there's a bottom to the hole. Or maybe that is mud. It's such a perfect circle it looks as if something mechanical bored the hole. But why would anyone be boring holes, like this, into a river levee?

Very perplexing.

Express Energy Service Section Of Fort Worth Trinity Trails Getting Cleaned For Mysterious Reasons

Today after hiking on the Tandy Hills I went to Town Talk. As my one longtime reader knows, that puts me on Beach Street where I can see the current state of the Express Energy Services taking water from the Trinity River operation.

That same one longtime reader may remember me mentioning driving on Beach Street a couple days ago and seeing no notorious White Darth Vader Truck guarding the operation.

So, of course I was curious to see if the Terror Trucks were still gone today.

What I found was just something new to be perplexed about.

When I blogged about my Saturday experience with mafia-like thuggery, I mentioned how badly Express Energy had muddied up the Trinity Trail and rutted up the Trinity River levee.

Today the Trinity Trail was marked off with orange traffic cones and the sign you see in the picture, "UTILITY WORK AHEAD."

The Utility Work appeared to be the cleaning off of the muddied Trinity Trail. I did not get any closer than the sign, so I don't know if it was a City of Fort Worth work crew, cleaning up the trail, burning your tax dollars to clean up after Express Energy, or if it was Express Energy cleaning up after themselves.

There was a White Darth Vader Truck guarding the river pumping site. I saw at least 1 Express Energy goon standing by the truck. I didn't want a repeat of Saturday's fun, so I took my pictures and continued on to Town Talk.

So, why is the muddy mess being cleaned up while Express Energy is still driving a truck to the pump site? I assume they are still driving on the pedestrian trail that says "NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES."

When I was in Town Talk I thought to myself that the only reason to clean up the mess was that the pumping was already over. I could not see the pumps from my vantage point by the Utility Work Ahead sign. I thought, maybe the white truck, by the pump site, was there to clean up the mess and the pumps were gone.

The pumps being gone seemed to be the only thing that made sense of the effort going into cleaning the trail.

When I was done in Town Talk I headed to Gateway Park. I parked by the trailhead that leads to the bridge that crosses on to the Trinity Trails. As soon as I opened my door I heard the pumps.

So, very perplexing. Why is the trail being cleaned while the mess makers are still making messes?

Below is a chronological list of links of bloggings about the Express Energy Service Trinity River Gateway Park pumping operation...

Mess of 6 Pumps Getting Ready To Steal Trinity River Water?

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief Or One Of His Lackeys Thinks I'm A Clueless Reactionary

The 2010 Cold Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

I Have Had Me An Orwellian Big Brother Encounter With Express Energy On The Trinity River in Fort Worth

More Questions In The Increasingly Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

West Texas Chief Operative CT2's Report On Express Energy Services

A Sunday Surprise At the Fort Worth Beach Street Trinity River Gas Driller Pump Site

Another Visit With Express Energy Services At Gateway Park Where Water Is Now Being Removed From The Trinity River

A Saturday Shootout With Express Energy On The Trinity River In Fort Worth

Who Decided To Put Traffic Cones On The Trinity Trail Between Beach Street & Gateway Park?

After hiking, for an hour or so, up and down the Tandy Hills, I headed north to the Beach Street Wal-Mart.

Being on Beach Street I was curious to have a look at the Beach Street/Gateway Park Express Energy water sucking operation.

Yesterday, the paved Trinity Trail (on which, last Saturday, I'd had a muddy confrontation with a White Darth Vader Express Energy Truck) was being cleaned.

Today the "UTILITY WORK AHEAD" sign was still up, and traffic cones still lined the trail from Beach Street to the site of the water pumping. There were two Express Energy trucks at the end of the traffic cones, one was on the levee, above the pumping site, the other was over the edge, backed up right to the pumps.

I saw no utility work being done. I did see the paved trail is now totally mud free, including the thickly muddied area where the Express Energy trucks drove on to the trail.

So, what's going on here? Are the traffic cones being left there to stop Express Energy trucks from driving on the pedestrian "No Motorized Vehicles Allowed" trail? Or are the trucks able to drive right over the cones without hitting them?

Today when I left Wal-Mart I decided to drive back to Gateway Park. I was curious if there was a "UTILITY WORK AHEAD" sign at the Gateway Park entry to the Trinity Trails, that being the pedestrian bridge you see in the picture. Well, all I saw was the final orange traffic cone at the end of the bridge. That's in the picture at the top.

When I took the picture of the bridge I could see there was no longer an Express Energy truck parked on top of the Trinity River levee.

I was curious if the truck over the edge was still there, so I walked to where there is a vantage point looking down on the operation. You can see the truck through the brush in the upper right part of the picture. And a guy in red with a white hat working on the pumps.

There are 2 more pumps sitting on top of the levee.

I think the mud ruts on the "road" down to the pump site must have dried up, if a truck is able to get back out of there without a lot of tire spinning and more muddy rutting and damage to the levee. It's quite steep.

Below is a chronological list of links of bloggings about the Express Energy Service Trinity River Gateway Park pumping operation...

Mess of 6 Pumps Getting Ready To Steal Trinity River Water?

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief Or One Of His Lackeys Thinks I'm A Clueless Reactionary

The 2010 Cold Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

I Have Had Me An Orwellian Big Brother Encounter With Express Energy On The Trinity River in Fort Worth

More Questions In The Increasingly Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

West Texas Chief Operative CT2's Report On Express Energy Services

A Sunday Surprise At the Fort Worth Beach Street Trinity River Gas Driller Pump Site

Another Visit With Express Energy Services At Gateway Park Where Water Is Now Being Removed From The Trinity River

A Saturday Shootout With Express Energy On The Trinity River In Fort Worth

The Ongoing Battle Against Conflicts Of Interest & Fort Worth Fascism

Ever since I read the FW Weekly cover story "He Won't Pipe Down" about Steve Doeung's heroic battle against the City of Fort Worth and Chesapeake Energy, to save his home from being stolen via yet one more case of eminent domain abuse in Texas, one part of Steve's story bothered me, almost more, than the eminent domain abuse.

When Steve Doeung did not give in to Chesapeake Energy's strongarm pressure tactics and made clear he was going to fight them, the City of Fort Worth sent in a gang of thugs made up of Code Violation Inspectors, accompanied by Fort Worth Police Gestapo Stormtrooper Agents.

Now, there might be those who think it outrageous that I refer to the Fort Worth Police as Gestapo Stormtroopers. Well, it is not outrageous. It is accurate.

The state, in the form of the City of Fort Worth, sent agents to intimidate a person who was rebelling against the state's fascism. Entering Steve's home, writing citations, scaring his daughter with their angry demeanor. Gestapo Stormtroopers is a perfect metaphor.

What I want to know is who ordered the Gestapo raid on Steve Doeung's home? This is a guy who survived the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, made it to America, with the rest of his family, and in an extremely short time has managed to become a classic All-American Hero of the Epic Sort. The idea that this guy would be the victim of Nazi-like terror, while living in the Land of the Free, well, it just aggravates me.

And while he is battling the fascist Fort Worth regime, he is also battling Lyme Disease.

The fact that the City of Fort Worth would use such a tactic is yet one more example of what happens when you have a city government corrupted by Conflicts of Interest. When you have a mayor who is a lackey for the natural gas drilling industry, that is running roughshod over the Barnett Shale region.

Did someone from Chesapeake Energy call up Mayor Mike Moncrief and tell him they wanted him to send in some of the city's Stormtroopers to scare Steve Doeung into submission? How did this raid come about? Did FW Weekly try and find out and ran into yet one more stonewall?

And now, another instance of Gestapo tactics taking place in increasingly fascist Fort Worth. That being my experiences with Express Energy Services. At the end of this blogging I'll list all the links to my bloggings about Express Energy Services.

Saturday's was the worst, where the Express Energy thugs crossed a serious line and committed what amounted to an assault. Saturday morning I'd blogged that I was going to check in on the Express Energy operation and see if I could find the non-existent meters that are supposed to be part of the operation.

I was taking pictures when two Express Energy goons got out of their White Darth Vader Truck. Okay, no harm in that. It is what happened next where a line was crossed. The guys in the truck must have called another guy in another White Darth Vader Truck and told him I have no idea what.

That guy in the second truck came towards me, at a high rate of speed, driving on the no motorized vehicles allowed, public, paved, pedestrian Trinity Trail. I jumped off the trail after the game of chicken had gone too far. At that point I was both mad and a little scared.

I continued walking, taking pictures. That truck quickly turned around and headed back towards me. I was off the paved trail, aiming my camera at him. He stopped about 100 feet from me.

It was obvious to both myself and Big Ed, who was appalled to experience in person, the bizarre incidents I'd been blogging about, that the guy in the truck was trying to intimidate us.

Why? Who gave the order to do so?

The guy in the second truck was not hurrying down the trail to conduct any business with the other 2 guys, that was made clear when he quickly turned around and headed back towards us.

I did not realize, til Big Ed told me later, that the Terror Truck had crossed to the other side of Beach Street and was watching us from the road that runs to the gas drilling operation.

Again why? I have also learned, from a couple of my own agents, that the White Darth Vader Truck is breaking another law by not having a license plate on its front bumper. Are those Fort Worth Code Compliance people and Fort Worth Gestapo Agents going to stage a raid on the Express Energy operation?

No. That won't happen. Thanks to that Conflicts of Interest situation that prevents the law from operating the way it is supposed to operate.

In chronological order below are the bloggings that has Express Energy Services going all Karen Silkwood on me....

Mess of 6 Pumps Getting Ready To Steal Trinity River Water?

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief Or One Of His Lackeys Thinks I'm A Clueless Reactionary

The 2010 Cold Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

I Have Had Me An Orwellian Big Brother Encounter With Express Energy On The Trinity River in Fort Worth

More Questions In The Increasingly Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

West Texas Chief Operative CT2's Report On Express Energy Services

A Sunday Surprise At the Fort Worth Beach Street Trinity River Gas Driller Pump Site

Another Visit With Express Energy Services At Gateway Park Where Water Is Now Being Removed From The Trinity River

A Saturday Shootout With Express Energy On The Trinity River In Fort Worth

Being Stimulated While Driving By The Express Energy Beach Street Trinity River Water Pumping Operation

My West Texas Operative, CT2, continues to find some interesting, well, actually, some damning information, about Express Energy Services.

Yesterday we learned from CT2 about Express Energy Services visits to Bankruptcy Court.

Yesterday we also learned that Express Energy Services is installing a pump/pipeline system for Finley Resources, Inc., with Finley apparently being yet one more Tarrant County gas driller.

Two days prior to finally seeing permits on the Beach Street/Gateway Park pumps, I had an interesting confrontation with Express Energy Services.

And now today, from Operative CT2, we learn that in addition to spending time in Bankruptcy Court, Express Energy Services has spent a lot of time in court for things like employment discrimination, personal injury negligence, breach of contract, a whole host of unseemly little things like racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, retaliation, health and safety suits filed by the Department of Labor.

This is a very unseemly company that the Tarrant Regional Water District is letting wreak havoc with the Trinity River levees, in cahoots with Finley Resources, Inc., to suck water out of the Trinity River, which I've yet to be told how this water sucking is metered.

Read Operative CT2's report in its entirety.

And on a slightly lighter, similarly subjected matter. Today after hiking the Tandy Hills I drove north on Beach Street, past the Finley Resources/Express Energy Services water sucking operation. There were several of the White Darth Vader Express Energy trucks in view, parked on the levee, above the pumps and in the parking zone on the east side of Beach Street.

There were also a lot of non-Express Energy Services pieces of heavy equipment parked off the east side of Beach Street. All that equipment had the look of a military operation.

But, the more interesting was the name of the new player in this Finley Resources/Express Energy drilling/water operation.

Vanguard Stimulation Services, LLC. The name suggests some sort of Viagra dispenser, but I suspect the stimulating refers to fraccing, as in stimulating the flow of natural gas out of the stubborn Barnett Shale. The Vanguard Stimulators are out of Shawnee, Oklahoma.

The picture at the top is some of the Vanguard Stimulation Services, LLC equipment. That boxy thing you see in the second picture looks like an armored vehicle, like Loomis uses to bring money to banks. I wonder what Vanguard Stimulation is doing in the armored vehicle? Is that where the dangerous fraccing chemicals are stored, before they are mixed with the never again to be drinkable water they are taking from the Trinity River?

Express Energy Pumps Not Sucking Trinity River Water At Gateway Park Trinity Trail Location

I'm often surprised by what I see when I cross the Trinity River, heading north on Beach Street. Today there were no white Express Energy Services trucks to be seen.

Maybe because, except for cleaning up after themselves, their water sucking operation, at this location, seems to have ended.

The pumps have been drug up from the river's edge. I assume this means they are done.

I could tell that the Express Energy Services trucks had not driven on the paved trail. All the orange traffic cones were knocked over and scattered, but there was no fresh mud on the trail.

I can't help but wonder how it came to be that the Express Energy people were told to quit driving on the paved trail?

A "UTILITY WORK AHEAD" sign remains up, with no utility work appearing to be happening.

It will be interesting to see how well the muddy, rutted mess on the Trinity River levee is cleaned up. Then again, this may not be the last of the water sucking from this location. This had been the second iteration of a pumping operation at where Gateway Park meets the Trinity Trails.

In the second picture you are looking south, towards the Trinity River, from the east side of Beach Street. You can see the Express Energy pipelines on the left and right.

This is the access point for what I was calling the White Darth Vader Trucks. A little bridge took the trucks over the pipelines, then, before they were stopped from doing so, they'd take a left on to the paved trail, quickly having it thickly covered with mud.

That mud was cleaned up when the "Utility Work Ahead" first appeared.

Below are most of the links to the bloggings about my experiences with Express Energy Services. I hope that subject is at an end...

Mess of 6 Pumps Getting Ready To Steal Trinity River Water?

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief Or One Of His Lackeys Thinks I'm A Clueless Reactionary

The 2010 Cold Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

I Have Had Me An Orwellian Big Brother Encounter With Express Energy On The Trinity River in Fort Worth

More Questions In The Increasingly Orwellian World Of Fort Worth Texas

West Texas Chief Operative CT2's Report On Express Energy Services

A Sunday Surprise At the Fort Worth Beach Street Trinity River Gas Driller Pump Site

Another Visit With Express Energy Services At Gateway Park Where Water Is Now Being Removed From The Trinity River

A Saturday Shootout With Express Energy On The Trinity River In Fort Worth

A Saturday Shootout With Express Energy On The Trinity River In Fort Worth

It rained last night, here in usually dry Fort Worth, Texas. With the rain I knew my usual Saturday hiking up and down the Tandy Hills would not be doable, so I decided to go to Gateway Park.

And since I was at Gateway Park I decided to walk out to the Trinity Trails to see what those Express Energy boys were up to, if anything.

I think yesterday, when I mentioned checking in on the EE boys, I said I might be back today to search for the illusive meters that the TCEQ claims are required for this type of water removal operation.

Today I took along a bodyguard. I'm sort of glad I did. I could see there were a couple guys sitting in the White Darth Vader Pickup when I snapped the picture you see above, of the rutted up, muddied, damaged Trinity River levee.

And then I turned my attention to a leak spouting out of one of the pipes. Now is this leak before or after the water has been metered?

When I turned around, after taking the picture of the leaking pipe, I was surprised to see the two Express Energy guys out of the truck. They looked harmless enough. My bodyguard waved them a big howdy. They waved back.

The Express Energy guys would have had to walk through all that mud if they had wanted to get closer to me. Is mucking up the levee and the paved pedestrian trail included in the permit to run this operation? What happened next was very interesting.

I turned around from having taken the picture of the Express Energy guys standing beside their White Darth Vader Truck to find another White Darth Vader Truck coming towards me at high speed on the paved trail that says "No Motorized Vehicles." As he got closer he was not slowing down. I'm thinking, wait a minute, I'm the pedestrian here, walking on public land on a public trail.

I blinked and jumped out of the way after snapping the above picture. At this point the Express Energy exploits lost any chance of being considered a benign thing where I'm just over reacting. This had turned malignant. I continued walking, but kept glancing behind me. The truck that was on a course to run me over, drove to the rutted up zone, by the first truck, then quickly turned around and started heading back towards me!

By then I was off the paved trail because it was too muddy and too wet, I assume from leaking pipes. The truck stopped about midway between Beach Street and the water sucking site. I stopped to take some pictures of all the mud where the White Darth Vader Trucks drive on to the No Motorized Vehicles paved trail, right off Beach Street. That's the below picture.

You can sort of make out the former paved pedestrian Trinity Trail that has become a highway for Express Energy Services.

I continued on walking past Beach Street for about a mile. The paved trail crosses the Trinity River just east of the Beach Street bridge, but an unpaved trail continues on top of the levee on the north side. I sort of expected the White Darth Vader Truck to follow us. But he didn't.

I was a little wary of what I was going to run into on the way back through the Express Energy zone. The first White Darth Vader Truck was still in position, with the EE guys back inside the truck. You can see here another view of what a mess they have made of the paved trail, with tire ruts on both sides of the trail.

All looked peaceful as I continued walking. And then something funny happened.

I was on the bridge that leads into Gateway Park. I was taking some more pictures of the pipe leak. When I turned around to look in the opposite direction, I saw that one of the Express Energy guys was taking pictures of me! So, I took a picture of him taking a picture of me.

Now, yesterday I mentioned that in the Modern Wild West that I think cameras and cell phones have replaced the Six-Shooters of the Old Wild West. I think after yesterday's shootout Express Energy decided they needed to arm their guys. I hope he got some good pictures. I'm not very photogenic.

I Have Had Me An Orwellian Big Brother Encounter With Express Energy On The Trinity River In Fort Worth

This morning I got a comment from Anonymous. I believe it being the same Anonymous which I blogged about last night regarding me being clueless regarding how it is water is being taken from the Trinity River by natural gas drillers.

This morning Anonymous said...

I personally believe that you should take the time to find the field supervisor and discuss w/ them as a whole of what you think is going on at the Trinity River-there are permits posted...if you have issues pick up the phone and call Express Energy and then let the Manager over that division explain what is REALLY going on! You also didn't take the time to go look at the permits that are posted on the pumps....where are THOSE pictures?! You also didn't include the picture once the plastic was replaced BEFORE the job was started. Educate yourself before pointing fingers, if you need that education on what is actually going on then go work a day in the field w/ these guys and maybe then you will better understand it all.

Anonymous says there are permits posted on the pumps and that the plastic oil barrier with the holes has been replaced. I'd taken the pictures of the pumps 2 days ago. I saw no permits. I did not believe the plastic oil buffer had been replaced.

So, I took off out of here, braving the extreme cold, to take pictures off all sides of one of the pumps. And to see if the plastic had been replaced.

Well, imagine my shock when I found there were no permits posted on the pumps. And it was easy to find tears, voids and problems with the, obviously unreplaced, plastic oil buffer. Anonymous now has absolutely no credibility and is obviously either a propaganda shill for the City of Fort Worth or the gas drillers. Or both.

And in a further Orwellian Big Brother element. Just as I'd finished taking my pictures and had put the camera away, a white Express Energy truck popped into view at the top of the levee, just as I started to climb back up there. A guy got out of the truck, walking towards me. I said howdy.

He then whipped out his phone. I continued walking. Fast. I reached into my pocket and got out my camera, turned it on, turned around and took a picture, but all I got was the truck. The guy on the phone must have gone down the bluff to check on the pumps.

But, he was back on the top of the levee, just as I was again putting my camera away. I saw he was still on his cell phone. I then got out my cell phone and, as I quickly walked back to my vehicle, I called my operative at Home Base and told the operative to stay on the line til I was safely out of there. I told my operative if I gave the word, to call 911, and tell the police you were seeing a bunch of guys beating up someone at the Beach Street Boathouse.

As I continued walking, the guy in the Express Energy truck sped by at high speed on the paved Trinity Trail that forbids motorized vehicles. By the time I was a couple hundred feet from my vehicle I saw 2 more trucks pull in. One pulled in right in front of my vehicle.

When I reached my vehicle the first Express Energy truck was blocking me from behind, the other from the front. That first guy I saw was still on the phone, as was I. I acted like I was counting something and said the license number of one of the trucks to my operative on the phone.

The first guy then signaled the other to back off. I zoomed out of there and hurried back here. The first picture, above, was that picture I told you I took of the truck. The next 2 pictures are views of sides of one of the pumps. I'm going to show you several views, covering the entire pump, showing you that Big Brother Anonymous lied. There are no permits posted.

Another pump view.

And another. Seeing any permits? Me either.

Still no permits.

Why would Anonymous lie so flagrantly? A lie so easily exposed.

A hole in the plastic oil barrier that Anonymous claims has been replaced.

Notice how the plastic oil barrier does not quite cover the entire area under the pump that I took pictures of on all sides.

A rather large hole in the plastic oil barrier.

How did that Express Energy guy know to speed down the no motorized vehicle trail to check on a guy doing something there? Or am I just being paranoid and it was all a very weird co-incidence? The guy looked very hostile, to me, and certainly did not return my very friendly "Howdy," instead whipping out his cell phone.

Jovo, the Petro Scientist, pointed me to some other very strange Orwellian weirdness, but I've no energy right now to deal with that. I am still way too hyper-adrenalized by my strange encounter with Express Energy. That I have to get ready to go on my Ice Cold Bro-Date on the Tandy Hills.

West Texas Chief Operative CT2's Report On Express Energy Services

My Chief West Texas Operative, Agent CT2, aka The Queen of Wink, after my bizarre incident, yesterday, on the Trinity River Levee, with Express Energy Services, decided to do some research in to the company which I believe is in cahoots with a cabal of crooks, to basically break Texas law and steal water from the Trinity River, for the benefit of gas drillers.

If the law were being followed, Express Energy Services would pay what is called money, to obtain a permit from the Tarrant Regional Water District, the agency which acts as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's agent in overseeing Tarrant County water use.

Express Energy Services recently went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving dozens of creditors unpaid. Express Energy Services has had all sorts of financial problems.

Now, why would the Tarrant Regional Water District enter into any sort of contract with a company that is financially so precarious? Supposedly Express Energy Services pays TRWD for the water it sucks from the Trinity River and then, in turn, re-sells that water to the gas drillers.

So, far I have not seen any public records of these transactions.

I am awaiting answers to some of these questions from the TRWD.

So far TRWD remains mute.

Now, read the report from my Chief Operative, Agent CT2. Agent CT2 raises all sorts of questions that need answers.

An Arlington Barnett Shale Gas Drilling Operation Disappears While A Nice Lady Breathes A Sigh Of Relief

A few days ago I blogged about a message I got from Lynda, regarding her nice mom's ongoing woes that she attributed to a Barnett Shale natural gas drilling operation, a short stone's throw from her apartment balcony.

When I first talked to Lynda's nice mom it was the noise that vexed her.

And then Lynda sent me the new message telling me about chemical odors that had been wafting into her breathing space, making her mom miserable.

Yesterday Lynda sent me a new message, with good news...

Durango,

Lynda, the nice lady's daughter again...I didn't know if you heard, but the day after you posted this, the gas drilling rig was taken down...I don't know exactly what happened, but it is gone!!

Thank you for all you do.

Lynda

I don't know what the current status of this particular gas drilling operation is. Shut down?

When I first blogged about this gas drilling operation I said I was appalled at how close the drilling tower was to the apartment complex. One of the tenants told me that the rig was 40 yards from the residences. That is 120 feet. Not the 800 feet I thought was the necessary distance.

I think I said something about Arlington having a history of abusing its citizens in their homes.

Did someone go check out this drilling operation and realize it was way too close to where people are living? And order it halted?

Did someone, somewhere, in an official capacity, actually do the right thing for once regarding gas driller bad behavior?

Or is Lynda's nice mom just experiencing a lull, to be followed by water delivery and fraccing?

On a different, yet somewhat related note. Yesterday I saw that there was no White Darth Vader Truck guarding the Beach Street/Gateway Park Express Energy water removal operation.

Did someone, somewhere, in an official capacity, order Express Energy to stay off the paved public Trinity Trails? And to quit trying to intimate citizens walking on the public trail, taking pictures? Did someone alarm the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the damage being done by Express Energy Services to the Trinity River levee? Did someone from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality tell Express Energy to knock it off? Were the Express Energy White Darth Vader Trucks visited by the Fort Worth Police regarding their lawbreaking?

Or was the White Darth Vader Truck, and its goons, just taking a break when I drove by yesterday?

I'm afraid the last possibility is the most likely one, seeings how I don't think anything has happened that has lifted the protective bubble that protects Fort Worth and its surrounding area from being subject to the laws, ethics and sense of right and wrong that guides the rest of America.

A Sunday Surprise At the Fort Worth Beach Street Trinity River Gas Driller Pump Site

Today, Sunday, around noon, I was back at the Beach Street/Gateway Park site where I had an encounter with a White Darth Vader Truck Friday morning.

To recap, Wednesday afternoon I took pictures of the 6 pumps that I found at what I now know is East Side Unit #2H in the Oxbow Lands.

I said I saw no permits. And speculated as to the legality of this operation, what with the absence of posted permits.

Someone, I now believe to be an Express Energy Services employee, commented on the Wednesday blogging, saying I was clueless. I then blogged about me being clueless.

Then Friday morning, at 8:21, I got another comment, from what I believe to be the same Anonymous commenter, to the original Wednesday blogging about the subject, telling me that there are permits posted saying, "You also didn't take the time to go look at the permits that are posted on the pumps....where are THOSE pictures?!"

They were hard to notice, because on Wednesday they were not there.

So, I figured this Anonymous person would not be so brazen as to lie about there being permits posted, maybe somehow I had missed them, I thought, so, it being a short distance away, I drove to the site of the 6 pumps, once more saw no permits, saw more holes in the plastic oil barrier and on my way out of there had my encounter with the White Darth Vader Truck.

Yesterday, when driving on Beach Street I saw that intakes had now been stuck into the Trinity River and some sort of barrier placed in the river.

So, this morning I went back to East Side Unit 2H and guess what I found? Permits have been duct taped to the sides of all 6 pumps! Look at the picture at the top and you'll see where the permit is taped. You can look at the pictures I took on Friday to see there were no permits taped to the pumps at that time.

And the plastic oil barrier has been totally beefed up.

I'm thinking Friday morning someone gave Express Energy Services employees the directive to post the permits and fix the plastic oil barrier. The comment was then sent out to me, telling me the pumps had permits posted, with the commenter never thinking that within minutes of me getting the comment I would be checking the pumps again. To find no permits.

That is all pretty funny.

Now, looking at the permits is very interesting. The permits, if they actually are valid permits, are issued to the Purchaser, Finley Resources, Inc. Not Express Energy Services. A company that we learned yesterday, thanks to the research efforts of my West Texas Operative, CT2, has gone through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving a lot of creditors in its bankruptcy wake.

On the permits there is a list of 5 conditions the Purchaser is subject to, listed A through E. Part B. says the Purchaser, that being Finley Resources, Inc. shall not sell or permit others to use said water, nor will Purchaser use said water for any purpose other than drilling.

I may be quibbling here, but I thought the water was used for fraccing, not drilling. And if only Finley Resources, Inc. can use the water, does this mean Finley Resources, Inc. is yet one more gas drilling company I've not heard of? Did Finley Resources, Inc. hire Express Energy Services to install the pumps and pipeline?

Each of the permits says "VOLUME: 150,000 barrels." Does this mean each of the pumps can pump that volume of water?

Another interesting item on the permits is "COST: $15,000 Payable in Advance." With each permit having, in handwriting, "Pd ck#44509." I assume that being the number of the check used to pay $15,000. Each permit has a different check number on it.

So, the grand total for the 6 pumps, paid to the Tarrant Regional Water District is $90,000, with the total VOLUME pumped being 900,000 Barrels? That sounds like an awful lot of water for $90,000.

Why is it that the pump that was previously in this location, the solo pump I blogged about months ago, which I also said had no permit posted anywhere, never did have a permit posted? Are any of you out there, who are seeing these pumps, also seeing permits.

So, I guess a few of my questions have been sort of answered. I still don't get how selling water for these purposes does not violate the mandate under which the Tarrant Regional Water District is supposed to operate, that being protecting the precious water from specious uses.

And another big question remains, besides the propriety of issuing these permits, is how is this water pumping metered? Honor system?

Another Visit With Express Energy Services At Gateway Park Where Water Is Now Being Removed From The Trinity River

It's been a week since my bizarre encounter with Express Energy Services at the Gateway Park/Beach Street location of a Barnett Shale gas driller's removal of water from the Trinity River.

Un-metered removal of water, until I hear otherwise from the non-responsive Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

I decided to return to Gateway Park and take a walk to the water sucking location to see if the pumps are now running.

As soon as I turned off the engine I could hear the pumps. Or pump. I don't think all 6 are running because it did not seem any louder than when there was only 1 pump. Way back then I was appalled at the damage being done to the Trinity River's levee. I would never have thought, way back then, that it would get so much worse.

So, I walked on to the pedestrian/bike bridge that leads out of Gateway Park to the Trinity Trails. You know, those trails that have signs on them saying "No Motorized Vehicles. I stopped mid-way across the bridge and started taking pictures. I'd noticed a guy standing on top of the levee, above the pumps, as if he was standing guard.

That's the guard in the first picture.

The guard did not take his eyes off me as I snapped pictures. Then I saw him get on his phone. Just like last week. But, last week I was unaware of the criminal history of Express Energy.

Then he started walking towards the bridge and stood staring at me right were you see that yellow post at the end of the bridge, in the picture.

When the guard on the phone saw I was aiming my camera at him he quickly scurried away, but not before I was able to snap a picture of him scurrying.

I tell you, in our modern world a camera is like packing a gun back in the Old Wild West.

There were a couple guys working on the pumps. I could see water swirling around one of the intake pipes, quite a lot of swirling. At first I thought it was the glossy gleam of an oil spill.

Up on the levee there sat a 7th pump. I don't see how they'd have room for another pump.

The Trinity River looks so small in this location. It would seem those 6 pipes could be removing quite a significant percentage of the water flowing by.

I wonder if the guys working on the pumps were doing something nefarious. Is that why another guy was standing guard above them? And is why he took such an aggressive interest in me taking pictures?

I sort of hurried off the bridge, heading back to my vehicle, but on the way I strayed off the paved trail and found another vantage point to take a picture of the pumps and the white truck mucking up the "road" that's been built by the water suckers to get down to the pump pad.

The next time I visit this operation I will do a thorough search for the illusive meters that are required to be part of this type of water removal, according to the thoroughly discredited Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Visiting Fort Worth Trinity River Ghosts, Sinkholes & Rutted Levees

When I took off out of here around noon for my daily constitutional I did not know where I was going, except for the Post Office. Sometimes there is something at the Post Office that determines where I go next.

Today the Post Office sent me off towards Beach Street to a Chase Bank. Since I was on Beach Street it made sense to park at the spot where last month I had fun with Express Energy trucks and go for a walk on the Trinity River Levee to see how the ol' girl is doing.

Well, she is still messed up and rutted, in several places, between Beach Street and the site of the recent Express Energy water removal operation.

The Trinity Sink Hole is still in play and seems to be growing slightly bigger. Someone commented that kids have been known to fall into such things. Currently it would take a very small kid to fall into that hole. A horse stepping on that hole would seem to not be a good thing though.

The thing that caught this Texas boy's eyes today was not holes or rutted up river levees. It was the astonishing amount of litter on the banks of the Trinity River.

My pictures never, even remotely, do justice to how bizarre the mess of litter looks.

Maybe, if I crop out a closeup of the litter in the first picture, it'll give you a better idea of how the bank of the Trinity River looks like a garbage dump, in some locations.

Those are not white birds you see in the tree. Those are white plastic sacks, you know, those things you bag your groceries in. From the vantage point from which the picture was taken, the bags look more like white ghosts, waving in the wind, than birds.

Why does it seem that so much litter roams wild and free in Texas? Where I used to live, in the Skagit Valley of Washington, I never saw all that much litter, certainly not on the banks of the Skagit River, which, incidentally, is a much bigger river than the Trinity, and thus could handle a large volume of litter, if someone forced it to.

In Washington I never saw flatbed trailers, loaded with garbage, driving down the freeway with litter flying away. A very resourceful disposal method, which must be sanctioned as appropriate, because I've seen it happen so many times while driving the highways of Texas.

It the litter problem here in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex a function of so many people living in a relatively small area? As in there are more people living in this Texas Metroplex than the entire state of Washington.

But, in areas of Washington where it is densely populated, such as the Seattle/Tacoma/Everett Metroplex of about 3 million, there are several rivers flowing through the populated area, none of which I ever recollect seeing Trinity River levels of litter.

It's very perplexing to me. Texans seem to like their state. Many Texans are quite quick to let you know how proud they are of Texas and that they truly believe it to be a special place. Then why do so many Texans see nothing wrong about trashing up the place?

I have rambled on long enough that I have space to show you a picture of the current state of the Express Energy Services damaged Trinity River Levee on this, the first Saturday of February. In the background you can see some of the litter "ghosts" that I showed you, closeup, above.

It's coming up on Saturday night. I'm fixin' to have myself a fine time in Texas tonight. See you tomorrow. Or sooner.

Giant Blobs Of Foam Appear On The Trinity River In Fort Worth

No. That is not an Iceberg floating in the Trinity River. It's a big blog of foam, several instances of which I saw yesterday when I went on a newly un-muddied walk on the Trinity Trails out of Gateway Park.

I saw the foam before I found the Hole in the Trinity River Levee.

Speaking of the Trinity Hole. When I blogged about the hole I included a comment I got from that brave soul who calls himself Anonymous. I opined that Anonymous was likely an Express Energy shill.

Well the shill read that blogging and made another illiterate comment. One part of the comment said, "...and next time post my whole comment. dont edit it." First off, I didn't post the comment, I stuck it in a blog. And the only editing was the removal of profanity. I touched none of the spelling and grammar errors.

In today's comment Anonymous asks, "so if you almost got ran over by this truck with no license plate, why dident you call the police?"

How does Anonymous know if the police were called or not? Why does Anonymous think the orange traffic cones showed up to keep the Express Energy trucks off the Trinity Trails?

Anonymous also makes the suggestion to "get a real life."

There are two cliches I find annoying, one is "get a life" and the other is "you must have too much time on your hands." It has been my experience that these cliches are used by ignorant, unimaginative sorts who have no life and consequently have too much time on their hands. I have a relative who frequently uses these cliches. She's the dumbest relative I have. And the most boring and boorish.

Anyway, back to the Trinity foam. What makes such a thing? I know people put all sorts of things into the long suffering Trinity River.

Things as bizarre as the mayor of Fort Worth, Mike Moncrief, pouring grape kool-aid in the river, thinking this would color it purple.

But, what would make thick foam? The first Foamberg was about 50 feet below Trinity Falls.

Another big Foamberg was at the location were Express Energy had its water sucking pipes stuck in the river. I believe the foam was collecting there due to a small creek entering the river and causing the flow to slow.

Anyway, I found the big blogs of foam to be very perplexing.

Chesapeake Energy Is Following Me With Cornbread For Lunch

I just returned from being up north in the Grapevine zone. Rain began dripping on the way back south to my current location, that being sitting in front of my computer monitor, waiting for cornbread to finish baking, so I can have cornbread and chili for lunch.

When I woke up my computer and checked email I saw one from Twitter telling me that Chesapeake Energy is now following me on Twitter.

So, now I've got an imagination-challenged, cliche-ridden, vulgar, moronic shill from Express Energy Services stalking me on the very blog you're reading right now. With Chesapeake Energy now following me on Twitter.

What's next? Jerry Jones following me?

Well, since Chesapeake Energy is now following me, I'll have to try and see if I can come up with something nice to say about them.

In the meantime, the cornbread is ready.

My Explosive Neighborhood Chesapeake Energy Gas Drilling Site

Well, it's another Saturday and another bizarre encounter with a white truck. This time it is a Chesapeake Energy white truck, not an Express Energy Services white truck.

All morning long, ever since I was in the pool around 8, I'd been hearing very loud explosion like noises, sort of like an erratic jackhammer, only louder.

Around 10 I was heading to the Tandy Hills to join the Brush Bash and discovered my 2nd flat tire of the week.

Sometime around noon I decided to try and find out what was making the explosive jackhammer-like noise.

It was quickly clear the explosive noises were coming from my neighbor across the street, that being a Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale natural gas drilling site.

I decided to walk to the site and take video of the noise. By the time I was directly across from the site the explosive noise was significantly louder. I was fairly certain there was no one working on the site that was accounting for the noise, due to the fact that the gate was locked. When someone is in there doing something the gate is open.

Now, here's the part where the story turns weird and has me once more seeing a white truck. Just as I turned my camera on a white Chesapeake Energy truck drove up. A tall, lanky guy got out of the truck, opened the gate, and drove in.

After I took a picture I switched the camera to video mode to capture the explosion noises and continued walking towards the gate to the Chesapeake drilling site. Within seconds the explosions stopped, obviously silenced by the guy I'd just seen.

So, what was making those explosive noises? Today's Saturday white truck incident did not seem as menacing as last Saturday's, but those explosive noises seemed plenty menacing.

I did not realize the explosions were going to be so quickly silenced, or I would not have talked at all on the video. You can still hear several of the explosive pops before they go silent.

Encountering A White Pickup Truck Today On The Tandy Hills

Does anyone remember my encounters with Express Energy Services white pickup trucks?

I think those encounters left me with a mild case of post traumatic stress disorder.

Today as I neared the end of my salubrious Tandy Hills hiking, near the top of Mount Tandy, suddenly a white pickup truck was coming towards me.

When the driver saw me he swerved off the trail so as to avoid hitting me, unlike the Express Energy Services white pickup trucks which picked up speed as they aimed directly at me.

As today's white pickup truck passed me I saw it was a Fort Worth Water Department truck. The driver politely howdied me and asked how I was doing.

The encounter did set my nerves on edge. The truck seemed to appear out of nowhere, which is what startled my delicate nervous system.

As I walked on I turned around to see the truck head down the steep part of the descent from Mount Tandy. Then it stopped. Then backed up. The truck sounded as if it was struggling to back up.

So, I walked back to take a picture of my latest encounter with a white pickup truck, which is what you are looking at in the picture at the top. That and the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

Slightly warmer on the hills today. Slightly warmer for swimming this morning. But, I heard on the radio that more cold temperatures are on the way, but I think the radio may have been wrong, because I see my computer's weather forecast is for 92 and possible T-Storms for tomorrow.

The Tandy Hills River Is Frozen In Fort Worth While The Hills Are Alive With Hikers

The usually roaring Tandy Hills River was frozen over today, as you can clearly see in the picture. It was frozen so solid you could walk right over it. I don't recollect seeing that before. I did not make it as far as Tandy Falls to see if it was frozen into icicles.

I was over dressed for hiking the Tandy Hills today, unlike yesterday, when it was way below freezing and windy. It was almost above freezing today. Long underwear were total overkill. As in I overheated.

I survived.

There were 4 other hiking groups, in addition to mine, that I saw today. Making this Saturday the second busiest hiking day on the Tandy Hills, that I've ever seen, with last Saturday's record breaking number stomping on the hills in the Manly Man & Wild Women hike, being the busiest.

I think, maybe, after all this time, the locals are finally figuring out what a gem they have right in the heart of this densely populated urban zone.

Or maybe it was a fluke.

Town Talk was busier than I've seen it previously. Another fluke? Or are people just tired of being cooped up inside, and with the temperature rising to a balmy 34, decided to get out and do something?

Speaking of doing something. On the drive by the notorious Beach Street/Gateway Park Express Energy Trinity River Water Thieving Operation, dozens of trucks were lined up. What these trucks carried, sand or water, I do not know.

I did notice that the 6 pumps, at river's edge, have now had their intake pipes stuck into the river. I do not believe the water sucking has begun, though. I will check in on that within the next 24 hours. And pack heat when I do so, meaning a video camera, a camera and a cell phone.

And on a related note, my chief West Texas Operative, CT2, has been doing some interesting research into Express Energy. That will be blogged about next.

City Of Fort Worth Bulldozing Dam Bridge Building On The Tandy Hills

First off, my return to the Tandy Hills today, in search of my lost sunglasses, was not successful.

But, I found something else. Something that was a bit disturbing. Well, more than disturbing, let's go with troubling and aggravating.

I parked by the Fort Worth Needle, aka Tandy Tower, on top of Mount Tandy.

I walked down the hill, taking a left at the first intersecting trail junction. Continuing on down the hill I stopped to take another picture of my favorite Wildflower, that being the yellow beauty you see in the picture.

While I was taking pictures I heard the rumbling noise of a motor. Usually the only motor noise heard in this location is the distant rumbling of the vehicles on I-30.

I got to the bottom of the hill, and instantly my attention switched from trying to figure out where the motor noise was coming from, to seeing that the Tandy Hills earth had been moved. The trail passes over a creek bed. That creek bed had been filled in with dirt bulldozed from the side of the trail, leaving huge gashing messes.

The creek bed had been filled in with no culvert to allow the flow of water. The new "bridge" was topped with crushed rock.

Before I continued on, I turned my attention to the motor noise. Backtracking a bit I could see a big white pickup truck. Deja Vu flashbacks of my earlier encounters with White Darth Vader Trucks made me wary. I went back up the hill, then went off trail and got to where I had a view of the side of the truck.

It was a City of Fort Worth truck. Not Chesapeake Energy or Express Energy Services.

I took a picture of the City of Fort Worth truck when I got back on the trail, with it now coming towards me.

The truck stopped. I kept walking south. I came to the second creek crossing. This one had also been "bridged".

With a much bigger mess made. And this creek was running water. By the time I again walked over the new "dam," about an hour later, the creek was within about 6 inches of breaching the dam.

Where that white pickup is in the picture, that is on the other side of a cable that was stretched across the trail. The cable had a sign attached which said "Foot Traffic Only."

To get around this cable one of the supporting posts had been knocked over, so that the cable. And sign. Could be driven over.

My pictures of the damage and the dams do not do justice to what I saw today. At the location of the second "dam" a huge chunk of Tandy Trail had been chopped off, to use for fill for the "dam". Previously that particular trail came off the hills to connect to the flat trail with the newly added dam bridges.

The brightly lit area at the top of the picture is the Tandy Trail coming off the hills to join the trail with the new dam/bridges. This has now been bulldozed to provide dirt for the dam, rendering the trail no longer a usable trail.

To get good pictures of this Tandy Tarnishing I need to be on the hills later or earlier in the day. The sun, at noon, does not make for good pictures in my unskilled hands. The above is the bigger of the 2 new dam/bridges. Covered with crushed rock. The one you are looking at is the one that is creating a reservoir that is likely now running over the top of the new dam.

So? What is going on here? If the City of Fort Worth needed to get a truck into this location, and needed to get over the creeks, how is this a sane, responsible, proper way to do so?

It is less than 48 hours since Prairie Fest celebrated the prairie. I was so appalled by what I saw today that when I got back here I called Fort Worth's and the Tandy Hill's #1 Watchdog to tell him what I'd seen. I figured if some Bad Boys are doing some Bad Deeds, the sooner the Watchdog watches, the better.

If I could muster the energy I'd go back around 5 to check out the creek flowing over the new dam/bridge.

Brought to you by those same fine folks bringing you a Trinity River Vision.