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.

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.

An Almost Sub-Zero Hike On Fort Worth's Tandy Hills

I now know what it is like to hike the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium Area when the wind is blowing hard making the 21 degree temperature feel like 3 degrees.

I overheated. I shed a layer. Then get chilled. Then add back a layer.

I started out with knitted fingertip less gloves. Those were quickly replaced by ski gloves. Getting the ski gloves off to take a picture and then back on brought, back deja vu memories of using the ski gloves to actually ski where there are actually mountains.

I don't know how many calories get burned whilst out in such extreme temperatures doing such extreme activity, but looking at the picture, it appears I don't look anywhere near as fat a Fat Boy as I was yesterday. I'm a real fast dieter.

A really strange thing about the Tandy Hills today. I was on the same trails yesterday, when it was in the 40s. I did not pick up much mud on my hiking boots. Today the temperature was near zero, yet the ground was not frozen, for the most part, and it was oozing mud. A lot of mud. Some strange geological occurrence, I'm sure, that Jovo the Scientist could likely explain, but which just left me perplexed.

When I was done with my Chill Therapy I took the Beach Street route back to my abode, so that I could check on the Trinity River Water Thieves. Nothing going on there today. But speaking of that operation, yesterday's blogging about that operation (click on the Trinity River Water Thieves link to go there) generated one of my favorite Anonymous comments in a long time.

I suspect the Anonymous comment was penned by Fort Worth's corrupt Mayor Mike Moncrief or one of his lackeys. Lord knows he has a lot of lackeys. All on the Gas Driller Take.

The comment from the Anonymous Mike seemed, quite honestly, to have no clue what he was talking about. I felt it was rather reactionary and that Anonymous could benefit from educating himself a bit more on the subject about which he was pontificating.

I'll blog about the Anonymous comment from Mayor Mike (or one of his lackeys) later, but I've got some other stuff to do and writing that blogging will be my treat for getting the other stuff done.

Talk to you later. And you missed a real good Tomato Soup, BBQed Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast & Cherry Tomato Sweet Chili Walnut Salad for lunch.