The Corinth meeting tonight had several hundred residents in attendance. About 50 signed up to speak, including Calvin Tillman, Mayor of DISH, and quite a few registered their opposition to the variances in writing.
We had to endure a long sales pitch by Robert Manthel, Regulatory Affairs Coordinator, XTO Energy, in which he made liberal use of those “loose facts” mentioned by Dr. Ramon Alvarez recently.
Oh, he’s so full of manure, that man! We could lay him in the dirt and grow another one just like him.
~Ruby, Cold Mountain
As Dr. Alvarez said, “Loose use of facts will backfire on the natural gas industry.” And, it did tonight. Industry has to realize they are dealing with a more educated public. I think the presentation should have come from an environmental person who is independent, hired by the city to present factual information about the drilling process to residents.
The meeting won’t be over until late so we’ll have to wait to see if the council listened.
UPDATE: The good news: Corinth residents get 2 weeks, until April 15th.
The bad news: that also gives XTO 2 weeks and they will spend that 2 weeks trying to seduce anyone with any influence to smooth the way for the variances.
One of the most powerful moments last night was when Cora Bell asked all the residents who were against the variances to stand or show their hands. Only the few who were not residents remained seated. Then she asked all the residents who signed a mineral lease based on the assurance that the well would have a different placement to stand or show their hands. Again, a large number of people stood.
Clearly, the Corinth mineral owners did not have competent legal advice. Location of the well should have been stipulated in the lease. Advice from an experienced law and gas attorney is critical before signing a lease because the oil and gas industry is like a high school football player in the dark with a cheerleader: they will tell you anything to get what they want.
I also want to note how unfair it is that the XTO representative was given a long time–maybe 30 minutes or more–to present his slick dog and pony show yet the residents had only 3 minutes in which to present all they have learned to dispute the loose facts given. That said, there is a stark contrast between the Corinth mayor who is obviously kind and treated each resident with respect and the Flower Mound and Fort Worth mayors. His questions and those of the entire council were intelligent and not obviously intended to produce a specific response, unlike the questions of the Flower Mound mayor and certain council members.
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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I was there in person but had to leave at 10 pm during the recess. What were the results?
Corinth is ahead of FM because their Mayor seemed open to listening and didn't have the room packed with his cronies. No one got up and gave the "gas drilling is the patriotic thing to do" "you turned on your heat tonight, you can thank natural gas for that" "you get more benzene from pumping gas and driving on a highway" Oh wait Mr. XTO did say something like the that. Anyway, I was impressed with the way the meeting was run.
Sharon, there is so much information about chemicals in drilling, air being polluted, water contamination, and explosions. Why are the Mayor's and Council members anywhere acting like "it's saltwater and the air/water is fine. Your just a fear-monger." Actuallly, I am befuddled.
All the explosions and fires of "salt-water" over the last few weeks, pretty much put the "it's just salt-water" argument to bed. As one person in Flower Mound said, if salt-water burns that good, we should use the Gulf of Mexico as our next green fuel source.
Thank you for the first-person accounts of these types of meetings, which many of us can't attend. They're excellent front-line reporting that we can't get anywhere else. I know it takes a lot of time for you to be at each one – maybe you could recruit some stringers to help – but it adds a layer of knowledge that's really appreciated.
Typical of the RRC. Everything that goes wrong is just WAAATER VAPPROR, SAAAALT WATER, and LAND FARMING! According to them, everything is OK! What a mentality??
I would like to thank everyone who came out to Corinth the other night to help us… Now we have two more weeks to organize and build support. Thanks Again!
Start by seeing who on city council has leases with drilling companies.
Check out the FRAC ACT 2009, that's what is going on in the big city of DC right now.
We need a moratorium like Flower Mound!!!!
Has anyone seen the article posted this morning on Denton Record Chronicle about TESTS FIND TOXINS IN DISH RESIDENTS By Peggy Heinkel? http://www.dentonrc.com Pretty interesting. Anything related to the gas drilling in Corinth? I live right on the corner of Lake Sharon and Oakmont in Cypress Pointe 2 behind Hawk Elementary. I'm trying to be more informed about what is going on with this gas drilling so close to my home. Thank you.
DISH — Tests on blood and urine samples taken from residents by state health officials in January have found the same toxic compounds in people’s bodies that have been detected in the air and water here. The results showed that exposure is occurring, according to Louisiana chemist Wilma Subra. “Clearly, it’s connecting the dots — which we didn’t want to happen,” Subra said.