No response

No surprise.

This attorney wouldn't call the FW Weekly back.  WHY not?

Call and ask him.  Check on the status of YOUR First Amendment rights.

And back up a Texas Hero while you're at it. 

Is there an attorney in the house?

Read about TXSharon and Range Resources on the Fort Worth Weekly.com.  They have the digits.

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What property rights?

Read the letter from Calvin Tillman concerning State Representative Bonnen and Texas property rights.

...You can own and peacefully enjoy your property, as long as someone with more money doesn't want it.

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WHAT did he say??

Thanks to Texas Sharon, YOU can hear for yourself.

Seems local citizens with concerns about their towns, the air their kids breathe and the water that sustains them are actually "insurgents" and to deal with them, you need to download the Army and Marine Corp psy ops info.

Don't believe it?  Listen on CNBC.
Now that it's out, they say it was just a joke. 

It might be funny, if it weren't true.

Another told attendees that his company has several former military psychological operations, or “psy ops” specialists on staff, applying their skills in Pennsylvania.

In a session entitled “Designing a Media Relations Strategy To Overcome Concerns Surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing,” Range Resources communications director Matt Pitzarella spoke about “overcoming stakeholder concerns” about the fracking process.
“This was crossing a line — they considered it was on the American people, sort of like they are going in and occupying our land — which is what they are doing,” Wilson said.

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Proposition Reminder

Incoming from Haltom City.

In your recent post regarding Amendments to be voted on there was much discussion of Economic Development and eminent domain.

Besides the TRV here it is in our small town. See the 5000 word article printed earlier this year in the FWW. This would be a good reminder of what happens. 

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Are Smart Meters mandatory?

We received an invitation and were asked to pass it along, be there November 5th.  And check out their website below.  Power to the people!

I have become aware of the Electrical Smart Meter (and on the water too!), deployment in parts of Texas (I live in NRHills), as well as other parts of the US and the world.  The installation is being treated as if it were mandatory by Oncor, Centerpoint and other distributors in Texas.  This is wrong!  There are many controversial aspects having to do with Privacy, personal freedom of choice, Health Concerns (serious), Over-billing, Ruined Appliances, House Fires…to name a few.

As a result – In an effort to get the word out to the public about the dangers and the infringements on their ‘choice’ and privacy, I created an event called “DFW Community Smart Meter Forum” which is taking place Nov. 5^th, 7-9 pm, at the HURST PUBLIC LIBRARY.

I wanted to know if your online blog/paper would be able to feature or insert a post about the smart meter issue and/or sharing also the upcoming meeting.

A friend and I have also created a website (still kinda new) called www.bantexassmartmeters.com where people can go to sign several petitions, read about Texas happenings etc.

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Did we read that right??

Did Railroad Commissioners just stand up for THE PEOPLE and their property?

Against the industry?  Against their money??

Read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  YOU won't believe it.

The Railroad Commission has shown some spine.

Last week, on Chesapeake Energy's request to "force pool" some residential properties for drilling in the Glen Garden neighborhood of southeast Fort Worth, commissioners Barry Smitherman and David Porter politely but decidedly beat up on the big local company and its attorneys for belligerent behavior.

One of the arguments that Chesapeake's offer was not fair and reasonable was that it asked property owners who had not signed mineral leases to take a "working interest" in the well, under which they would share in the profits but would pay twice their share of the well's costs. It gave them 14 days in which to decide, and they were told they would be given a written copy of the agreement after they said they wanted to go that route.

Under questioning from Jones, hearing examiner James Doherty said, "To me, it just seems unfair on its face to expect somebody to commit to enter into an agreement that they've never been given the opportunity to see."

Since that didn't work, he said, he joined Porter in making the vote 2-1 to deny the company's pooling application.

The commission moved to a case in which Chesapeake asked for a "Rule 37 exception" that would give it more flexibility in drilling on 182 acres in Crowley.

"In the nine months I've been here," Porter said, "this may be the poorest fact case I've seen on a Rule 37 request."

It wasn't Chesapeake's day. The commission unanimously denied that request.

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Same story

Another story from Texas with all the same factors - gas drilling, floods, politicians, tributaries, FEMA, mortgage, insurance...Any of this sound familiar?

Read about it in the Fort Worth Weekly.  WHO's next?

The first change occurred just four months after they moved in, when Devon Energy built a gas well pad next to their fence line, ruining the view for months and sending toxic residue into their backyard every time it rained (“Paradise Lost”,  June 18, 2008).
 
One month after the pad appeared, said Annette, “We got slammed by a flash flood that nearly entered the house. A neighbor called to ask if we were all right, and then she told us we might be in a flood plain.”

The flood plain question “had come up once — that some of the land but not the house was in a flood plain” during discussions before the sale, Annette said, “but when it did, the realtors produced several reports showing that the property was not in the flood plain.”

“We never would have purchased the house if there were any flood issues,” said Michael. The couple did know that runoff from heavy rains had washed into their pool and come close to the house.
People involved in the sale of the property to the couple disagree. They later maintained in court that the Daniels were or should have been aware that the property they were purchasing was in a flood plain.

After the neighbor’s comment, the Daniels began to look into the issue and eventually got in touch with Parker County flood plain director Kirk Fuqua.

“He told us that he didn’t understand why the house was sold as not being in a flood plain when it had always been in the FEMA 100-year flood plain,” said Annette. Fuqua confirmed that information for Fort Worth Weekly and said his records showed no remedial action that would have removed the house from the flood plain.

“Not only that, but it turned out our house was built right on top of a drainage easement, a platted stream,” said Michael. The unnamed stream is a tributary of nearby Silver Creek.

Worse was coming. In 2008, a new FEMA study came out, again showing the Daniels’ house in the middle of a flood plain. As usual, FEMA alerted lenders, and three months after the first flash flood, Chase Home Mortgage Finance LLC, wrote to tell the Daniels they would need to acquire flood insurance.

The insurance added $500 a month to a steep mortgage that was already beginning to pinch, as the recession slowed the income from their travel business.

Unfortunately, the couple soon discovered that the Parker County appraiser had reduced the appraised value of their home to zero after the new FEMA study, and you can’t refinance a house valued at zero. Their land dropped in value from $75,000 to $25,000.

“So we owed $300,000 on a house that was valued at zero,” said Annette. “And with business slowing down we couldn’t even get at our equity. Who could have dreamt this was going to happen?”

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Right on the money

YOUR money.

Excellent letter in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this weekend.  Maybe the paper should have more letters and less editorials?

Good to know some people are paying attention. Are YOU?  YOUR kids will thank you for it.

Bless you, Ms.Bledsoe.

Out of balance

In its July 26 editorial, the Star-Telegram bemoans the city's $2.5 million loan to get a space museum off the ground and into orbit. The editorial said: "The council shouldn't devote one more cent to the pursuit of an aviation museum. ... How do taxpayers get their money back?"

Without necessarily defending the loan or advocating for the museum, I will point out that for nearly a decade the paper has been an ardent booster of the $909 million water wonderland known as Trinity River Vision, the cost of which is to be borne equally by the feds and us locals.

The project is touted to be updating flood control. But we already have a flood-control system in place. It is pure economic development.

Our local half will be paid for by the taxpayers of the city, county, water district and an iffy TIF that will siphon funds from the city's general fund. That's $450 million, compared to $2.5 million loaned to the space museum.

What was it that Jesus said in Matthew? "Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."

-- Barbara Bledsoe, Fort Worth

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Calling Grand Prairie....

And Lewisville, and Flower Mound, and....are YOU next?

In January, we told you the gas drillers were coming.

Today, you get a heads up from a South Grand Prairie Watchdog.

Beware.

People in Grand Prairie need to look into RULE 37 that lets the gas company take your mineral rights without any compensation. BEWARE if you receive a letter from the Railroad Commission. If you do not file protest within the short period of time the RRC will give the gas company the ok to suck the minerals out from under your property. South Grand Prairie is currently under siege by the gas company and these letters are showing up. You MUST fight for your rights.

In addition to filing the protest, you'll have to drive to Austin to contest it.

And they are coming for you too, Lewisville.  Consider yourself warned.

Check out the Rule 37 cases in Flower Mound.  And learn a thing or two about WHO is connected, here.

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There's a reason

They call him the Watchdog.

See Don Young watching out for YOU concerning seismic testing  in Fort Worth here and concerning the Trinity Trees here.

Lone Star sends thanks to DY and all the other Watchdogs out there!!  Keep up the good work!

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WHO does Fort Worth belong to?

YOU decide.

Click here to see how many gas wells have been drilled in North Texas. 

Don't worry, the industry and their political friends say it's safe and everyone is going to make money...

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PAYING Attention

Not all are sheep asleep.  At least a few are standing up for YOU.  Too bad a forced pool is the only kind of pool Fort Worth has.

Read the letters in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Gas leases

"Protecting property owners' mineral rights," my foot. (See: Wednesday commentary)

The Railroad Commission's Rule 37 is confiscatory and antithetical to the principles under which this nation was founded. The separate Mineral Interest Pooling Act, if twisted in the way Glenn Johnson and Chesapeake Energy are trying to distort it, will be even worse.

What about the mineral rights of the victims of these predators? A Rule 37 exception just takes their minerals with no compensation whatever.

And in the present economy, is failure to sign a lease going to prevent production of someone's minerals? No!

Why? Because the sales price of gas is too low to recover drilling costs now, and nobody wants to sell their gas in a glutted market anyway. All the investor publications say so.

Chesapeake is filing cases with the Railroad Commission not to facilitate production but to consolidate all the land in a unit cheaply and hold it for speculation.

They are not completing wells and gathering pipelines now. They are posturing on the drilling pads and drilling a few hundred feet and calling that a good-faith effort to produce in order to hold their existing leases.

When the market once again supports profitable drilling and production, perhaps those unleased mineral owners will see a reason to lease.

-- Jerry J. Lobdill, Fort Worth

Anyone who believes Chesapeake Energy is just a benevolent organization that wants everyone to participate in the production of this wonderful Barnett Shale is what I call a fool.

Chesapeake is neither a benevolent nor a philanthropic organization bent on giving money away without any strings attached.

The fact is that the precedent for "force pooling" unleased mineral interests is already outlined in what is commonly referred to as the "Finley Resources" decision from the Railroad Commission (Oil and Gas Docket No. 09-0252373).

Within that decision the Railroad Commission has ruled that if Chesapeake wants to force pool unleased mineral owners it may do so in this way: (1) the owners of unleased tracts within the unit are pooled as owners of a one-fifth royalty and four-fifths working interest, proportionately reduced; (2) the mineral owner's share of expenses, subject to a zero risk penalty, are payable only from the four-fifths of production rather than from their entire mineral interest.

This latest attempt by Chesapeake is to simply reverse the Finley decision with one that is -- again -- in its interest only.

Fools do seem to abound these days.

-- Louis McBee, Fort Worth

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Fort Worth Response

Oh wait, there wasn't one.  Not to the residents (taxpayers) anyway.  Reminds of us Carter Avenue...

We've been receiving copies of letters to Fort Worth council members from citizens with questions concerning seismic testing in their neighborhoods.  We posted those letters here and here.

Here's a portion of another one we received this week.

I share many of the same concerns expressed by the neighborhoods who were recently invaded by the rumbling of seismic trucks.  We live in the Wedgwood NA and had no prior notification let alone gave permission for the testing.  My 3 year old son was terrified that the house was suddenly shaking and I was hard pressed to explain it to him when I didn't even know what was going on myself.  I also noticed that the "police" escort with the convoy did not appear to be an officer, but a private vehicle labeled police complete with flashing reds and blues.  It had no city markings or vehicle numbers.  I wrote to Councilman Jungus Jordan, but over a week later have received no response.  Our neighborhood is only about 10% leased so I have no idea why they are testing over here.

We saw a blurb in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently that quoted a council member somewhat skirting the issues.

After seismic testing on July 4 in some Fort Worth neighborhoods led to complaints from residents, officials said they will prohibit those tests on city holidays.

"There has been a lot of confusion, even e-mails suggesting the water main break in east Fort Worth [last week] was due to this," District 8 Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks said. "That's not the case, but we need to do more education."

Some residents have said that the city hasn't been monitoring seismic testing and that the companies may be getting information about what's below the properties of homeowners who haven't signed leases, then using it against them in lease negotiations.

City officials said that drilling companies have a right to do the testing and that it is done all over the country. To educate the public, city officials said, they plan to place more information on the city's website.

Then we received the follow up letter below to the Fort Worth City Attorney.  If you live in Fort Worth, or know someone who does, YOU can't afford to miss it.  Don't forget, YOU voted for these council members, oh wait, some of YOU didn't bother to vote at all....

Remember, if YOU want to keep YOUR rights, YOU have to stand up for them.  YOUR politicians sure as hell aren't.

Dear Ms. Fullenwider-

You may have seen my message of two weeks ago to, Council Rep. Kathleen Hicks, seeking information about seismic testing or mapping being performed by Dawson Geophysical in Fort Worth. Because Ms. Hicks has not yet responded to my questions, I'm now asking you, the Fort Worth City Attorney, to please provide the information requested below.

Our key concerns are these:

> Unauthorized gathering of seismic data from un-leased properties

> Lack of warning from City or Dawson to perform baseline documentation of building foundations before they tested

> Possible damage to underground, public-owned infrastructure such as water, gas and sewer lines, fiber-optic cables, etc., short and long-term

> Potential harm to all life forms including people, pets, livestock and wildlife including, birds, pollinating insects and all subsurface animals

> Possible damage to public roadways, especially long-term

To help ease our concerns we request the following information from you:

1. Third-party documentation demonstrating it is safe to all life-forms, including, people, pets, wildlife and livestock.

2. Third-party documentation addressing impact to public roadways and utilities near and long-term.

3. Documentation showing that private pipeline, telephone, cable TV, electric companies, etc. have OK'd the testing without caveats.

4. Minutes from all FW Water, Sewer and Street Dept. meetings where seismic mapping was discussed and approved.

5. Documentation from the City identifying the responsible party in case of ANY damage at ANY time and explanation of how the City determines such responsibility

6. An explanation of public statement by Ms. Hicks that, "properties are protected from damage."

7. City plan for compensation in cases where damage occurs in the near and long term

8. Documentation that homeowners' insurance will not be impacted by seismic mapping

9. Copy of the bond or insurance document from Dawson Geophysical

10. List of comparable US cities where seismic mapping has taken place

The key words in our request are, "Third party, peer-reviewed documentation." Industry-supplied "education" documents are inherently, biased. If requested third-party studies have not been performed and observed to be safe over a long-term, then we strongly urge the City to halt seismic mapping immediately.

Why is this important? For one example: There were two recent water main breaks that came to my attention. Both are in areas where seismic mapping has occurred and may be linked to that activity. But the City seems to be confused or in denial about these events, unwilling to consider that possibility. Who knows how many other, similar events have occurred?

A recent Star-Telegram article quoted Ms. Hicks stating, unequivocally, that, "There has been a lot of confusion, even e-mails suggesting the water main break (last week near Sycamore Park) was due to this (seismic testing). That's not the case but we need to do more education."

However, her statement conflicts with an email I received from City of Fort Worth Water Director, Frank Crumb, who wrote, "The main break at Eastside Pump station last Thursday was most likely the result of the soil drying out and high pressures of summer pumping." Similarly, Water Dept. spokesperson, Mary Gugliuzza, when asked about same main break, told the Star-Telegram, "... the exact reason for this one? We don't know yet."

Neither statement from the Water Dept. is unequivocal yet, Ms. Hicks spoke with certainty. This sends a mixed message to the public who has growing concerns about this and other intrusions by the drilling industry. Apparently no one knows for certain if seismic mapping was a direct or secondary cause. One thing IS certain: Thumper trucks send out powerful vibrations underground.

Another water line break occurred in the Westcliff West neighborhood in May shortly after thumper trucks were in the area. In both cases, the public was temporarily deprived of water and taxpayers were billed for the breaks. It's important that we know with certainty what caused the breaks. The same is true of all impacted public and private infrastructure and the environment. Unbiased answers must come from independent sources with no ties to Dawson or the drilling industry.

Of equal concern is the unauthorized taking of data from un-leased property by Dawson who will sell the data to drilling companies. There are many un-leased property owners who are opposed to this and others who are simply unaware that Dawson will profit from their private property. This appears to be unethical if not illegal but the City did not divulge this fact to property owners.

Finally, we question if City staffers obtained their own information about seismic mapping from third-party, peer-reviewed sources or relied too heavily on the drilling industry for that info. Simply stating, as the City has done that, "drilling companies have a right to do the testing and that it is done all over the country", is not sufficient for our education. It sounds more like industry rhetoric. We need hard facts not reprints from industry pamphlets.

Our concerns are growing. My own research has turned up numerous real and potential impacts from seismic mapping, not to mention the legal and ethical concerns. These concerns cannot be resolved simply by prohibiting testing on city holidays, as the City has determined. By supplying the requested documents listed above those questions may be answered.

Sarah, we feel a responsibility to our families, friends and neighbors to know that this activity has been proven safe and that our property has not been used for private gain without consent. We can't abide by faith and industry promises, alone. As a Fort Worth resident and City Attorney, I'm sure you share our concerns.

Thanks for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.

Don Young

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Cease and Desist

30" water line breach in FW near Sycamore Park. July 14, 2011 and a follow up letter to Kathleen Hicks, since the first one went unanswered.

Dear Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks-

It has been more than a week since I requested that Seismic Testing be halted in Fort Worth until the public has proof that it is safe, legal and cost-free to all residents. However, testing is still underway and many of your District 8 constituents are concerned.

Our primary concern is that the City of Fort Worth relied too heavily on information provided by the drilling industry or one of its partners when issuing a testing permit to Dawson Geophysical. We are also concerned that because the City is in business with Chesapeake, XTO, etc. and depends on them for City revenue, that an appearance of conflict of interest exists that may affect prudent decision making.

The concerns I spelled out in my message dated July 9 are very real. For example, the huge water main break near Sycamore Park that occurred last week may have been at least partially caused by seismic testing that occurred in that area. That leak affected thousands of homeowners and wasted a lot of public water during drought conditions. A water department spokesperson could not say for certain the cause of the breach.

There was a similar report back in May, 2011 of a water line break in the Westcliff West neighborhood while thumper trucks were in the area. How many other events such as this have been caused by seismic testing? Is the City keeping tabs and connecting dots?

I have also received the following reports from concerned residents as a result of my email from last week:

- Seismic testing is going on in Wedgwood where neighborhoods remain un-leased. There is no protection in place for homeowners should damage occur to their property. Also, companies can use information gathered against the mineral owners in future negotiations. TT

- This (Seismic testing) has the markings of potential disaster for existing utilities. Exhibit A is that Atmos has a number of older gas service lines that need immediate replacement in North Texas, due to parts that weaken with age. How well would those weak gas service lines respond to nearby seismic testing? I'm afraid to find out the hard way, and those in

Government should be, too! There's estimated to be 500,000 of such weak gas lines around North Texas, so it's a gamble to do seismic testing around them. MH

- I would therefore request an explanation as to what authority they (Dawson) are using to explore the property that I paid for and own outright. The testing creates massive vibration of the area and would appear to possibly damage roads, foundations and any other structure within proximity to the source of vibrations. It is not a risk I wish to see if it damages anything, like my property. It is likely damage may not appear immediately or be apparent until sometime in the future. It would then become my burden to prove what the source of the damage actually was. As we have seen repeatedly, any damage would be denied by any and all parties involved. JA

- From what I remember, Texas homeowners policies exempt payments for damages from seismic activity. Check out your policy. Bad stuff, that seismic crap. LM

- They (Dawson) have also recently been in the Westcliff West neighborhood. In the process, they broke a water line on Encanto Drive, depriving residents of water for hours. GA

- They went through our neighborhood in Arlington in May, the noise was horrendous, some neighbors complained that their houses were shaking, cracks appeared , and one person told me that their toddler found the shaking of their house very distressing and cried inconsolably. RB

- This (seismic testing) felt like collective rape on Winifred Drive Friday afternoon. The dishes in my cabinets were rattling; the dogs were freaking out. I thought it was Armageddon, as did my neighbors. I was livid and expressed it to the police escort and the lady in the Lexus following them who the police told me would "tell me what it was all about." I emailed Jungus that afternoon as well as the lawyers at Riddle and Williams. KE

- Thanks for the support. I have not signed a lease and I do not want someone taking picture under my property. A friend told them not to take any picture under his property that he is not signed a lease agreement. They had already taken a couple of pictures before he stopped them. So he asked them if he can get the pictures from there company. They said NO. This is invasion of our property and I will get in contact with the company and request my pictures. JL

- On the morning of July 4, 2011, I was alarmed by a sound I'd not heard before. Looking out my front window, I saw at least three huge trucks, with the sign DAWSON on them. Their loudness, and their presence, stunned me - the ground shook!! I went out my front door and was further surprised to see a man kneeling over paperwork at the end of my walkway (25 feet from my door, 35 feet from the street). I asked him what he was doing, and I told him he was within the easement of the property. He said I could talk his boss, and he nodded toward a tall young man, who then came from the street to where I was, and he asked me if there was a problem. I asked him what they were doing, and he said they were "x-raying" the ground. (He said they were "x-raying" downtown also.) I asked him who he worked for, and he replied, "Chesapeake."

I told him I had not given permission for them to be on my property, and I asked if he could show me anything that gave him permission to do so? He said that if I didn't want them on my property, they could go across the street and get the information they needed. The two of them left my property. ( I don't know, but they may already have gotten a "reading," or whatever they wanted, from my location.)

If I had been given notice of their coming, and/or had received a request that they come onto my property, I could have checked on my rights in such an instance. I think perhaps that is exactly why we were NOT given advance notice--so Chesapeake could have access, without permission. Such permission, from some citizens such as myself, had they asked, they are not likely to have been given. SR

- I asked an attorney. They have NO right to conduct seismic testing if you have not leased. Further, they have no right to conduct seismic testing even if you have leased unless it is covered in the lease or an agreement has been made. He said that usually the language in the leases is vague enough that it confers them the right but they definitely do NOT have the right if you are not leased. DD

Specifically, we request that that Seismic Testing be halted immediately unless and until you provide the following:

1. Third-party documentation proving it is safe to all life-forms, including people, pets, wildlife and livestock.

2. Third-party documentation addressing impact to public roadways and utilities .

3. Property owner compensation for data already accessed from their land without consent.

4. Documentation showing that private pipeline, telephone, cable TV and electric companies, etc. have OK'd the testing without caveats.

5. Minutes from all FW Water and Street Dept. meetings where seismic testing was discussed.

6. Documentation from the City legal department identifying the responsible party in case of any reported damage.

7. An explanation of your statement that "properties are protected from damage."

8. The City plan for compensation in cases where damage occurs in the near and long term.

9. Proof that homeowners' insurance will not be impacted by seismic testing.

Thanks for your attention to this urgent matter.

Don Young

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WHO in their right mind

Would support (push) SB 875? 

Read about it on TXSharon.  WHO elected this gashole?

If you keep electing people like Bonnen, then you should at least pay attention to the ways these people misuse their office and stop pretending that you are the party of personal property rights.

The Denton Record Chronicle quotes attorney Kirk Claunch on his opinion of the amendment:

“I can’t think of any piece of legislation that’s more un-American than one that deprives a private property owner of the right to defend themselves against abuses from a big oil company or anybody else,” Claunch said. “This is law that essentially says we are going to let the oil and gas industry do whatever it needs and to run over anybody that gets in its way without any consequence.”

Rights, what rights?  This is the new Texas...unfortunately headed the Fort Worth Way...

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