Regarding the USACE Ruling

(Scroll down to Page 25 ~ Page 28 on the Document)

Joe Pool Lake Dam 

Appeals Court Reverses Katrina Decision

(Reuters) - (September 25, 2012) A U.S. appeals court has reversed itself (yesterday September 24, 2012) and found that the Army Corps of Engineers cannot be held liable in property owners' lawsuits over flood damage during Hurricane Katrina. More than 400 property owners had filed lawsuits following the August 2005 hurricane, many targeting the Corps of Engineers.  

The plaintiffs had alleged the Corps of Engineers delayed armoring the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet shipping channel against flood damage due to incorrect scientific decisions rather than public policy considerations. In an unusual move, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday withdrew its earlier ruling in March that had been in the plaintiffs' favor. 

Monday's ruling came after the federal government sought review of the panel's earlier decision by the full appeals court. Judge Jerry Smith, writing for the court, said the Corps of Engineers is immune from being held liable for property damage under the so-called "discretionary function exception" to the Federal Tort Claims Act, which governs litigation against the U.S. government. 

The exception bars lawsuits against the government for conduct arising from statutes and regulations that don't require an agency's action but involve its discretion. [emphasis added.]

A Little Background and More:  In 1996 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decided, "No leasing of federal land for drilling activities within a 3,000 foot buffer zone of Joe Pool Lake Dam."  NSO (No Surface Occupancy) and ND (No Drilling) (See Page 25 in the above document.)   

So, in 2010, Chesapeake Energy drilled and fracked within 850 FT. of the Joe Pool Lake Dam and Spillway! OOPS.  USACE later tells our community, "We didn't know Chesapeake planned to do this."  Hmmmm...Is this 1) USACE using their discretion to NOT KNOW; 2) USACE not knowing their own regulations;  and/or 3) Chesapeake Energy using the City of Grand Prairie, TX, a church with an ever-changing name, homeowners who have no idea what's going on, AND the United States Army Corps of Engineers ~ Was/Is this Chesapeake using all these parties to make it appear well and good to do as they Da** well please??

That Jury is clearly still out (far out) on this one.  Meanwhile, let's refresh our memories and re-read our story from September 25, 2011 (exactly one year ago today, ironically ) about all the myriad possibilities. Amen.
 
Dam

Gov. Perry selling Arlington, TX to Chinese Investors?

@wcgasette Gov. Rick Perry delivers keynote address at US-China Summit in Arlington. twitter.com/CityOfArlingto…
— Fish Creek Monitor (@Fishcreek1269) September 23, 2012

Yee Haw.   
Was this really a news story? Arlington is referred to as a "mature" city!! 

Link to the Story and Video.

26 Killed When Pipeline Leaked and Then Exploded

Reynosa, Mexico  September 18, 2012

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — A big fire erupted at a natural gas pipeline distribution center near Mexico's border with the United States on Tuesday, killing 26 maintenance workers and forcing evacuations of people in nearby ranches and homes.

Mexico's state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (also known as Pemex) initially reported 10 deaths at the facility near the city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas.

Later, the death toll was raised to 26, including a man who was run over when he rushed onto a highway running away from the facility. Pemex said at a news conference Tuesday night that the fire was extinguished in 90 minutes and the pipeline was shut off. The pipeline carries natural gas from wells in the Burgos basin.

The company's director-general, Juan Jose Suarez, said four of those killed were Pemex employees and the rest were employed by contractors. He told reporters in Reynosa that 46 other workers were injured, including two hospitalized in serious condition. Suarez said they haven't found any evidence showing it was an attack.

Company executives said there was a gas leak, followed by an explosion, but the precise cause had not been determined. "Why there was such leak is something that must be investigated," said Carlos Morales Gil, Pemex's director of exploration and production.

Civil protection officials evacuated ranches and homes within three miles (five kilometers) of the gas facility, which is about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of Reynosa.

Authorities didn't say how many people were evacuated, but the area is sparsely populated, Tamaulipas state's civil protection director Pedro Benavides told a Televisa station.[emphasis added.]

Click Here for Link to Story.

"Hushed" by Chesapeake

(Be sure to play this video on your PC or MAC. Embedded videos using the Silverlight Microsoft application won't play on iPhone or other smartphones or iPads ~ iOS devices. We're very sorry, but there are clearly limitations to the Silverlight software in 2012.)

Follow these easy steps to download the Silverlight application to your MAC: Click here for how to stream a meeting on my MAC. And here's another link to some additional info if you have trouble viewing the video: Additional Info.

Click here for the link to the June 5, 2012 Arlington, TX City Council Meeting. Then scroll over to 57:08 (57 Minutes, 08 Seconds) for the Rocking Horse Drilling Site Agenda Item Discussion from the citizen of South East Arlington, TX. She talks about "being hushed," at the May 31, 2012 Community Meeting conducted by Chesapeake, the likely Statewide Rule 37 Spacing Exception for mineral owners on this leasehold AND unpaid royalties for Chesapeake's Fulson site in her own neighborhood.

"Tremors" (*Updated*)

About the Chesapeake Rocking Horse Drilling SiteArlington, Texas ~ June 5, 2012

(Be sure to play this video on your PC or MAC. Embedded videos using the Silverlight Microsoft application won't play on iPhone or other smartphones, iPads ~ iOS devices. We're very sorry for this inconvenience.)

 Click here for the link to the June 5, 2012 City Council Meeting. Then scroll over to 53:27 (53 Minutes, 27 Seconds) for the Rocking Horse Drilling Site Agenda Item Discussion from the community leader about the "tremors." (*Updated*) See the comments, please.

100 Years of Shale Gas? Think Again.

Deborah Rogers

Now, click here to see a story on Bluedaze about shale gas royalties.

Ms. Rogers writes for the Energy Policy Forum.

Here's a little background on Ms. Rogers. We thank her for explaining it all so well.