As stated in the comments, Wolf Eagle is working on a correction to this post. I understand that Kleinfelder addressed this blog post at the Flower Mound Council meeting last night, 7/20/10. Kleinfelder should understand that mistakes happen. As I remember, they are the company that tested upwind from the Williams facility in Flower Mound.
Correction is HERE
This is so simple I should have thought of it. Here’s how it works:
- Take one oil & gas Mafia
- Add an industry captured regulatory agency, TCEQ
- Put them together in a room and
WallahVoila’! Raise the safe levels of toxics allowed in the air–some by as much as 500%–and that cleans up the air!
And that’s exactly what they did. Thanks to Wolf Eagle Environmental for this analysis of TCEQ’s ESLs.
See, that way everybody is happy and the toxicologists aren’t so darn busy.
There. All better?
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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This cannot and will not stand if I have anything to say about it. WHERE is the SCIENCE behind this reasoning? What is the MOTIVE behind this? Looks like the typical TCEQ lapdog stuff. How do I know the Science is coming from Ed Not-Scientist Ireland and his merry group of paid liars?
That's right folks, just move along, nothing to see here. We're the Government and we're here to help.
What is the current ESL for bovine excrement?
Bullshit in TX is treated like methane. It flows freely and we never measure it.
The WCEQ should be taken off of public funding. They should be allowed to go to O&G and other industrial polluters to solicit their funding–a bunch of tax money would be saved–and NOTHING WOULD CHANGE!!
Reminds me of that scene in the first Star Wars movie when Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker are approached by a group of suspicious Storm Troopers and Obi Wan says, " These are not the Droids you are looking for." In other words, smoke and mirrors can fool the average idiot but not Tim Ruggerio.
TCEQ does like to keep playing with our health. Found this while googling: "On November 30, 2007 TCEQ increased the short-term (one-hour) ESL for benzene from 75 micrograms per cubic meter (“µg/m3”) to 180 µg/m3, and the long-term (annual) ESL for benzene from 3.0 µg/m3 to 4.5 µg/m3."
http://www.bdlaw.com/news-267.html
Lol is all I can say. Tim the comedian, sharon the lab tech and the rest of the quacks. If the tests don't confirm your outlandish claims they are absolutely false. Funny everyone but you come to the same results keep on hitting the pipe!
Katie, I've got some pipe for you.
Come dig it up 100' from my house.
WitW
At least Katie has enough courage to use her name…but unfortunately, she's using the wrong logic. When we contract a lab to test, one who has no ties to Industry, Industry refutes the tests without looking at the actual data. When Industry runs tests, performed by labs with direct ties to Industry, they wave the 'results' around claiming the air is Garden-of-Eden like. Funny how they never post or share the actual data, though, just their interpretations of what those results mean.
In this particular case, Katie my dear, what is being discussed is the ESL's have been RAISED up to as much as over 500% of what the top levels were prior. Reagrdless if you want to listen to the 'science' Ed Non-Scientist Ireland posts, or data from actual scientists, doesn;t chnage the fact that the TCEQ raised the levels. Why do you think they did that? We all know why they did that, including you- The TCEQ, just like the TRRC, works and reports directly for the Industry. They do exactly what they are told, just like talking head non-scientist economist Ed Ireland just parrots the lines given to him by the PR firm. They raised the levels because the levels are dramitically increasing. The TCEQ has two choices- publicly acknowledge the levels being measured are increasing, and try to blame it on more vehicle traffic (which didn't work the first time) OR raise the bar so they can publicly state that none of the tests being conducted by anyone-Industry sponsored or indepenedent, will be able to meet the threshold.
Ok this is what I am going to do because it is obviously acceptable.
I am going to raise the safe established limit for my cholestrol by 400%. 200 was the safe limit for cholesterol but now it is 800.
Next let me raise the safe limit for my blood pressure by 400% so 120/80 used to be considered safe but now my pressure is safe at 480/320.
Ok next my weight for my height a safe and health weight for me was 140# but if I increase that by 400%I can now safely weight 560#.
Damn I am going to Denny's and safely eat 8 Grand Slams because I am obviously malnourished and border on extinction.
Oh hell! That's not Katie! That's Bubba Joe Bob who works in the oil field and in confused by the rhetoric that claims better regulation will cost jobs.
I think it is now safe to bring back DDT. Let's raise the allowable limits on pesticides in our water and on our foods. Then we won't have to pay so much for safe, organic food.
Better yet, let's just do away with all the labeling. That way all food is safe even that baby formula from China.
raise the speed limit by 500% then I won't get so many tickets. that also takes care of my insurance increases.
raise the blood alcohol limit for dwi. that takes care of more tickets and attorney fees.
hey, I like this game.
I like your game, but I think you're missing a critical part- you have to source your information and base your 'science' on the kind of pseudo make it up as you go along science that paid liars like Ed Not Scientist Ireland uses. Or logic like John Sadlier uses – if he doesn't think information critical of Industry is important, he just doesn't share that part with the public, claiming we just didn't need to know because it was insignificant.
One thing you can count on Industry to do is to spend $10,000 on a $10 problem instead of just owning up to their mistakes.
Why install vapor recovery devices on all of sites at a cost of a million dollars when I can write one check for a million to my favorite wingnuts at the TRRC/TCEQ and get anything I want- like getting the ESL's raised?
Anyone want to talk about the elephant in the room? Wolf Eagle has really screwed this "analysis" up. If you dig into the study you will see that the original levels are stated in parts per billion by volumn and the "increased" levels are stated in micrograms per cubic meter and are for the most past unchanged and in some cases lower… Just cause Ms. Rich says it does not make it true…
Rick
I contacted Ms. Rich and she is having the researcher correct
Still doesn't explain the 'science' behind the changes. Why did the TCEQ change the formula? Because they raised the ESL's and knew that people with half a brain would notice and question. No explanation yet about AMCV's, either. When we called the TCEQ and spoke to toxicologist Etheridge, she said the ESL's listed on the TCEQ website were for 'permitting' purposes, and when we pointed out that was confusing to everyone, she said 'they' were working on putting something out. They put something out, all right- and chnaged the calculations formula from ppb to micograms and added in a distraction called AMCV. Still just as much bullshit as before.
yeah, well, Kleiinfelder seems way to chummy with industry.
Tim,
TCEQ has always shown these values as both ppbv and ug/m3 shown side by side in a table… I'm sorry there is no conspiracy here but it is what it is… Wolf Eagle just did a lousy job. Opps I'm mean made a mistake…
Rick
Rick,
There is more to it than that. The TCEQ numbers have been slippery and they certainly have raised the levels on some toxics without public comment or making the science public.
You sound like a man with a personal vendetta.
Rick: You apparently missed my comment about the TCEQ. The TCEQ has not only continued to move the numbers around, mostly up, they have also created a new distraction called AMCV. We are still waiting to see what the science is behend this. I think we're going to be waiting quite awhile, because I suspect there is the Ed Ireland kind of science behind it. It's called economics, and Ed certainly has his Ph.D in that, not any science.
Whether Wolf Eagle lined up the wrong charts or not, doesn't change the fact the the TCEQ has raised the benzene levels and still plays 3 card monte with the numbers and the facts.
John Sadlier, anyone?