This spill happened not far from where I used to live. I rode my bicycle to the Botanical Gardens several times each week. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around what has happened to Ft. Worth, the place I was born and where I lived for 43 years.
From a reader:
Sharon:
I took these pictures this morning at University Drive and I-30. By Botanic Gardens and Trinity Park.
Note the fluid went straight to the storm drain; the Trinity River is about 200 yards away and that’s where storm sewers go. No idea how much went there before firefighters did some blocking.
UPDATE:
To give you an idea how bad this produced water is, see the pictures of a field where produced water was dumped May 2008.
Dumping Barnett Shale Drilling Waste Illegally in Wise County
Now look at the pictures of that same field May 2010:
Dumping Barnett Shale waste illegally
Today, that field is still barren.
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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Are the Fort Worth firemen trained to deal with chemical spills like this? Or rather, spills of unknown chemicals?
doubtful.
Ft. Worth isn't prepared for anything. The city staff are clueless. It is really quite pathetic. It will, however, come out in the end.
Moncrief thinks he is going to get on his horse and ride away into the sunset. WRONG. It was his watch.
I don't know either. There are no MSDS sheets for unknowns. Our Mayor and Council have put our first responders in a terrible situation with this stuff.
Ha, Ha. A cheap way to get rid of the crap without paying a disposal fee!
So, will the Railroad Commission investigate? If they do, couldn't that be worse than the spill?
Lake Arlington had a spill last July and if it wasn't for the probing of the likes of pro-driller Councilman Mel LeBlanc asking why the Lake (a drinking source for half a million souls) was being put on the list of protected uses for a 600 foot setback from gas drilling, we would have not been made aware of this event. Also last Thursday, XTO had a frac blowout near an Apartment complex at the Pappy Elkins Lake and "I" had to call this one in to the Railroad Commission. The media is not quite on board with these mishaps.
You're catching one. =)
on. You're catching on. yawn.
It's hard to make a final determination, but it looks as if no other cars were involved and the driver was just going to fast around the corner. If one of these speeding trucks kills someone, well, there WILL be hell to pay.
Yeah? Well those speeding trucks have already killed people.
If its a "frac" truck the chemicals are water soluable, one part water to hundreds part chemical. As such Frac chemicals do not contaminate the water supply.
That is utter bs. It looks like a waste water truck which means it was hauling produced water. Produced water contains frack fluids, highly corrosive brine, NORM and hydrocarbons from the formation. A driver dumped his load of produced water near my home in Wise County and the ground has been completely bare for over 3 years now.
"Frac chemicals do not contaminate the water supply." – so that's why we pump them below the water table, because they aren't harmful. I would hate to see how we get rid of the harmful stuff – fly it into the Sun maybe?
Get the RRC to come out and investigate–they can't see anything, hear anything, nor smell anything! Everything's clean! Then they will refer it to the WCEQ which will give the operator one of those "Your're Clean" letters. Then the peasants can go along about their business in Texas!!
And thanks to that recent Times article we also know that the produced water is radioactive! Also I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about drillers saying the Middle East situation wont be a problem if they can just drill to their hearts content for oil AND natural gas. I'm starting to suspect high gas prices being created by artificial scarcity (the oil companies have been caught doing it before) and rampant speculation. Just sell out your country to the gas men America and the dream of cheap gas will be real again.
Oil and gas prices are manipulated, as usual. Always has been, always will be! Big O&G is in control in any area that they select to operate in!
Well, I looked all through the Startlegram, and I didn't see anything about it. So, no worries, I guess it didn't happen.
Oil and Gas prices are manipulated. They are manipulated by us, the consumer. They are primarily, I am not saying all the time, I am saying most of the time, are driven by demand. When the demand is high, the price is high.
Do you want to manipulate those prices? USE LESS and watch the miracles of economics unfold.
Now, I do know something about this, I talked to a gentleman at the EPA, there is an national investigation department, that if there is proof of contamination of the watershed, as in above pictures, it can be investigated.
I'm sorry to put this in your corner, neighbors of this accident to do on your own, my battle is too big where I'm fighting, good luck.
And thank you all of my fellow crime fighters.
This guy, was probably texting while driving, and 'oops'.
@ Stenotrophomonas
I think Jack Smith is too busy carrying water for the industry and trying to paint the EPA as the bad guys to pay attention to lethal spills of drilling waste.
The "We're America's Natural Gas" ads that run every 10 seconds…wow, they just need to add a part about how truly wonderful it is when drilling waste lands in our neighborhoods…that it means we are truly blessed.
People! Why do you guys got your crosshairs set on fracking? This is just a water truck that turned over. Granted produced saltwater is nasty stuff, but we’ve been hauling saltwater from wells long before they developed fracturing. Get an idea of what’s going on before you mount your soapbox. Instead of whining about fracing why don’t we sell our suvs and make electric furnaces mandatory. Until we as a country find a better solution than oil and gas get strapped in for a long ride with fracing.
IF THIS IS SUCH THINGS AS FLOWBACK OR SALTWATER WHY WOULD IT BE HARMFUL TO THE ENVIROMENT SALTWATER FLOWS UP FROM THE GROUND AND FLOWBACK IS JUST FRESHWATER THAT HAS BEEN PUMPED INTO THE GROUND AND IS FLOWING BACK UP TO THE SURFACE
Those pictures of the truck and the frack waste are very compelling. Any chance we could use these for an online action to ban the acceptance of fracking waste?
I did not take those pictures but the photographer send them to me to use so I’m sure he would not mind you using them.