Steve Lipsky's Water is On Fire from Recent Fracking ~ RRC Says, "No, It's Not!"

Featured in the Debut of  Josh Fox's "Gasland 2" on HBO Earlier Tonight.  It will run at various times all week. 
Watch carefully, as Steve Lipsky's water catches on fire.  

Thank you to WFAA's Award-Winning Journalist 

Brett Shipp 

for this important report earlier this year.

Click Here to read all about the Imminent and Substantial Endangerment Order issued by the EPA for this methane contaminated water well in the backyard of the Lipsky's. (December 7, 2010.)

We Will Not Forget West, Texas.

@wcgasette @johnmccaa @barackobama @jebetz @brett_shipp God Bless West

— Gloria Campos (@GloriaCampos) April 26, 2013

Fracked Well Goes Wild

Thar She Blows.

Texas Railroad Commission of Texas shows a permit (click here) for a well on the Pate Unit near Cresson, TX.  See the comments here on BlueDaze for a discussion about the well's location.

The Pate Foundation appears to be one of the lessors (mineral owners) on the Pate Unit. The Pate Foundation's philosophy is:

The Pate Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Our Mission is to advocate for and develop affordable housing communities, increase the access to four year educational institutions for the lower income communities we serve, effectively enhancing the quality of life for all.

Imminent and Substantial Endangerment in Parker County, TX

**UPDATE** Dateline: May 29, 2012 ~ Parker County, TX.   Click here to see the results. The judge who ruled that a blogger must turn over her e-mails to the court even though she's not a party to the lawsuit...that one. Click Here.

Governor Rick Perry appointed Trey Loftin to this District Judge post in January 2011 ~ not 2010 as this WFAA News story states.

Based on what we've seen in an Open Records Request (received by a citizen in Parker County) Judge Loftin was "vetted" thoroughly for his Republican Party credentials.  Even receiving some criticism from the State Republican Executive Committeewoman for not being involved with the party, enough.


 Note how Ms. Peden says that "the last appointed judge Don Chrestman, whose place Trey will be taking, had no Republican affiliation and was in law practice with known Democrats." 

Oh, my.  The timing of Judge Loftin's appointment by Governor Rick Perry (January 2011) and the EPA vs. Range Resources case coming to the courts during that same time period...well, what's a good Texan to think?  

Remember those 3 things that Rick Perry wanted to get rid of?

Click here to read more about it.

And be sure to click here and stay tuned.

Environmental Protection for Texas the Inhofe Way **Update**

We Welcome Senator James Inhofe to the Westchester Gasette.

_______________

**Update, April 29, 2012** Well, we almost missed this, but now it appears that our very own Texas Congressman Joe Barton is signing on to this feeding frenzy. Click Here to See the 7-Page Letter with Congressman Barton's signature Front and Center. Oh, and there's more. Stay tuned. OK. Click here for the rest of the story.
________________

Now wait just a minute, Senator Inhofe.  What did Dr. Armendariz really say?

So, just in case you've been busy...here's the deal. There is a certain story (introduced by Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma on the Senate Floor this past week) that our very own EPA Region 6 Administrator, Dr. Al Armendariz, wants to "crucify" the oil and gas industry.  Holy Cow!

Of course, when we heard this, a couple of days ago, we were shocked beyond words.  I mean, who wouldn't be?  But then, taking a step back from a feeding frenzy sometimes helps us see things in an entirely different way. And definitely not the way Oklahoma sees it. Lord have mercy for they know not what they do. 

In the Senate floor speech (here) Senator Inhofe apparently believes that Dr. Armendariz is promoting the "crucifixion" of the oil and gas industry. Wow. That's some power. However, we believe that Dr. Armendariz was simply offering what's called an "analogy" during a discussion with the citizens of this small North Texas community, when he said:

 
"You make examples of people who are NOT complying with the law..."

Keep in mind, that the video in question was taped when Dr. Armendariz travelled to Dish, TX in the Spring of 2010 to meet with the Mayor of Dish ~ Mayor Calvin Tillman ~ and his community.  His community was worried, stressed and concerned about safety and health effects from the 11 Shale Gas Compressor Stations that had recently landed in his very small town in Denton County, TX. 

So, with ALL of that background about Dish, TX in mind, watch and listen carefully as Dr. Al Armendariz speaks to and answers questions from the worried citizens of Dish, TX on a Spring night in 2010.

Just recently, Mayor Calvin Tillman discussed the actual chemical studies conducted in Dish, TX (February, 2012)

Fox News Reporter Greta Van Susteren does her level best to explain it to Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe ~  who apparently won't accept that he may have gone overboard on the Senate Floor:

By the way, Mayor Tillman eventually left his town behind. 

Link to the Story

Clearly, Senator Inhofe has no idea what has happened to Dish, Texas. And why Dr. Armendariz was there in the first place. 

People in Dish, Texas were simply asking for help and protection. And no one in our state (Texas) was helping.

Now watch Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe on the Floor of the Senate, Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Goodness Gracious. Who Crucified Whom?

This is your U.S. Congress "Protecting" Us from Harm. Oh, and they want to have a hearing, too.
God. Help. Us. Please. Write to Lisa Jackson, Now.

Range Resources: It's So Ugly.

We here at the Westchester Gasette don't know that much about Range Resources.  We have enough on our plate, really.  But we do know that this is important to mention.   As you may  or may not recall, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an Emergency Order back on December 7, 2010:

[...]

EPA has issued an imminent and substantial endangerment order under Section 1431 of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Parker County is located west of Fort Worth, Texas.

In late August, EPA received a citizen's complaint regarding concerns with a private drinking water well. During the inspector’s follow-up inquiry, EPA learned that the homeowner had previously complained to the Texas Railroad Commission as well as the company, but their concerns were not adequately addressed by the State or the company.  EPA then conducted an on-site inspection of the private drinking water well with the homeowner and a neighboring residence, and returned to collect both water and gas samples.

These samples were sent to an EPA certified laboratory for analysis. The data was received in late November 2010 and was carefully reviewed by EPA scientists. The EPA scientists have conducted isotopic fingerprint analysis and concluded the source of the drinking water well contamination to closely match that from Range Resources’ natural gas production well.

EPA has asked the company to conduct a full scale investigation.  (emphasis added.)

[...]

(Read all the details here.)

OK. So, one thing we do know.  We do know that the shale gas industry has a history of applying certain kinds of pressure (aka bullying and aka threatening lawsuits) when they fear they may not get their way with our City Staffs, City Councils and Planning Commissions. Most of this has been done behind closed doors...but sometimes we have the opportunity to see it in public. And it can be so arrogant and so ugly. 

So, get ready because here's an example. It's the Sr. VP ~ General Counsel of Range Resources speaking to the Southlake Planning and Zoning Committee in late 2010 ~ on behalf of XTO ~ with what turns out to be a reckless pronouncement:

(Disclaimer:  It may shock you...so be prepared for a physical jolt. Oh, and try to overlook the braggadocio, too.  We only ask that you try.)

And now, we have this same Range Resources attorney issuing yet another screed.  This time on behalf of his own company.  Read about it here.

And then, let's talk. :-)

Breaking News: Elizabeth Ames Jones Resigns

Important Note:  Elizabeth Ames Jones resigned yesterday as Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission.   Click HERE for the story on BlueDaze.

Here's an excerpt from Mrs. Jones' resignation speech:

As your Commissioner, it has been a privilege to be on the frontlines fighting the Obama Administration, the EPA and the left wing voices in Congress, whose agenda is to disrupt the development of vast new oil and gas resources in shale reservoirs in the United States and to usurp our state’s jurisdiction in direct conflict with the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I am proud to have been a leader in the responsible oversight of the new drilling techniques which evolved from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, and which have created an economic boom for the benefit of all Texans, especially in the Eagle Ford Shale Play, south of San Antonio.

[...]

Today I call on Sen. Wentworth to return the $65,000 in campaign contributions he received from Michael Blevins, William Bradley and Monica Ellis between 2000 and 2002. Blevins is a convicted felon who founded Metabolife along with Bradley and Michael Ellis, husband of Monica.  Wentworth was investigated by the Travis County District Attorney in 2002 for lobbying for Metabolife, a diet drug containing deadly ephedrine. [emphasis added]

Wow.  That was certainly weird, Mrs. Jones.  So, you've been fighting the EPA all along?  I guess we knew that.  We had also forgotten that Metabolife contained deadly ephedrine. 

Fighting Wentworth in the Republican Primary sounds like you'll be fighting some deadly chemicals just like we do everyday in the old Barnett Shale! And since you mentioned the Eagle Ford Shale, don't miss this story about the shoes being eaten by a chemical spill down that way. You seem like a woman who owns a good pair of proprietary chemical boots. You may wish to wear them while campaigning. :-)

Is that a DKNY cap? Very nice!

In the meantime, we wish you well. Not to sound too mean, but maybe we're lucky because we never met you. Here's the tribute to you from last November on the Westchester Gasette.  We hope you enjoyed it then and now:

Click here.

And here's your Encore, Mrs. Jones.

All the Best. xoxo

The Koch Brothers Are Killing Us

Watch this shocking video. And then Take Action.
This is why our politicians won't help us. This is it.

Link to Story and Video

New Film Exposes Connection Between the Kochs and a Small Community Dying of Cancer.

A new video from Brave New Foundation shows how people are paying the ultimate price for the Koch brothers' politics and profiteering.

October 10, 2011.  Brave New Foundation's most recent work, Exposed: Koch Industries and Cancer Risk, is a chilling demonstration of just how horrific a price people are forced to pay. The film is set in the town of Crossett, Arkansas and focuses on a community of residents on Penn Road. Among 15 families, there have been at least 11 deaths from cancer, and many more people are ill. The source of their anguish seems to be coming from a foul smelling canal of water, steaming with toxic pollutants, that runs through the woods near their homes.

If you were to follow the stench all the way upstream, one woman in the film explains, it leads to the town's only manufacturer and main employer: Georgia Pacific. A Koch Industries subsidiary, Georgia Pacific is a plywood, paper mill and formaldehyde resin plant that has been dumping millions of gallons of wastewater into open ditches. Even though the company's actions violate the Clean Water Act, the community of Penn Road continues to suffer.[emphasis added]

...

God. Please. Help Crossett, Arkansas. AMEN.

Another Day Which Will Live in Infamy

"Hydraulic Fracturing Follows
God's Laws of Physics"

~ A Chesapeake (self-identified) Hydraulic Engineer's Statement
Following the Grand Prairie, TX Chesapeake Town Hall Meeting
December 7, 2010

News Video Showing Parker County Water Catching Fire

EPA Issues an Imminent and Substantial Endangerment Order to Protect Drinking Water in Southern Parker County
(December 7, 2010)

Tuesday Night, right after the abysmal Chesapeake Town Hall Meeting in Grand Prairie, TX, this same Chesapeake "Hydraulic Engineer" (quoted above) stated that there was "no case of water contamination caused by gas drilling in the Barnett Shale."  He stated a lot of other stuff, too.  But this is what stood out for me. He told us this even "after" this report of water contamination was being reported in the media. When this latest incident of water contamination (caused by hydraulic fracturing) was pointed out to him, this Hydraulic Engineer seemed to register very little reaction to the report. 

Of course we are disappointed with the seeming lack of concern for our community's safety and quality of life. As we have stated numerous times on the Westchester Gasette ~ God Help Us. Please. 

Chesapeake already has a documented history of causing accidental deaths from hydraulic fracturing.