Southlake Drilling Facts.com

$Who we are: Concerned Southlake residents who live in our community - we are doctors, lawyers, business leaders, mothers and fathers. We believe that Southlake is in danger of approving natural gas drilling in our amazing community without fully understanding the risks of this heavy industrial enterprise and the effects that it can have on our families, our property values and our community. We are not opposed to drilling, but we do demand that it be done responsibly. Our goals are to: • Help provide you with a crash course on natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, the process used in the Barnett Shale here in Texas and the Marcellus Shale in the north east. • Encourage you to take the next step and research the issues more on your own and to make an educated and informed decision. • To address the concerns of our neighbors who are in favor of drilling and respond to their arguments in support of drilling. • Demonstrate/argue how natural gas wells can possibly lower home values (as it did in Flower Mound). A high-level summary of the issues: Click here to read a great report from May, 2011 that provides an overview on the entire gas industry from one of the foremost experts on oil and gas drilling in the world. These two articles from CNN and Vanity Fair provide good starting points to understand the concerns surrounding natural gas drilling. “Frack you, frack me” Dave Schechter CNN Senior National Editor “A Colossal Fracking Mess” Christopher Bateman Vanity Fair Additionally, this video prepared for overseas audiences concisely and directly lays out the primary concerns and experiences in shale drilling. While it discusses issues in the Marcellus Shale in the north east, the summary and issues are the same ones faced here in Southlake. What is happening there, is also happening here where drilling has been permitted. Digging a little deeper: Cornell Professor Anthony Ingraffea, the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University, gave a speech in a public forum on 3/31/2010. This video is a good primer about his take on the industry and the national impact of oil and gas drilling. Part 3/3 deals with hydraulic fracturing (fracking), fracking fluids and naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) that are pulled out of the ground as part of the process. If you have time to only watch one video, watch the third video. Use the links below if the videos are not visible. (Flash required.) http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/30106595 http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/30411879 http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/30412111 Benzene and air quality around wells: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has conducted several reviews of the emissions and air quality at gas drilling operations. At some of the sites tested, significant quantities of the carcinogen benzene have been found. “Barnett Shale air study reveals alarming results” Chris Hawes WFAA – TV “Study: Benzene found in 1/4 of Barnett Shale sites” Wendy Hundley - The Dallas Morning News “State testing finds benzene near North Texas gas, oil facilities” Chris Hawes WFAA – TV How bad is benzene? The American Petroleum Institute conducted a study in the 1940s whereby it acknowledged that the only safe level of benzene exposure is no exposure. It is a carcinogen. It will kill you and cause serious illness at certain exposure levels. This study was published in an industry publication and the dangers of benzene have been known by the industry for 60+ years. Read the study. Professor Al Armendariz, now an area Administrator for the EPA, conducted a study in 2009 that concluded the emissions from natural gas wells in the DFW area are a significant contributor to DFW’s pollution, on par with pollution from automobiles. There are some easy solutions that will reduce emissions – these are the types of solutions operators should be required to use. Read the report. Moreover, the TCEQ agrees that Armendariz’s conclusions regarding gas drilling’s contributions to pollution are correct. Read the story. There are numerous anecdotal stories about benzene and other VOC compounds that appear to have sickened families and children near well sites. Read one story. Hydraulic Fracturing: (they put what in the ground?): At the Southlake Planning and Zoning Commission Meetings, XTO representatives explained that as part of the hydraulic fracturing process, nearly 3 million gallons of water and a mixture of between 7,000 and 15,000 gallons of chemicals are pumped into the ground and then pressurized to cause cracks to form in the ground, thus releasing the gas from the shale. This happens each time a well is fractured, and wells can be fractured many times over their producing life. Some of these “frack fluids” are returned to the surface where they sit in massive tanks until they can be disposed of. The industry likes to call these returned fluids “produced water”, because that sounds nice and safe. But in fact, the produced water is briny, salt water mixed with a toxic combination of chemicals. While the gas companies and their contractors will reveal some of the chemicals, many of them are considered “proprietary” and the gas companies will not reveal what is being used or what is being returned to the surface. “In Fracking Debate, ‘Disclosure‘ Is in the Eye of the Beholder” Mike Soraghan, New York Times So not only do they not tell us what they are pouring into the ground, but this also raises a critical question -- when there are spills, fires or accidents, how are our emergency personnel to know what chemicals they are dealing with and what safety precautions they need to take? That’s easy, the industry releases a Material Data Safety Sheet with an 800 number emergency responders can call and hope they get through to someone that will tell them... And there have been spills. Right before Thanksgiving, there was recently a large spill at an XTO facility where somewhere between 4,300 and 13,000 gallons of frack fluid was released. Read the story. More communities are becoming aware of the concerns: What do the following communities have in common? New York State Pittsburgh, PA Flower Mound Grand Prairie Dallas Each of them has been in the news lately because they have passed permanent bans against drilling, moratoriums on drilling, or because their local government have denied permits, citing safety and health concerns over hydraulic fracturing. People are just now becoming aware, and as the awareness grows, so does the concern. Click on each city to see the story. XTO and Safety Issues: Many proponents of gas drilling talk about how clean the process is and how environmentally sound the process is. But the fact is that the process pollutes the environment. On November 18, 2010, the TCEQ fined XTO Energy, Inc and Exxon (which acquired XTO) $237,247 and $106,000, respectively, for violations. Read the story. Pipeline problems: Once you build the well, you have to build a pipeline to get the gas to market. Everyone has heard of the pipeline disaster in California, but the accidents and explosions that have occurred in Texas have received less attention. And the problem is growing. “The vast majority of Texas’ 360,000 miles of pipeline, the most in the nation, are located in rural areas, a safe distance from homes, schools and businesses. It’s one thing to build high-pressure pipelines filled with highly flammable gas in rural areas. It’s quite another to do so in one of the country’s fastest-growing metro areas.” Read the whole article. There are other issues: Because this site is a work in progress, we will update it regularly. Over the next few days, we’ll provide an update that links to reports of falling residential values near well sites and radioactive materials that are causing contamination issues. Radioactive waste surfaces at Texas gas sites Experts say radioactive material that can coat gas well equipment needs close monitoring$ shapeimage_3_link_0

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$What can you do to help keep Southlake safe and clean!!! Know the Facts from the Fracks Fracked: Royalties will be $800 per acre, per month for 30 years. Fact: Average royalties in the Barnett Shale are $100 per acre per month. Output declines sharply after 12-18 months with 47% of production in the first 6 years. Read more analysis here. Fracked: YOU WILL GET MORE MONEY!! Fact: Almost everyone got leases during the land grab 3 years ago as companies tried to squeeze each other out. Renewals will only go to those properties close to sites (1 mi) with signing bonuses 90% less than 3 years ago. Fracked: ALL of Southlake will see big benefits! Fact: Only a few wealthy (and connected) land owners will see large revenues from their pad sites. Some will see a small return in royalties. The majority of Southlake will only have the negative impacts on our air, water, roads, and quality of life. Fracked: The School and City will receive millions in royalties Fact: CISD’s lease is expired and City never had a lease!! Not everyone who got a lease last time will be renewed. Fracked: The City/CISD have 600 and 400 acres for gas production. Fact: They do own property, scattered all over Southlake needing 6-7 drill sites for access. See map! Where are they going to drill: Milner, Joe Wright, Zena Rucker, Gateway, Bob Jones Park, Your kids school yard! The City and School Board can receive royalties from only a small fraction of their properties and they don’t control what direction the gas companies drill. Fracked: Pipelines will criss-cross our town under the protection of eminent domain – with no safety controls if we don’t let them drill. Fact: More Drill Sites means More Gas Pipelines! Southlake has included the pipeline route in the approval process, but in the end, the pipeline will go where the pipeline company wants it based on economics (what is the cheapest way to connect the sites). Less sites, less pipes! Fracked: If we don’t drill the City will be sued and lose Billions! Fact: Cities have the right to develop and enforce ordinances regulating gas drilling. Yes they could get sued, but it is rare and very unlikely that they will be sued successfully. What is common though, are cities being sued after drilling starts for trying to enforce their ordinances.$ shapeimage_4_link_0