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. :-)

The Children's Doctor Who Just Found Out

Arlington, TX City Council Meeting, February 21, 2012(Reminder Note: The above video will not play using the iPhone's Safari Browser ~ be sure to open the video from your PC or your MAC.)

"The Letter" the Doctors Wrote (Signed by 3 M.D.s)**

A Larger View of "The Letter"**

Click on over to the Fishcreek Monitor to read all about it.

Hopefully, sanity will prevail in Arlington, TX this Tuesday night. 

Of course, others have a vested interest. And possibly, less interest in the work of doctors striving to help children. We'll leave that for you to decide.

(**Click Here to view the Arlington City Council Agenda Details for this Tuesday, March 6, 2012 Meeting ~ Page 74 for the controversial Overcoming Faith Drilling Site Zoning Ordinance Change ~ now on the "Consent Agenda" and to see "The Letter from the Children's Doctors" referred to above) [Be patient if it doesn't open quickly...it's a BIG file.]

The New Documentary About the Barnett Shale

"It's really sad...everyone was so pro-drilling. This is the red, white and blue American thing to do. I just never saw it that way and I was being personally affected by it. But now I'm seeing other people rise up who are feeling the same way.

I think a lot of people now would like a do over."

~ Jane Lynn, Arlington, Texas (Meet the Frackers)

Fulson Pad Site(Picture courtesy of the Fishcreek Monitor)(Fishcreek Neighborhood, SE Arlington, TX December 2011)

"A lot of things that are generated during this process are known to be harmful to human beings. But it’s similar in my mind to how we found out about cigarette smoking and cancer. It wasn’t that we did a study and found out oh no look cigarettes cause cancer, it was 40, 50 years of ah... exposure."

     ~ Dr. Gordon Aalund, Emergency Doctor and Southlake, TX Resident

Here's the link to the Video. Click on "Play Video."

Regarding the Corn Valley Drilling Site

Force Majeure (developing story...stay tuned)

Joe Pool Lake Dam and Spillway 

**Click here:  Definition of Force Majeure**

An oil and gas lease generally [but not always] includes a force majeure clause. Such agreement relieves the lessee from liability for breach, if the party's performance is impeded as the result of a natural cause that could not have been anticipated or prevented.

This Act of God must completely prevent performance and must be unanticipated. Courts often construe this clause very strictly and rarely enforce it. For example, a tornado preventing performance in Oklahoma would not trigger the force majeure clause, since tornadoes are a common occurrence in Oklahoma.[emphasis added]

Bureau of Land Management: Texas Resource Management Plan

Joe Pool Lake Dam Exclusion Zone 1

Chesapeake Drilled and Fracked 850 Feet from Joe Pool Lake Dam ~ What?

United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Says, "Hold your Drill Bore, Chesapeake,"...Westchester Gasette Says:  "Force Majeure? Good Grief."

Shout out to TexRock just because you spend so much time on our blog.

Pastor says, "We are so blessed to be on the Barnett Shale."

NOTE:   At the very beginning of this video, the Pastor from Overcoming Faith (Church) is announced as the next speaker for this Public Hearing on a new drill site called "Overcoming Faith." 

At that very moment, a man leaps up from the front row of the Arlington, TX City Council Chambers and adjusts the entire podium.   Maybe it had something to do with overcoming a podium.  But we really can't begin to know for certain.

(Reminder Note: The above video will not play using the iPhone's Safari Browser ~ be sure to open the video from your PC or your MAC.)

Oh, and here are the 3 Letters of Support for this drill site linked to from the Agenda on the City of Arlington Web site.

If we're not mistaken, there are problems with those letters.  One seems to be from the operator and 2 seem to be from the same person. There's a lot of overcoming there, too.