Will there be another HB 3105?

You may recall a prior post about this - HB 3105 - big gas interests' way to crush cities The question now is, are they going to try again? Well, you can be pretty sure legislation similar to this will be introduced again. Several cities in the North Texas region, including Corinth, had updated and improved their ordinances regulating drilling in those cities. Corinth's regulations included emissions, noise, and road usage controls. While you can never really make a gas well (or oil well for that matter) a great neighbor, the impact can be lessened.

So, the oil and gas industry lobby will try to quash these rules. Why? Because almost any regulation imposed on a business causes costs to go up. Therefore, any regulated business is going to lobby legislators to reduce or remove the regulation. While some people are aghast at this process, it is a valid process. 

We the residents whose homes and lives are affected are an interest group also. We are, after all, the voters. So while the oil and gas industry will be lobbying to curtail the power of local governments to regulate well sites and their placement in a city, WE should also be lobbying to keep our local governments empowered. Keep in mind it does not stop with your particular state representative or state senator - there are 150 representatives and 34 senators. 

The large size of the house, and to a lesser extent, the senate, is a major reason to allow city governing councils the greatest latitude in planning for and protecting their cities. Consider this: if a local group of people desire to change how government is working at home, it is far easier to communicate with your council at home, than legislators far away at the capitol. One size does NOT fit all!

It will be important during this next legislative session to watch out for another bill like this one. The Texas Municipal League watches for bills that erode City's and Town's authority. You can help too! When something like this comes up, contact your state representative or senator, and let them know what you want. You are a voter!

HB 3105 never made it out of calendars

I know that this is not exactly breaking news at this point, it's just that I am so happy that this happened. HB 3105 would have positively gutted our Gas Well Ordinance (stated to be one of the area's toughest by the Denton Record Chronicle).

HB 3105 - big gas interests' way to crush cities

HB 3105, Relating to the applicability of the Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act to certain governmental actions, is designed to do one thing, and one thing only - destroy local control of drilling. It is designed to take away the power and ability of cities to regulate drilling in their jurisdiction. Big Gas made its impact felt.

What the Railroad Commission Really needs... besides a name change

The Railroad commission of Texas, or the Texas oil and gas commission, whatever its name finally is, needs more than just a nice name. It needs the resources to get out and inspect gas and oil wells during all phases of operation. While many other state regulatory agencies get their revenue from fees and fines from the companies being regulated, a large portion of the Railroad Commission's revenue comes from the regular funds of the state. Thus, as the entire budget is being cut, the ability of the railroad commission to actually go out and do its job is affected.

Texas Legislature on track to abolish the Railroad Commission....

...And replace it with a new/revised entity called the Texas Oil and Gas commission. This is Senate Bill (SB 655), "relating to the abolition of the Railroad Commission of Texas, the creation of the Texas Oil and Gas Commission, and the transfer of the powers and duties of the railroad commission to the oil and gas commission.". Basically all the powers of the Railroad Commission of Texas are transferred to this new entity, and some changes are made in the elected seats, as well as adding or refining some of its regulatory and enforcement powers.

Gas Wells - Business as usual in Austin?

Recently I read an article in the Denton Record Chronicle that described several bills filed by State Rep. Tan Parker affecting residents in communities in the Barnett Shale (and other shale plays in the future). HB 2125 sought to direct the Rail Road Commission of Texas to place a priority on inspections of gas wells (in any phase) in urbanized counties with a large number of wells. HB 2126 would have increased the maximum fine for regulatory infractions by gas well operators in urbanized counties to $20,000. The $10,000 increase would have gone directly to the fund established for setting up and operating air monitoring in these urbanized counties.

Consideration of a Moratorium on issuing Gas Well Permits in the City of Corinth

At the last council session (May 6, 2010), at the end I requested that discussion of an ordinance to enact a moratorium on Gas Well Permits being issued be added to the May 20, 2010 Council Session agenda. I went so far as to poll the council - if at least 2 other council members agreed it would have to be put on the agenda per City Code 30.085(B). However, I was unable to get even one other council member to throw in on it - so it was up to the mayor and/or city manager to decide if that would be on the agenda.

Apparently one (or both) did decide to place it on the agenda - which I believe is very important for us to at least discuss. After the last month of discussions on the XTO request for a gas well permit, I felt that we should review our well permitting ordinance. During that review, it would be in the city's (and the residents') best interests to not allow any new permit requests.

The moratorium would be temporary and would have an appeals process in place. During the moratorium, council and staff would be working on any revisions necessary to the Gas Well Ordinance. We obtained a tremendous amount of technical information related to Gas Wells during the recent application process. It is very possible that this new information could have an impact on what our ordinance needs to say.

This moratorium would only apply to new gas well permits - the permit that XTO requested (and was denied) would not be subject to the moratorium. You might remember that we denied without prejudice, such that they (XTO) could reapply in light of what they learned in the original permit process.

Temporary fencing

In an earlier post I discussed this variance request. Since then our Gas Well inspector has confirmed to me that the sound blankets are as impenetrable (or more so) than a chain link fence. So, I would be inclined to allow the operator to forgo the chain link fence where the sound blankets are.

The entire north side of the site is still open, so I really don't see how to grant this variance in its entirety. I am convinced of the necessity that the site be enclosed by a barrier that is difficult to penetrate or go around. The regulation is not for screening for scenic effect, but rather to ensure the safety of the public to keep people from inadvertently wandering in. I still need more information from the application.

more information...

XTO Energy Compressor Requirements Variance Request

XTO Energy is requesting variances to most of the essential requirements of the Lift compressor regulations of 114.15 Corinth City Code. Since XTO has said during the public hearing that they probably won't need the compressor, it may be best to wait on this variance until they decide they do need it.

Some of the most important aspects of quality of life in any city, and certainly here in Corinth, are the sound level at night, and the visual aspects of the streets and building architecture. The variance seems to request a blanket exception that could change sound levels at residences a considerable amount - something that is really not in the public interest, or in the interest of adjacent property owners.

More Information

Information Gathering to Continue on Drill Permit Request

At the Corinth City Council Session on April 15, 2010, the Council voted to continue the public hearing and postpone consideration of the variances and permits requests until April 29th. A special Corinth City Council Session will be called for the 29th. This will provide us on the council with 2 more weeks of fact gathering opportunities.

I have discussed my thoughts on some of the variances - now I am going to finish up those thoughts on the remaining variances, and revisit the first ones over again. I will discuss them here briefly and in more detail on my website

XTO request for a variance to the Storage Tank Setbacks

XTO has requested a variance to Corinth City Code section 114.12(A)(24)(j) which defines the setback distance for a tank from any protected use as 600'. The tanks are not collocated with the well bores, so an entirely different set of residences are within the 600' radius of the tanks. Many of those residences have not signed any agreements with XTO to allow drilling or tanks or other equipment inside of the stipulated distances set down in the Corinth Code.

The lack of agreements may be moot since there is no special provision for tank setback distance reduction such as there is for the well bores (114.13(B)). It would appear the decision is left to council discretion.

Because of the reduced distances, the issues raised by residents, and the recent tank fires in the area, I would want to see additional safety measures in place in order to be willing to grant this variance.

More Information...

Update on the XTO Gas Well Permit

Our council postponed action on the variances and the permits. I made the motion, and it was approved unanimously. I moved to postpone because I needed more time to evaluate all the information. I was in contact with the TCEQ that afternoon before the council session and in discussing the situation, was offered that they could provide technical resources to attend our meeting and discuss the air quality issues.

With that and the many good questions asked by the residents in the public hearing, I was convinced we needed more time to evaluate the situation. The mayor made it easy when he suggested that we postpone.

Drilling Permit First Variance revisited

I have had several people mention to me that $25,000 is probably not enough to repair our roads after the drilling trucks are done using them. To that end I have requested the cost of the road originally along with estimated life span and design traffic.

I am reviewing an ordinance from Burleson that attempts to put a value on the use by heavy trucks. I haven't finished reviewing that yet. I also believe the $25,000 is not enough - it is the ordinance though. We may have latitude under section 114.07(B)(10) to increase it, but I doubt it - that really deals with the technical requirements we can impose for safety reasons.

We may need ordinance revisions for the future.

Gas Drilling Variance - Item 12 - variance concerning High weeds

XTO is requesting relief from the 300' radius around the well and tanks requirement for keeping the grass cut and trash picked up. About 173' feet north of the well bore is City ROW for the Lake Sharon Rd extension. North of that is a tract belonging to Pulte Homes of Texas.

Basically they need permission to enter those properties to do the cutting and pickup. I imagine the city can give them permission to do just that on the City Right of Way within 300' of the well and tanks. They can ask Pulte for permission for entry also - if they refuse we can grant them that relief. Otherwise I am not inclined to grant this. Fire safety is just too important near a gas well and its equipment.

More information>

Request for variance conerning the temporary fencing

Section 114.14(A)(1) requires a temporary chain link fence at least 8' tall with a locked gate. The fence is to surround the entire drilling site. The applicant is asking that the requirement for the temporary fence be dropped. The state that the sound blankets required by Section 114.12A(G)(3) on the three sides facing the protected uses are enough to screen the site. They are asking for no fence whatsoever on the North side.

The 16 foot tall sound blankets are required to help suppress noise from the drilling and fracing operation. They are in addition to the chain link fence. I am uncertain as to whether the sound blankets provide security. I intend to get that answer from our drilling inspector.

Unless the sound blankets provide real security to prevent casual intrusion, I am inclined to deny this requested variance. If the blankets actually can be relied on to keep intruders out, I would be willing to allow them to put the chain link fence on the north side. Under no circumstances would I be willing to allow the entire north side of the site to be unsecured.

My primary concern is kids, who will be very inquisitive about the drilling platform and the sounds and smells and such. They will go over there. The fence around the Christian center property as a whole is not going to keep them out in the least. The chain link fence and locked gate will keep out all but the most determined intruders - most kids won't fit that category.

What I found out about Benzene

I spent some time over the last few nights reading information from the Center For Disease Control (CDC), OSHA, and NIOSH on Benzene. I was reading this because benzene has been associated with natural gas production in the Barnett Shale, and XTO energy is requesting a permit here in Corinth, Texas to drill a natural gas well. As it turns out, benzene is associated with both oil and gas production (not surprising), and as a result of our industrialized society, is floating around in the air we breathe.

According to the CDC people who smoke get a far larger dose of benzene than people who don't. Benzene in the cigarettes - another good reason not to smoke if you needed a new one. We have benzene around us in the house. What I gleaned from the CDC information is that benzene is occurring at something around 1.7 ppb (parts per billion) in our out door air - not associated with any particularly polluted location. If you are walking along behind your lawn mower, you are probably getting more benzene because that is a by product of internal combustion engines.

So - the first question becomes how much is too much? According to the CDC and OSHA 500 ppm (parts per million - contrasted to billion above) is life threatening. Immediately life threatening. 50 PPM is considered the highest level that a person can withstand for about 30 minutes or so to escape to clean air. OSHA sets the limit for occupational exposure (10 hours a day, 40 hours a week) at 1 ppm.

Now - the second question - how much benzene do gas wells emit? The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is asking that question, and is actively setting up monitoring. The TCEQ has identified some wells where significant amounts of benzene (along with a long list of other petrochemicals) were found down wind in the air.

So, there is the potential for benzene to be emitted by a gas well (or an oil well for that matter). Because there is that potential, it seems reasonable to me that the city should take steps at least to monitor any wells we have in the city limits. Part of our permit process might need to include provisions for not only sound monitoring and insurance, but air quality monitoring also.

In fairness that is a big job. How do we do it? How much does it cost? Who should pay for it? I am interested in finding a way to tighten our drilling ordinances to include air quality monitoring and have to get the answers to those questions and more to try and introduce that change.

April 1st Council Session to be very busy

The April 1st Corinth City Council regular session will be a very busy one: there are 17 items on the agenda at this point, including 4 public hearings. At this time (the packet and agendas are not out) I believe that 3 of the hearings are related to action on the Dobbs Road Realignment. One hearing will be for the request for a drilling permit (with variances) for XTO energy for the the site southwest of the Oakmont/Lake Sharon intersection. Other business will include council review and action on the 2008-09 (last fiscal year) Audit, or Certified Annual Financial Review.

My understanding is that XTO is requesting 10 variances to our ordinances for their drilling permit. Some of the areas are in Tree Loss Mitigation, Salt water disposal, maintenance setbacks, well head to protected use distances, and letter of Credit requirements. All in all I expect a rather lengthy evening.

You can see more information at my Web site

Gas well Drilling permit will be controversial

As I mentioned before, there will be a public hearing for a permit to drill gas wells out near the Lake Sharon/Oakmont intersection. I have spoken with some of the residents near the proposed well site, and attended the first of the two XTO resident meetings (scheduled for March 24 and 25).

Some of the concerns that I heard there were drilling safety, traffic safety, Benzene levels, other chemical levels, waste products from the drilling and fraccing process, and seismic activity from drilling (and the effects it could have on houses and other structures).

All of these are definitely important considerations. And, there is the recent storage tank fire in Decatur Texas (just about 30 minutes or so to our north west) to consider.

I understand that XTO Energy will be requesting up to nine variances to our current drilling ordinance. As I do not have the subject of the variances yet, I can't speak to them. I hope to have some more information tomorrow (thursday).

Gas Well Drilling in Corinth

On April 1, 2010 we have a public hearing and consideration of a permit for Drilling two wells on the west side of Corinth. Already I have been contacted by residents nearby the proposed drilling site (which is near Oakmont and Lake Sharon).

Their primary concerns are with some perceived safety issues with the drilling and pumping operations. One issue brought up about the safety of the kids on their way to the nearby schools and the impact on traffic the drilling operation with its heavy equipment and trucks hauling drilling supplies will have.

I'm examining these issues; as part of that I will be out near the site talking with residents Wednesday night (March 24).