The Argyle Town Hall Meeting was packed last night despite the horrible weather. Several state agencies were there to give presentations and answer questions. There were quite a few questions they couldn’t answer and others they answered incorrectly.
One thing that was touted by the TECQ’s Regional Director, Tony Walker, was TCEQ’s air quality testing. He mentioned more than once how they use their sense of smell to help with the investigations. That’s not comforting to me especially after remembering Mayor Tillman’s story about the TCEQ inspector who came to DISH one day. While there he admitted that he smelled an odor but his final report conflicted with that. Apparently environmental engineers agree that relying on the smell test does not pass the smell test.
“The odor threshold for benzene is about 8 ppm, which is higher than the OSHA 15-minute short term exposure limit of 5.0 ppm. Therefore, residents’ health is left up to gas well inspectors to identify these problems and get them repaired in a timely manner. Not a very comforting thought.”
I was also amazed that not one of the panel of regulators admitted to knowing anything about the FRAC Act! That is truly astounding!
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act.
I’ve blogged about this MANY times. For more information see FRAC Act and Hydraulic Fracturing.
Sometime soon Denton County should have the presentations and information posted.
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 TCEQ inspector they's send out (days later) to check out our complaints was a running joke. He too would use the sophisticated "Olfactory Test." Only he was a smoker. He couldn't have smelled a Hereford fart if it had happened right under his nose. Not surprisingly, this inspector never found any evidence to substantiate our complaints. Go figure.
Not to mention, it wouldn't work at all on unoderized gathering lines that may leak. We constantly hear how "the lines are just like the lines running into your house today." No, they're not, so stop saying that. It just makes you look bad, but it is great for recruiting on our side. Thanks!
Bess, I can't count the times I've heard stories similar to yours.
Know it well from the TCEQ. Many times—"a very faint odor" was smelled!!! The fact is that it was stinking like hell!
Thank you for reporting on this matter. I to was at the town hall meeting last night and walked away angry. My families life and health is at risk and the only defence I have is to police the gas operators myself. My home sits less than 100 feet from the proposed Argyle injection well, compressor station consisting of four compressors,dehydrator and six condensate tanks. I was told last night by a Williams representative that if the injection well did not happen then there would be a minumum of 27 waste water tanks 80 feet from my childs bedroom. This sounds a lot like a centralized collection facility to me. The fact that this is allowed to happen is irresponsible and irrational.
That's REALLY crazy to use the smell test, and dangerous! For instance, hydrogen sulfide will stop your sense of smell, even in tiny amounts, leading to a number of poisonings, and even deaths!
Hydrogen fluoride is used in chemicals & refining. By the time you can smell that, it's well into the danger of burns level!
TCEQ needs to retrain him or show him the door!
Please ask your representative to co-sponsor the FRAC Act. We do not yet have a Texas co-sponsor.