Questioning TCEQ's Successful Project To Make It Safe To Fish Again In Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake

That beautiful green waterway you see in the picture is the north end of Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth, Texas a few months ago.

There are signs all around Fosdic Lake warning fishermen to be wary of fish they catch in Fosdic Lake. As in, don't eat them.

The signs are courtesy of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, more commonly known as TCEQ.

Well, imagine my surprise to find myself contacted by TCEQ, asking permission to use some of my photos for a story TCEQ is writing for an EPA publication about the successful project to make it safe to fish again in Fosdic Lake.

I read that and a big HUH? crossed my mind. What's been done to mitigate the Fosdic Lake pollution that has rendered the fish safe I wondered?

I replied to the message, giving permission to use the photos and asking, "Is it actually true? Fosdic Lake has been upgraded to being safe to eat the fish????"

Below is the first message I got from TCEQ, and below that is the perplexing reply I got to the question asking if it was actually true that the Fosdic fish are no longer deadly....

Hi, Durango,

I work for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in Austin, Texas. Our agency is writing a story for an EPA publication about the successful project to make it safe to fish again from Fosdic Lake. Unfortunately, all our good pictures of Fosdic Lake show "no fishing" signs!

You have several nice pictures of the lake posted on your blog site and also at durangotexas.com (a site I am happy to find!). May we use one or two of them? We would be glad to credit you for the photos if you will let us know how you want the credit to appear, and whether you want us to note them as copyrighted or not. 

If you give permission, we will let you know which specific pictures we might use. I'm currently favoring these:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZt4uw4ldPm6kopy-K1ETs7jg2jwow5ZYY4KLGBadeNn_XFAY46PybW909duZdlBFyDXwjwpvD5re81IhAGRHb2ViHha25PL-ebVu41B8B79aMazpwedFsgkla0TyombDdtBglLCkyXY/s1600/Fosdic+Lake.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dvQ50Y5ozxvvSw_1Mjvg8VeP6YD5yTYCB1D6oX9iFezK9CrOfHaY9Thx2Mhe9nOuQExW-RziiZYosaaMPwQA6lc7OHv_ChBns6kHNf3UdUo7lFM9tXUa5ctX03kogRYGVcAh9fxnrLI/s1600-h/Fosdic+Ducks.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYceb3LWFxKjzVHKsJEFKa73i-FkMe_xdpchEqltDA1dtHVaorI0ce69Gi6gv68AuqpAplJMZrSjKpSDdReYuTL1qNaBRo6CD0aMymT9eOFsnHMBWzdLb1K2BNOo4IneeJDqCG4Zid9Ac/s1600/Oakland+Fosdic+Lake.jpg

http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/fortworth/oaklandlakeparkfiles/oaklandlakepark2.jpg

Please advise as by 1/7/11 or soonest convenient for you. Thanks very much for your time and for considering our request. 

BTW, it is nice to know that somebody else in Texas does not like the Cowboys ;-)

--Louanne Jones 

So, like I already said, I replied, giving permission to use the photos and asking the question about Fosdic Lake. To that I got the following reply, telling me that Ms. Jones is out of the office and wishing me a Happy New Year...

This is an automatic reply to your message.
I am out of the office from December 24, 2010 through January 2, 2011.

Please contact one of the following people if you require assistance in my absence. 

Public inquiries: 
Gail Rothe, grothe@tceq.state.tx.us, 512-239-4617

Water Web pages: 
E-mail the contact e-mail address on the Web page of interest.

Communications Coordination tasks: 
ac@tceq.state.tx.us. 

Please direct all other inquiries to my manager, 
Ronald Stein, rstein@tceq.state.tx.us, 512-239-4507.

Happy New Year!
--Louanne Jones

So, if Ms. Jones is out of the office, who is it who asked to use some of my photos to embellish something being sent to the EPA about the supposedly successful project that has returned the Fosdic Lake fish to relative safety?

And if TCEQ is writing a story for an EPA publication about the successful Fosdic Lake Restoration, but can't find any photos, but mine, without those vexing "NO FISHING" signs, why does TCEQ not take down the signs if they are no longer relevant?

It is all very perplexing.

UPDATE: Ms. Jones later got back to me, and put an end, for the most part, to what was perplexing. Below is the message........

Thank you for permission to use your photos! We will use one of the credit lines following, depending on which photos we use. 

Photograph© courtesy of durangotexas.blogspot.com or Photograph© courtesy of durangotexas.com

Sorry, my statement to you about the safety of fish consumption was a trifle imprecise. The consumption advisory has been lifted for all species except for common carp. 

The DSHS recommends adults and children 12 and older eat no more than two 8-ounce servings of carp per month. Children under 12 should eat no more than two 4-ounce servings per month. Women who are or might become pregnant and women who are nursing should not eat any carp from the lake. 

Sadly, there is often a long lag time between consumption advisories and posting of signs. The state Department of State Health Services (DSHS) issues the advisories but counties are responsible for posting signs. Though the advisories are usually up-to-date on the Web, the Internet is still not readily available to many folks. 

Thanks again, 
Louanne 

Another HOT Texas Thursday With Fuzzy's Tacos & No Peptomobile Taking Me To TCEQ Meeting

You can see looking out my computer room window that the sun is starting to shine a light on the darkness, this Thursday morning, with it already 83, without the sun providing HEAT.

Is today going to be the first day of summer to hit 100 in my zone of Texas?

I mentioned yesterday that I got attacked by a vicious biting bug on the Tandy Hills whilst doing some late in the Wednesday afternoon hiking. This morning the bug bite is very red and does not look good. But it is not sore, does not itch. I've not had a bug bite like this before.

I will not be exposing myself to any vicious Tandy Hills bugs today. Instead of heading west, around noon, I'll be heading east, to Arlington, to get a vehicle license sticker, walk around Veterans Park and go to Arlington's Chinatown to get some Asian goodies, like Sweet Chili Sauce.

Tonight I may be going back to Arlington to Fuzzy's Tacos at 510 East Abram Street (very close to where I'm getting a license sticker today) at 6:00 for tacos and adult beverages before heading 3 blocks west to Arlington's City Hall to watch TCEQ squirm while hearing citizen input regarding TCEQ's ineptness in addressing the pollution problems plaguing the Dallas/Fort Worth zone.

Arlington's City Council Chambers is located at 101 West Abram Street. The meeting lasts from 7pm til 9pm.

I do not know if Elsie Hotpepper is going to the TCEQ meeting and Fuzzy's Tacos. I do know I won't be relying on the Elsie Peptomobile to transport me there, due to the Peptomobile's unreliability.

Slap TCEQ AT June 24 DFW Smog Meeting

On Thursday, June 24 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is holding its first meeting in four years about Dallas/Fort Worth Smog.

The meeting is to take place from 7 to 9 pm in the City of Arlington City Council Chambers at 101 West Abram Street in Arlington.

This is a Public Meeting.

So. What is this meeting about?

Well. Last summer D/FW violated the federal smog standard, despite a Texas plan to not let that happen.

This failure gave this region of Texas the dirtiest air in the state.

Now, Texas has to come up with a second plan. At the June 24 meeting TCEQ, supposedly, will seek opinions from citizens as to what anti-pollution measures need to be implemented.

Now, I'm thinking in a fair, sane, sensible, responsible world giving TCEQ your ideas might be a good idea. But, this is TCEQ we are talking about. Widely believed to be corrupted by too much industry influence tainting the agency's actions.

I guess it is good to be optimistic and hope for the best. So, the North Central Texas Clean Air Task Foce, in cooperation with Downwinders at Risk, Environmental Defense Fund, North Central Texas Communities Alliance, Public Citizen, Sierra Club and Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project urge you to act on June 24.

And show up in Arlington to give TCEQ a piece of your mind and the bitch slapping the agency and its lackeys so richly deserve.

A Horizontal Tree & City Of Fort Worth TCEQ Tandy Hills Violators

For reasons purely accidental, I found myself spending a record breaking amount of time hiking around the Tandy Hills this morning. I think about 10 pounds melted away during the ordeal.

My one longtime reader may remember me mentioning, yesterday, that I came upon some eco-vandalism being done to the Tandy Hills, courtesy of the City of Fort Worth.

Today, as I neared the eco-vandal zone, the noise of diesel engines was way louder than the day previous, which seemed to indicate more than one diesel engine was running. That turned out to be a correct assessment.

Yesterday I was appalled that the city had gouged out dirt from the hills and used it to make 2 dam/bridges across creeks. Only one of the creeks is currently running water. I assumed that the creek running water would quickly be running over, and eroding, the new dam.

I was wrong. If I had consulted my hydraulic engineering manual I might have realized that when the water level reached the layer of crushed rock that it would permeate through the rocks. For the most part, that is what is happening, though, there are now puddles on top of the dam/bridge, creek water is running out the other side, stained gray, like glacial melt.

When I got past the leaking "dam" I came upon one of the noisemakers. It was very large, as in a fire engine size of large truck. On the side of the truck's driver's door it said FORT WORTH WATER TCEQ22015.

TCEQ is a Texas state agency, as in, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

This particular Texas Commission is believed, by many, to be severely co-opted and corrupted.

I assume those little creeks running through the Tandy Hills eventually empty into the Trinity River. I also assume that in most states a state agency that is responsible for protecting water quality would frown upon a city damming up creeks to make makeshift bridges. And killing trees and gouging the land in the process.

I hiked past the Big Water Truck and continued up to the top of Mount Tandy to come at the other City of Fort Worth truck from another direction. By the time I made it up and over and around Mount Tandy and came at the location of the second truck, from the north, it was gone.

But I could see that the focus of their attention had been on one of the Sanitary Sewer Manholes. Because the manhole cover was all wet. The wet manhole cover was just south of the highly unusual horizontal tree you see in the picture at the top.

That horizontal tree blocks the City of Fort Worth Water Trucks from getting to the next Sanitary Sewer Manhole, further north, by Tandy Falls. I wonder if the next thing that appalls me is going to be finding Tandy Falls filled in and dammed. That would make me damn mad. That might be the tipping point that turns me into an Eco-Terrorist.

Experiencing Malice In Blunderland In Fort Worth Texas

Reading FW Weekly and TxSharon this morning has me aggravated.

The FW Weekly aggravation comes from the Metropolis section, which further documented the bad behavior of the corrupt state of Texas agency that calls itself the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, an agency name which is pretty much Orwellian double-speak, due to the fact that the quality of the environment does not seem to be much of a concern to this commission.

The TCEQ seems more concerned with helping the Barnett Shale natural gas industry cover up their dirty deeds and doings.

In the FW Weekly article we learn about the different testing results, and different methodology used by the TCEQ and the little town of DISH. A little Texas town that has been ravaged, in many more ways than one, by the basically un-regulated natural gas company Blitzkrieg that has damaged lives and livelihoods in a once peaceful small Texas town.

The town of DISH has an actual, real, serve the people who elected him, type of mayor, unlike Fort Worth's corrupt Mayor Mike Moncrief, who was installed by the gas industry to help facilitate the gas driller's massive Blitzkrieg on Fort Worth. The natural gas industry pays Moncrief over $600,000 a year to be their in the henhouse fox.

DISH Mayor Calvin Tillman has been fighting back, trying to save his town and the people who live there. Eminent domain was abused in DISH when the gas drillers decided it would be a perfect location for gas compressors, which are jet engine noise level contraptions. To feed the compressors, pipelines had to be laid. So, land that people used for their livelihoods was, well, basically stolen, using the corrupt Texas legal system to do so.

I sure use the word "corrupt" a lot. I never think I'm exaggerating when I do so.

After awhile, people in DISH started not feeling as well as they did before the Natural Gas Blitzkrieg hit their town. DISH paid to have their air tested. The results showed bad, bad things were in the air they were breathing.

And now, gas industry legal lackeys have sent the town of DISH some sort of legalistic, threatening letter, the theme of which seems to be making all sorts of claims of things DISH has not done correctly.

Visit Texas Sharon to read what Mayor Tillman has to say about this latest bullying by the corrupt gas industry thugs and read the thug's intimidating letter.

We are down the Rabbit Hole here, where black is white, yes is no, wrong is right. But, it's not Alice in Wonderland, it's Malice in Blunderland.

I've been in Texas around 10 years now. In all my years of living on the West Coast I don't recollect anything ever happening that appalled me like the things I've seen happen here in Texas.

A corporation wants a new headquarters? Boot 100s of Fort Worth low income people out of their homes and build a new Radio Shack Headquarters, that Radio Shack could not afford.

A mall needs some new parking space? Abuse eminent domain to take Hurst citizen's homes for the benefit of a private business known as the Northeast Mall.

A football team wants a new stadium? Abuse eminent domain, in Arlington, to boot more than 1,000 people from their homes and apartments and businesses. And bulldoze the homes before the victims have had their day in court.

Some goofballs get the hare-brained idea that ruining the confluence of two forks of the Trinity River to make a little lake and an un-needed flood diversion channel? Abuse eminent domain, taking homes and businesses, for a "public" project that the public has never voted on, known as Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision or Trinity Uptown Project or Fort Worth's Latest Boondoggle.

A company called Chesapeake Energy, run by a man many believe to be a lying shyster, named Aubrey McClendon, wants to run a non-odorized natural gas pipeline under a street called Carter Street, in Fort Worth. The Carter Street homeowners object, but one by one, under the threat of the abuse of eminent domain, they all give in to the strong arm tactics, all but one man, Steve Doeung.

And what does the City of Fort Worth do? Does the city tell Chesapeake Energy they must find a different route, and pipe only odorized gas. No, the City of Fort Worth sends in a gang of Gestapo Stormtroopers, in the form of code inspectors and Fort Worth Police, to raid Steve Doeung's house.

Where is the outrage here in Blunderland? Okay, there is some outrage, I mean I'm outraged. Texas Sharon is outraged. Don Young is outraged. The Queen of Wink is Royally outraged. Steve Doeung is outraged. 100s, maybe 1000s are outraged.

Why is the Environmental Protection Agency not outraged by what is happening in DISH. And elsewhere in Texas?

Has the Environmental Protection Agency been co-opted somehow, like all the other government agencies in Texas that are supposed to look out for the welfare of the people, but instead look out for the welfare of those who exploit and abuse the people?

What became of Dr. Al Armendariz? Why does the EPA not order a moratorium on gas drilling activities until the issue of pollution, both of water and air, are properly vetted to everyone's satisfaction, not just the satisfaction of the drillers?

I tell you, all this Malice here in Blunderland is the most perplexing stuff I have ever witnessed. I never dreamed, when I moved to Texas, that I would somehow manage to one day find myself being terrorized by White Trucks.

P.S. The Star-Telegraph has blogged about the Star-Telegram's article today which reverses previous articles which followed the gas industry and their lackey, Mayor Mike Moncrief's party line, that being nothing harmful is entering the air from the thousands of gas wells.

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.

Gas Driller Caused Allergy Driving Mom From Home

On December 18, 2009, I blogged about seeing something appalling while walking in Veterans Park in Arlington.

A Barnett Shale natural gas drilling rig hovered above an apartment complex, appearing to be very close to the apartments.

What about the 800 foot rule between a drilling operation and residences? Did Arlington, a town known to run roughshod over citizen's property rights, not impose any distance rules?

Doesn't the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality over see such things? Well, worded correctly, is the TCEQ not charged with the responsibility of protecting Texans and their environment?

Well, sadly, we've all come to know the answer to that question. The TCEQ has been co-opted and corrupted with the installation of natural gas industry lackeys on the Commission, letting the fox watch the henhouse in yet one more example of corruption in Texas.

After I blogged about that noisy, too close, drilling operation in Arlington, I heard from Lynda, the daughter of the nice lady I talked to who was being made miserable by the around the clock noise coming from her new neighbor.

Let me interject before I get back to Lynda. Why is it if you call 911 to report that someone is disturbing the peace, as in drilling in the middle of the night, why is this not treated by the police in the same way as it would be if an individual were producing an equally noisy decibel level?

Back to Lynda.

I heard from Lynda again today. The situation has grown more dire for her nice mom. Here's what Lynda had to tell me...

Hi Durango...

Lynda the "nice lady's daughter" again. Yes, I was a passenger in the VW.

My Mom, the nice lady has already started to have allergy problems and her apartments smells of chemicals. My daughter went to visit today and after 10 minutes, had a sore throat and runny nose and complained that my Mom's apartment smelled of chemicals. It then hit me that my Mom's recent severe allergy problems and asthma as well as headaches could well be caused by the chemicals being released from the gas drilling at the tower sitting so close to her apartment.

I then called the EPA who said I needed to call the Texas Railroad commission. I am now awaiting a call from an attorney. from the railroad commission. If nothing else, I am hoping that the property will be forced to allow her out of her lease which expires in April because with her health problems, she cannot stay there.

Whatever became of Dr. Al Armendariz? The new head of the EPA in this region. There were such high hopes, with he being the guy who had shown that the gas drilling was causing some heavy duty, dangerous pollution, that the TCEQ and the corrupt local governments, like the City of Fort Worth and its Conflicts of Interest corrupted mayor, Mike Moncrief, would somehow be giving a good sound spanking by the federal government and a no longer toothless EPA.

Where was the EPA and Dr. Al Armendariz when Fort Worth mayor, Mike Moncrief, put on his bizarre dog and pony show to announce that there is no pollution being caused in Fort Worth by the gas drillers?

It is all very perplexing. I am getting real tired of being perplexed all the time.

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.

Foggy Fort Worth Hiking On The Tandy Hills & Unanswered TCEQ Questions

Another balmy day, with temperatures in the 50s, had me hiking the Tandy Hills at noon, for the 9th day in a row.

Today looked like hiking might not be doable, due to the extreme thick fog that has settled over the Fort Worth zone of North Texas, so thick it was like being in a cloud, with a mist getting the windshield wet,

But not to the point that windshield wipers were required. And once I hit the ground on the Tandy Hills I had no wetness issues. Except for overheating related wetness.

Speaking of wetness. I stayed in the pool this morning for the longest duration of the new year. I long ago figured out that an average temperature in the 50s made the pool easily
doable. But that vexing sub-freezing business we had going on since the day before Christmas cooled the water down to near freezing, so it has not warmed up to a satisfying 50 something temperature quite yet.

Can you spot the skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth through the fog? The picture was taken from the top of Mount Tandy.

Big Ed went hiking with me today on the Tandy Hills. Afterwards we headed to Town Talk. Stopped at a light on Beach Street, heading north, Big Ed pointed out a Barnett Shale gas drilling site and the plumes of something rising up from it.

Big Ed pondered the possibility that the gas drillers might be using a heavy fog day, like today, to do something nefarious that puts off plumes of fumes, that they would not dare try on a clear day.

Big Ed is a big proponent of crackpot paranoia type conspiracy theories. Then again, it was odd seeing that big plume of something spewing skyward from the drilling site. Have never seen that happening on a clear day.

But, one has to tell oneself that that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) maintains an eagle-eyed watch on the gas drillers, highly respected, reputable agency that it is.

By the way, I've yet to get an answer from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to the questions I submitted via their website.

In the meantime, I got most of the answers via other means.

But one HUGE question remains. As in, how is the water being taken from the Trinity River being metered?

Information I found on the TCEQ indicates that water taken via the means it's being taken from the Trinity River by gas drillers, must be metered.

I'm thinking that it is the inability to answer my meter question that has kept TCEQ mute.

Fort Worth's Corrupt Mayor Mike Moncrief Puts His Conflicts Of Interest On Display Again

I was surprised this morning, when looking for the picture you see here of Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief, where he belongs, as in behind bars, that the first time I blogged about the need to bring this criminal to justice was way back on May 15, 2008, in a blogging titled "Corruption in Fort Worth, Texas?"

Since then Moncrief has not only not been jailed, he has won re-election with 94% of Fort Worth's eligible voters feeling so marginalized that they didn't bother to vote, giving Moncrief a whopping 70% landslide of the 6% who did vote.

In recent days we have had fresh examples of why there are Conflicts of Interest laws in America. Even in Texas. With Fort Worth's mayor, again, outrageously putting his corruption on display for anyone caring to look, to see.

Well, Fort Worth's #1 Watchdog was watching. Below is what he had to say about Fort Worth's mayor's latest criminal behavior....

Unicorn Discovered on Dark Side of Moon

If you believe that line of BS then you'll most likely swallow the report delivered by John Sadler of the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to the Fort Worth City Council yesterday. If not, read on.

The mayor had requested the TCEQ study after the many recent news reports of toxic emissions coming from Barnett Shale gas facilities. He wanted to know specifically about such facilities in FW proper. Knowing the mayor as we do, he really wanted to end any talk of health and safety concerns or moratoriums in FW. This was a foregone conclusion shared by those who have been paying attention.

The pre-council session where the report was given was well attended by industry reps, notably, Walter Duease, point man for XTO and Ed Ireland of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council (BSEEC), both of whom are involved in the Marcellus and other shale regions and both of whom have cozy relationships with city council and staffers.

The highlight reel-

1) Regarding salt-water injection wells in Fort Worth, city staffer, Susan Alanis made a point of saying that there have been no problems regarding public health and safety with the one injection located well in Fort Worth. This point was intended to prepare the public for new injection wells and a web of "salt-water" pipelines that will soon snake through FW neighborhoods.

2) We were told by another city staffer that a private meeting was held on January 5, 2010 to discuss the growing public discomfort with urban drilling. Invitees included reps from, TCEQ, Texas RRC, City of FW, Texas Pipeline Assoc., BSEEC and four drilling companies. NO neighborhood groups were included. Can you say, marginalized?

3) City Council reps nodded enthusiastically to Sadler's comment that, "ambient conditions" existed before drilling. That's code for: Blame something else. Drilling is not the problem. (May I remind you again that FWCanDo requested ambient air and water studies from the city attorney in 2005. Her answer came with a devilish smile: No thanks.)

4) Testing was done in less than ideal conditions to achieve the result desired by the mayor and drillers. The result: No benzene. No carcinogens. No VOC's coming from Fort Worth gas wells facilities. How else to explain the increasingly smoggy air over FW? see #3 above.

5) Near the end of the meeting, with media cameras rolling and reporters scribbling away, the mayor asked Mr. Sadler two well-rehearsed, drama-filled questions:

a. Are you convinced the industry is using best management practices? Answer: YES.

b. Do you see any need for issuing a moratorium on gas well drilling in FW? Answer: NO.

> > > Remember the Jack Nicholson movie, Chinatown? Recall the last scene of the film when private detective, Jake "JJ" Gittes is confronted with the fact that the police have been bought-off and that a killer and child molester has been allowed to go free. An angry and distraught Jake stares into space as his partner delivers the final line of the film:

Forget it Jake, this is ... Texas.

DY

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

Yesterday I blogged about finding the 6 water pumps you see in the picture at the Trinity River's edge by Gateway Park and Beach Street.

It is my contention that the corruption in Fort Worth, in the Tarrant Regional Water District and in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, has created a situation where the gas driller companies have been given carte blanche to steal as much water as they need, without following the criteria spelled out in excruciating detail in "The Rights to Surface Water in Texas" document put out by the TCEQ.

In the TCEQ document you will find no mention of the conditions under which Texas surface water can be taken by gas drillers. There is one mention made of exceptions from the usual use rules made at times for oil drilling operations.

In the TCEQ document there is plenty of information that reinforces my belief that what is being done with the Trinity River water is not true to the laws of this state that govern water use.

A watermaster is supposed to oversee every aspect of unusual water uses. What the gas drillers are doing to the Trinity requires permits, it requires inspections, it requires metering, it requires determining the amount of water to be taken, it requires monitoring the water levels downstream, it requires all sorts of things that I do not believe are being done in Tarrant County due to the collusion between the industry being regulated and those who's job it is to do the regulating.

Ironically, I came to read the TCEQ document due to a link to it being included in one of my favorite blogging comments I've received in some time, it being from the ubiquitous Anonymous, commenting to yesterday's blogging about the 6 pumps getting ready to, I believe, take Trinity River water illegally.

I will copy the Anonymous comment below. My responses to the various, uh, "points," will be in bold.

You honestly have no clue. Yes it can be upsetting to see pipes coming out of the Trinity for gas drilling, but where else are they going to get it? I'd rather the gas companies take water from an untreated source than a treated source.

I honestly admit I have no clue, due to the fact that the gas drilling operations, as regards water pumping, are not done in a transparent manner. Where is the public notice that such is taking place at Beach Street/Gateway Park? Where is the posted permit? The majority of the public is clueless due to the fact that their local government operates way too much in secrecy.

To say that the drillers are getting a steep discount is just plain disingenuous.

Really? Yes, I can see where I am the one being disingenuous here. Mayor Mike, is this you? One of your lackeys? Can you tell me where the information is posted as to how much the gas drillers are paying for the amount of water they estimate they need to suck out of the Trinity River at the Beach Street/Gateway Park location? How much have the gas drillers paid so far for all the water they have sucked from the Trinity to date? Where is that information posted?

The TRWD owns the permit and has the right to sell to others - and they keep track of where it all goes.

Yes, as I understand it is the TCEQ which grants watermaster rights to various entities. Then the TCEQ is supposed to oversee those watermasters to make sure they are conforming to the guidelines as set by the State of Texas.

So, where are the public records of the water rights that the TRWD has sold to the gas drillers, that they keep such diligent track of? I mean, the TRWD operates in the same area where millions of dollars have been lost track of by other keepers of the public trust, like the City of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth School Districts.

But, unlike those other keepers of the local public trust, I'm sure the TRWD keeps immaculate records and knows precisely how much water they've sold to gas drillers and how much money had been paid for that water. Can I have that information please?

Rather than be reactionary, why don't you educate your self a little more? You are doing nothing but getting people worked up - and to what use?

To what use? I don't know. Maybe to cause a light beam to shine on this place that causes the local corrupt cockroaches to scurry for cover. Yes, I can see how if I educated myself a little more I would be less reactionary. No, wait a second, the way it actually works, is the more I know about how corrupt so much of what goes on in this zone is, the more strident and more reactionary and more disgusted I get.

I must say it pleases me to hear I am getting people worked up. And here I've been thinking I've been shouting into an empty cave..

The city issues the drilling permits and inspects the site during drilling. If there are problems with site conditions, bring it up to them. I'm sure they'll make sure it gets remedied.

The subject of the blogging, to which you commented, was water thieving from the Trinity River, not problems with gas drilling sites or this city issuing those permits. But, nice obfuscation there. Since I see you really haven't been able to answer any of my questions about the water thieving, not in a show me the proof, as in facts, permits and numbers sort of way.

Furthermore, the revenues generated go directly back in to managing the Trinity - do you think all that mowing, dredging, or cleaning is free?

Now, let me see if I understand this point correctly. Until water started being stolen, and allegedly paid for by gas drillers, the Trinity River levees were unmowed, undredged and unclean?

Well, let me just say this, if the level of cleanliness in that litter strewn river is due to the gas driller's water payments, the fee really needs to go way up, because there is not enough money being spent removing the tons of litter.

Okay, I'm out of bold mode now. What I am wondering now is why someone would go to the bother of pointing me to that TCEQ document that only reinforced my belief that something is very awry with how water issues are being dealt with here?

If I am wrong about what I assert, why not point me to one fact, one permit, one item that let's me know that what I characterize as the theft of water from the Trinity River, by gas drillers, due to the sweetheart deal between that industry and their installed lackeys in Fort Worth's City Government and the other regulating bodies like the TCEQ and the TRWD, is wrong?

I don't mind being shown I'm wrong about something.

So, show me the facts, the numbers, the permits and the records kept, regarding the water taken and how much has been paid for it. Shut me up with some real information, not dumb stuff like telling me I have no clue, am reactionary and need to educate myself a little more.

Methinks my supposed lack of education is not where the problem lies in this particular scenario.

Texas Commission For Environmental Quality Wants Your Help

Dear Barnett Shale residents and visitors---

PLEASE take advantage of this EZ way to help clean the air.

If you live in or visit anywhere in the Barnett Shale and encounter an odor you suspect is related to natural gas activity in any way, the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) wants to know about it.

TCEQ has stated publicly that they investigate ALL complaints and will dispatch a field inspector to your door within 12 hours of your complaint. Documentation is a critical first step to obtain the essential data. Your report will enable TCEQ to take enforcement action to stop toxic emissions.

Here's all you need to do.

Step 1- Print out the Odor Log and Nuisance Affidavit forms.

Step 2- Fill out the simple forms, to the best of your recollection, immediately after encountering an odor.

Step 3- Call the toll-free TCEQ Complaint Hotline and register your complaint. 1-888-777-3186

Step 4- When a TCEQ agent arrives, request their ID and hand them the forms. Keep copies for your records.

Step 5- Keep a personal record of your experience with the TCEQ for future reference.

Step 6- Repeat as often as necessary.

Odor Log and Nuisance Affidavit forms