For more than four years, I watched this class II commercial injection well almost daily. On October 5, 2007, I stopped to take a closer look and snap some photographs. What I saw up close was alarming. There was obvious spillage around the hoses and valves, the facility was poorly maintained and the fumes were overpowering. (See pictures) This class II, commercial injection well was inspected by the Texas Railroad Commission on September 27, 2007, and found to be safe and “clean” only eight days before I took the pictures.
The Star-Telegram reported this week that an audit revealed 46% of the wells in Texas have not been inspected in the past five years!
Lack of scrutiny for Tarrant County gas wells questioned
About 30 percent of the gas wells operating in Tarrant County have not been inspected within the past five years. The inspections are the responsibility of the Texas Railroad Commission, which enforces safety and environmental rules for gas drilling.
I wonder when this well site was last inspected. I wonder how many sites like this are there all across Texas. How many…
Click to enlarge (Don’t miss close inspection of the pipes. Could that NORM I see?)
These toxins leach into the soil. When it rains, runoff carries these toxins into our drinking water. Toxic water is consumed by the animals we eat and absorbed by the plants we eat. It’s in everything and it runs downhill so that this water becomes your water.
Keep watching for more information about this wellsite.
This profound malpractice, negligence and incompetence is enabled by the obvious conflict of interest created when the current commissioners accept funding from the industries they are charged to regulate. The Star-Telegram article highlighted the conflict of interest created when commissioners accept funding from industry:
The Railroad Commission oversees the oil and gas industry in Texas. It is run by three commissioners, who are elected statewide to six-year terms. Commissioners earn between $92,000 and $137,000 a year.
The three current commissioners each get a substantial amount of their political contributions from the oil and gas industry, according to an analysis of contributions for 2006 by the Web-based watchdog group followthemoney.org.
Chairman Michael Williams, who has been on the commission since 1999, got a third of his contributions — $138,000 out of $400,000, from people and companies in the oil and gas business, during the 2006 election cycle.
Elizabeth Ames Jones, who was appointed to the commission by Gov. Rick Perry in 2005, also got about a third of her contributions from the oil and gas sector — $695,000 out of $2.1 million.
Victor Carrillo, who was appointed by Perry in 2003 and re-elected in 2004, got 54 percent of his contributions from the oil and gas sector, $194,000 out of $355,000.
However, I’m in agreement with Pegasus News:
One aspect of the S-T story that I believe was underplayed was the amount of money that members of the Texas Railroad Commission have taken from the industry they are supposed to regulate. How is it that commissioners can take hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industries they are supposed to regulate and it is not front page news? Of course, our own Mayor is swimming in money earned from the oil and gas industry, but this is sidebar material, too? So the two entities that have the most sway over gas drilling decisions in Fort Worth are free to take money from gas drillers and still regulate their activities?
Was conflict of interest the reason Michael Williams refused to comment for a year while Texans burned alive because of faulty gas couplings?
Brett Shipp Investigates Railroad Commission. Michael Williams Refuses to Talk
“Our finding: Tens of thousands of north Texas lives may be at risk.”
“Over the past year, we have been told repeatedly that the Commission Chairman Michael Williams would not comment.”
Further reporting by Shipp revealed Railroad Commission too Chummy With Industry it Regulates.
A check at FollowtheMoney shows the protection money Atmos paid to Michael Williams and Victor Carillo.
Protection money paid by Atmos Energy to Railroad Commissioners from 1999 – 2006
Michael Williams – $19,303.00
Victor Carrillo – $20,000.00
Brett Shipp further exposed:
Texas Railroad Commission Malpractice.
Dale Henry has called for reform:
Posted on February 12, 2008 | Return to the News
AUSTIN–Following revelations by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Railroad Commissioner Michael L. Williams accepted free Super Bowl tickets from a lobbyist for CenterPoint Energy in 2004, the Dale Henry Campaign released the following statement:
“This episode highlights the need for real campaign finance reform for the Texas Railroad Commission,” said Dale Henry (D-Lampasas).
“The Texas Railroad Commissioners should not have such a cozy relationship with the industries they regulate. It just promotes the continued rubber-stamp culture of the Commission. Of course, given the culture of the Texas Railroad Commission, I suppose it should come as no surprise to us that a sitting Railroad Commissioner would take Super Bowl tickets from a CenterPoint Energy Lobbyist and then turn around and vote on cost-of-service rate increases that are passed on directly to consumers,” said Vince Leibowitz, Campaign Director.
“This is exactly why I’ve proposed my “Texans First Campaign Finance Reform” package,” said Henry. “The members of the Texas Railroad Commission should not take money from–and should not be beholden to–the industries they regulate. This is why I plan to, as Railroad Commissioner, ask the Texas Legislature to pass a campaign finance bill that will prohibit the practice of Railroad Commissioners accepting money from the industries they regulate,” Henry said.
Citizens have called for an investigation into RRC Malpractice!
Will Sen. Estes Investigate the RRC for Malpractice?
At this point, we can no longer hope that any current office holders with oversight will act in a responsible manner and protect the citizens who hired them. The only reasonable course is to elect people who will put the public’s interest first.
Dale Henry is in a runoff with Mark Who? Texans are advised to PAY ATTENTION and choose wisely for this important office.
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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The FOX is doing a fine job of watching the hen house!! The present commissioners are crooked as a dog’s hind leg!
NEWS RELEASE
Monday March 17, 2008, Ranger, Texas
Texas Railroad Commission Candidate Dale Henry tours contaminated ranches.
For over a year Land Owners in Stephens County, Texas have feared that leaking pipelines and leaking natural gas compressors were contaminating ground water under their land. In early March the landowners’ worst fears were confirmed.
BENZENE HAS BEEN DETECTED IN GROUND WATER.
On Thursday, March 27, 2008, drilling will continue in southern Stephens County near the community of La Casa. But these are not a normal oil wells!
Drillers will be installing Monitor Water Wells looking for precious ground water contaminated with the elusive chemical BENZENE. BENZENE is a chemical that is a known to cause cancer. Benzene will mix with water and easily travel underground for long distances.
The leaking pipelines and compressors don’t have to be on your land to poison your ground water.
On Thursday, March 27, 2008, two important meetings will take place:
(1) AT 10AM
MEDIA MEETING AT LA CASA COMMUNITY CENTER
LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF
STATE HWY 207 AND STATE HWY 717
JUST NORTH OF RANGER, TEXAS
(A) Texas Railroad Commission Candidate Dale Henry will be there to address this issue and explain the dangers of benzene in ground water.
(B) A media trip will be made to the drilling site of the new monitor well.
(C) A media trip will be made to the drilling site of the contaminated monitor well.
(D) The media will be allowed to remove contaminated samples from the well.
(2) AT 6 PM
COMMUNITY MEETING AT LA CASA COMMUNITY CENTER
LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF
STATE HWY 207 AND STATE HWY 717
JUST NORTH OF RANGER, TEXAS
(A) Texas Railroad Commission Candidate Dale Henry will be there to address this issue and explain the dangers of benzene in ground water.
(B) The public will be shown samples of contaminated ground water.
(C) The public will be allowed to ask questions and report contaminated sites near their property.
REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION, TCEQ and EPA HAVE BEEN INVITED TO ATTEND.
Media contact info 254 559 2964
46% is far better than i would expect.
during my years in west texas, i met lifelong drillers that just laughed at the desolation that the patch had become. one man, leaning on 80 at the time, said in his career he had never seen a single well plugged correctly.
one day soon, fort stockton, midland, odessa, are going to turn around and find that what’s beneath ’em is of no use and that water they thought they had rights to 100 miles away has been gobbled up by San Antonio.
While you are at it, get the trail lawyers to stay out of funding judges,
and for that matter legislators, forbid self-interested government bodies from using taxpayer money to engage in lobbying at the lege, get the unions out of selfinterested political fundraising and endorsing/campaigning business, heck, forbid voters who are on the public teat from voting more bennies out of the public trough. let only those taxpayers who have no benefit from the govt to participate in funding campaigns.
Then we might be getting somewhere. objectively governance.
Until that wonderful day comes, until everyone in the ‘you scratch my back’ political game bows out, this is just a call to exclude and screw one group of folks from being a part of democratic process so its a bit easier for the rest of the self-interested hyenas to get their way. No can do.
Given the alternatives, 1st amendment and political free speech freedom works best.
Hum Freedom,
“this is just a call to exclude and screw one group of folks from being a part of democratic process”
No.
This is about ethics. An elected office holder should not be allowed to receive money from an industry he/she is charged to regulate.
Your comment really makes no sense.