Texas Fracking Bill Would Be First To Require Public Disclosure Of Gas Drilling Chemicals

HOUSTON — Texas is poised to become the first state to require gas drillers to publicly disclose the chemicals they use to release natural gas from tight rock formations, a measure that could set the stage for other states and Congress to move ahead with their own initiatives to regulate hydraulic fracturing.

But environmentalists caution the bill, while a step in the right direction, remains too protective of industry.

Group wants Southlake to ease restrictions on gas drilling | Local News | News from Fort...

By Nicholas Sakelaris
SOUTHLAKE -- A new pro-drilling movement wants to invite gas drillers back to the city while urging the City Council to ease restrictions.
The group, called Southlake Citizens for Property Rights, had three speakers at Tuesday night's City Council meeting, including Bob Gray, a veteran whose son recently returned from a military tour in Afghanistan. He said mineral owners in Southlake had their liberties taken away by the city's one-sided approach to gas drilling.
"What were they fighting for?" Gray asked the council. "I don't think they were fighting for restrictive zoning. ... I think they were fighting for freedom and liberty because that's what we talk about on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July."
The group started a website, scfpr.org, to counter opponents sites, southlakedrillingfacts.com and standforsouthlake.com.
The group faces an uphill battle because XTO Energy announced last month that it will not pursue drilling at the Milner Ranch, the only approved drill site in the city. On Monday, XTO submitted a letter asking the city to return all bonds, road agreements and other documents related to the drilling permit.
"Based on the letter and XTO's previous public comments, the city considers the application withdrawn," city spokeswoman Pilar Schank said.
Anti-drilling movement
The new group wants to strike back against the growing anti-drilling movement that pleaded with the council to reject both of XTO Energy's drilling requests.
The other Southlake site, near Texas 26 and Brumlow Avenue, and a site in Keller, were both rejected, making the Milner site unfeasible, XTO officials have said.
Southlake Taxpayers Against Neighborhood Drilling filed a lawsuit against the city in April and a judge issued a temporary restraining order to prohibit the city from issuing final drilling permits for the Milner site. With the application gone, the suit is moot but the restraining order remains until September.
Rumors have circulated that mineral owners have filed their own legal action to uphold the drilling application.
Gray said last night that he wasn't aware of anything. But the website says they will explore legal alternatives.
Gray said drilling opponents based their argument on fear, opinions and "junk science."
"I would hope that we could settle this without that kind of confrontation," he said. "Without your efforts, I'm afraid we're heading down a very unhappy path."
Dialogue sought
Drilling supporter Steve Oren said the city caused the current situation with its strict ordinance that includes a 1,000-foot setback from houses and schools.
He says the council should remove its January moratorium on new gas applications.
The moratorium expires in July.
"I don't think you're going to get drillers," Oren said. "I just hate to see my mineral rights not being sold as a result of that."
Bill Spivey, speaking for a group of mineral owners, said he supports "reasonable drilling" in Southlake.
"It would also create a large amount of money for the city and the school board and a lot of taxes that the city could collect from the royalties," Spivey said.
Matt Cleaves, who has spoken against gas drilling in the past, said gas drilling has divided the community, and he recommended having a dialogue with all sides to work out the problems.
"I think if we have a dialogue we could change some of the divisiveness that we have in the city," Cleaves said.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/17/3083044/group-wants-southlake-to-ease.html#ixzz1MilfPC4l

Group calls for cutting industry emissions | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

Group calls for cutting industry emissions | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer

A North Texas environmental group has launched a campaign that members hope will reduce emissions from Barnett Shale natural gas facilities.

Perhaps best known for its 30-year battle against emissions from cement plants in Midlothian, Downwinders at Risk has called on area cities, school districts and counties to pass a resolution asking that gas production companies be required to do their “fair share” in reducing emissions.

The initiative comes as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality considers a new plan to meet federal standards for air quality in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The region has not met the federal ozone standard for 20 years. Last year, Houston met the now-obsolete standards from 1997, but Dallas-Fort Worth did not — the first time North Texas had worse air quality than the state’s largest city.

Dish was the first city to put the resolution on its agenda, passing the resolution Monday night. Calvin Tillman, the town’s outspoken and outgoing mayor, said he was happy to lend support.

“Regulators want to sit in Austin and listen to the lobbyists tell them that everything is hunky-dory,” Tillman said. “Not everybody up here agrees with that.”

At issue — not only for environmental groups but for the region’s compliance with federal law — is the amount of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, being emitted in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. For the state to show it is moving toward compliance with federal standards, the region needs to reduce VOCs by 140 tons per day, 56 tons per day, or none at all — depending on the computer model and the assumptions — according to Jim Schermbeck of Downwinders at Risk.

According to TCEQ spokesman Terry Clawson, the agency is showing a 17-ton-per-day deficit for 2012, and is considering where it can further cut emissions.

That deficit is based on an older computer model and TCEQ doesn’t yet know whether a new model will result in a reduction of that deficit, Clawson said.

“Preliminary data suggest that the newer model will result in either no deficit or a smaller deficit,” Clawson wrote in an e-mail.

Clawson said the models include air chemistry, but Schermbeck questioned whether the latest knowledge was being included. Colorado scientists have seen that when dirty air meets VOCs, the mix makes ozone even faster, he said.

He questioned whether this newest understanding of air chemistry was in the models, particularly since dirty Dallas-Fort Worth air could blow into Denton, Wise and northern Tarrant counties and mix with VOCs emitted by shale gas facilities.

Schermbeck is a member of a North Central Texas Council of Government planning group charged with helping achieve compliance. The group appointed a subcommittee, which Schermbeck served on, to address Barnett Shale emissions problems, but he says it was never clear what the subcommittee’s charge was in relation to achieving compliance.

He has watched state regulators move to regulate nitrogen oxide — another ozone precursor — but not VOCs, and said he doesn’t understand why — hence the “fair share” campaign.

Other businesses and the automobile industry have had to reduce emissions over the past 20 years. TCEQ has determined that the region could reduce VOC emissions by 100 tons per day by regulating leaking condensate tanks, gas-powered valves and well flaring.

“Some experts say the air quality part of the Barnett Shale problem is the easiest to solve, if only they would do it,” Schermbeck said.

The group hopes to have a number of local government resolutions in hand when the TCEQ makes its first vote on the new plan June 8 in Austin.

“It’s like condensing the two to three years we worked on our ‘green cement’ initiative into 30 days,” Schermbeck said.

After that vote, a six-month public comment period opens for the plan. The group intends to press for more resolutions between June and the final vote in December.

Flower Mound Heroin Investigation Leads To 17 Federal Indictments « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Flower Mound Heroin Investigation Leads To 17 Federal Indictments « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

FLOWER MOUND (CBSDFW.COM) – More than a dozen teenagers and young adults in the Flower Mound area are in custody after being indicted on either drug related or gun violations. Most are accused of conspiring to sell heroin.

The investigation began last year after three young people died, within five months of each other, from heroin overdoses.

Captain Wess Griffin, with the Flower Mound Police Department, says after the deaths officials knew there was a bigger issue and they asked the federal government to help.

“When we start seeing that kind of usage and that kind of activity, and we start seeing overdose deaths, that’s definitely an indicator that there’s a problem,” said Griffin.

In addition to Flower Mound police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) were involved in the nearly yearlong investigation.

While abuse of any drug can be serious, Griffin says in some ways heroin abuse is unique. “The fact of the matter is heroin is so dangerous, that there’s two different kinds of users,” he said. “There’s the users that are able to use it and get over their addiction, which is a long hard struggle, and then there’s the users that will use until they die.”

The 12 defendants listed below are alleged to have conspired to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin in the Flower Mound area.

If convicted, they could face up to 40 years in federal prison.

Pipeline dangers abound in Texas

WFAA / News 8

by BRETT SHIPP

The gas pipeline explosion that leveled a San Francisco suburb last month did more than kill, injure and devastate a neighborhood.

It put many North Texans on edge, leaving them wondering what condition Texas pipelines are in... and could a similar tragedy happen here?

The answer is easy. It has already happened here, many times. The better question is: Where and when will it happen again?

Full Story:
http://www.wfaa.com/news/Pipeline-dangers-abound-in-texas-105303193.html

SOUTHLAKE, TX: XTO Energy seeking city gas drilling permit

Reprinted from Star-Telegram / Southlake Journal
By Nicholas Sakelaris

Southlake's drilling ordinance will be put to the test next month with XTO Energy's application for gas wells on the Milner family ranch.

The application calls for up to 18 gas wells on the 52-acre property on Highland Street south of Texas 114 and east of White Chapel Boulevard. The initial application requests just two wells.
The Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to vote on the specific use permit for the proposed gas well at its Nov. 4 meeting. The City Council could follow in November or December.

This marks the first time that a gas well has come up for a city vote, so the process could be tedious, some council members have warned.

If the council approves the specific use permit, the next step would be the approval of a gas well permit, which is approved by city staff.

In response to residents' concerns, XTO Energy changed the location of the drill site so it would be more than 1,000 feet from homes on Summerplace Lane. The new application reflects the change and complies with the 1,000-foot buffer in Southlake's drilling ordinance. The two homes on the Milner property are less than 1,000 feet from the wellhead, but the owners have signed waivers consenting to the drilling.

City leaders went over the drilling application at a joint council and commission workshop Oct. 5.
One major concern: where would XTO Energy get the millions of gallons of water needed for hydraulic fracturing? The process, known as fracking, is where gas companies inject water, sand and other chemicals under high-pressure into the well bore to release the gas trapped inside the shale.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/10/19/2559698/xto-energy-seeking-city-gas-drilling.html#ixzz12vHgxH3S

 

Flower Mound Suspends Issuance of Natural Gas Drilling and Production Permits

The Flower Mound Town Manager issued a temporary administrative suspension of the issuance of natural gas drilling and production permits at 12 p.m. on May 28, 2010. In accordance with the suspension, the Town of Flower Mound will not issue any new permits associated with natural gas drilling and production through June 8, 2010. Please read the suspension notice for additional information.

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=86754499396

+++++++++++++++++++++ Flower Mound halts new gas drilling permits
Reprinted from Dallas Morning News Blog by Wendy Hundley

The town issued an administrative moratorium that suspends all permits for new natural gas wells and gas pads.

The action follows an earlier moratorium that halted permits for centralized wastewater, gas lift, compression facilities and related pipelines.
"I've been calling for this for two years and have been ignored," Flower Mound Mayor Pro Tem Al Filidoro said Friday. He said the moratorium will give officials a chance to review the town's ordinance and appoint an oil and gas advisory board.

Filidoro said Friday's action was necessary to prevent gas drilling applications from being submitted before the Town Council meets again on June 7. "We don't want people to come rushing in while we've got a gap here," he said.

Flower Mound resident Bryan Webb, who has leased his mineral rights to a gas company, said the moratorium is not necessary for the council to make changes to the ordinance. "I'm not sure I understand the need for it," said Webb, who lost his bid for a seat on the Town Council earlier this month.

At the June 7 meeting, the council is expected to take action on a citizen-driven campaign calling for a 180-day moratorium on wastewater and other facilities, and a separate 90-day moratorium new gas pads and well permits. They would run concurrently.

The moratoriums underscore the change in the political climate in the southern Denton County town that's been divided over the issue of gas drilling.

On May 8, voters re-elected Filidoro and voted in two new council members -Melissa Northern as Mayor and Steve Lyda in the Place 4 seat. All three candidates campaigned together on a platform that called for slowing the gas boom and review the town's regulations. They said too many variances have weakened the town's ordinance.

On May 19, that trend shifted when the town's Oil and Gas Board of Appeals denied variances for a natural gas well permit on a site south of Flower Mound Road and east of Long Prairie Road.
Filidoro said the applicant has already appealed the decision and the new moratorium would not prevent the appeal from moving forward.

TECQ regulators fail to disclose benzene in Fort Worth air

Reprint from WFAA.com
By Chris Hawes

FORT WORTH — State environmental officials said they never found evidence of elevated levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene during a December air study in Fort Worth. But News 8 has proof that they did, and the mayor of a Denton County town is now calling for a federal probe of state pollution regulators.

Last January, John Sadlier, deputy director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, appeared before the Fort Worth City Council with what sounded like good news: Eight air samples analyzed in Fort Worth found no traces of benzene, the toxin that — over time — can lead to leukemia. "Benzene is non-detect on all the slides," Sadlier said during the January presentation.

But what he didn't tell Council members was that the analysis equipment that TCEQ used in the field wasn't sensitive enough to detect lower levels of benzene — the levels that TCEQ's own scientists say can lead to cancer if sustained over a period of years.



Link to WFAA Full Story

Hilliard Airfield Gas Well Appeals Board Meeting Packet

Anyone interested in the upcoming O&G Appeals board meeting next week (5/19) can see the packet for the meeting at the link below.

Hilliard Field is Item #2 on the agenda. Beginning on page 175 you can read about variances that are being requested along with maps & schematics. Be sure to brew some coffee -- fun stuff.

From the maps on pages 179 and 180 you can see the proximity to Shadowridge Middle School and Bluebonnet Elementary.

According to the information, traffic would route south on 2499 to 121. Based on the aerial map on page 180 (also above), it appears a new road will be created that will feed into Arberdeen Rd. which is where both the Middle School and Elementary Schools are located. This road will be used for emergency access to the well.

If the variances are approved, expect to see unmarked trucks carrying produced waste water (frack water) down 2499.

One last curious thing I found is that the 1,000 foot setback appears to overlap with LISD land to the south of the well site and right next to the Middle School. Does anyone know if LISD was approached about the proximity of the well to school property?

LINK to O&G Packet:
http://www.flower-mound.com/agenda/oil/oil_05-19-10.pdf

EPA still working on Barnett Shale air pollution problem

By MIKE LEE

mikelee@star-telegram.com

Reprinted from Star Telegram.com

DISH -- The Environmental Protection Agency is continuing to devote resources to dealing with concerns over air pollution problems related to natural gas drilling in the Barnett Shale, although progress is slow, the agency's regional chief said Monday night.
More than 15,000 gas wells have been drilled in the last decade in 17 counties. The oil and gas industry says the environmental impact is minimal, but residents have complained about everything from truck traffic to air and water pollution.

"I don't have a way-of-life act I can enforce," EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz said. "At the same time, the EPA is not toothless."

Armendariz said he is bringing the head of the EPA's enforcement division to North Texas for a tour.
Meanwhile, the EPA is writing rules on toxic fumes released from oil and gas production in response to an environmental group's lawsuit last year.

One option might be a federal rule requiring setbacks between industrial plants and residential areas. The EPA doesn't have specific authority to enforce such a setback, but it could require one as a way to mitigate the cumulative effect of gas drilling in areas that have other types of pollution, Armendariz said.
He said he is also working with industry groups to get a better inventory of the equipment that might release pollution. Armendariz met with a group of about 100 industry officials recently. "I made it clear to them: We can either do it cooperatively ... or we can do it through legal means," he said.

The EPA's headquarters in Washington is also studying the effects on drinking water of hydraulic fracturing, the technology that made it feasible to extract gas from the Barnett Shale. Armendariz said the study will likely include not just hydraulic fracturing but also the disposal of tainted water from the fracturing process.
"I would be very surprised if Dish and the Barnett Shale in general isn't going to be part of that study," he said.
Dish, a town of a little fewer than 200 people, sits next to a complex of compressor stations and pipelines. The town paid for tests last fall that found high levels of cancer-causing chemicals in the air.

The results were serious enough that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the sta
te agency involved in air pollution, stepped in.

See full story here:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/05/10/2178647/epa-still-working-on-barnett-shale.html

Flower Mound sends a message, with a landslide election

By Ladd Biro


It’s morning again in Flower Mound.

Today, the air feels a little crisper. The water tastes a little purer. Our town feels a little safer.

People are smiling more. Blood pressures no longer escalate while driving along FM 2499. Election signs disappeared virtually overnight and, thankfully, they weren’t replaced with “For Sale” signs.

A record turnout for municipal elections produced a landslide of historic proportions. The people have spoken, and this time, they couldn’t be ignored. And just like that, optimism reigns again in Flower Mound.

The gracious, unflappable Mayor-elect, Melissa Northern, accepted a concession call from her predecessor, Jody Smith, without a hint of bitterness in her voice. Her running mates, Al Filidoro and Steve Lyda, praised the tireless efforts of a mobilized citizenry without kicking their opponents.

It’s morning again in Flower Mound, and we are well on our way to healing a divided town.

See full story here:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-44976-Denton-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2010m5d10-Flower-Mound-sends-a-message-with-a-landslide

Flower Mound halts permits tied to some gas operations

By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
whundley@dallasnews.com  


It didn't take long for the shift in power on the Flower Mound Town Council to be felt.
On Saturday, residents elected a trio of candidates who called for a complete review of the town's natural gas drilling regulations.

At 7:30 a.m. Monday, Town Manager Harlan Jefferson placed an administrative moratorium on permits for centralized wastewater collection, gas lift and compression facilities. The moratorium also includes pipelines related to those gas operations.

An hour later, Williams Production – the largest gas developer in town – inquired about submitting an application for an additional facility. The company was told that no applications would be accepted due to the moratorium.

See full story here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/denton/flowermound/stories/DN-fmfolo_11met.ART.State.Edition1.4c7dcf3.html

Who's Spreading Propaganda in Flower Mound?

Flower Mound Cares has been accused by some for spreading fear and disinformation related to Oil and Gas drilling and this year's Town Elections. We've even seen suggestions that FMC hand-picked Northern, Filidoro and Lyda (N.F.L) to run against Smith, Webb and Robinson.

While our opinions on issues affecting our town are passionate, we make an effort to root them on the best information and facts possible.

So who's spreading fear & propaganda in Flower Mound?

Below are a couple slanderous examples attacking our group and a political ad attacking Mr. Filidoro. The letters are referenced in Ladd Biro's latest op-ed "Flower Mound Deserves Better".

(click images below to expand)

Smith, Robinson and Webb Turn Down FloMo Cares Debate

With the increased desire from the Flower Mound Cares community to hear more from the candidates in this year's town election a few members of the group, including the Stop Morris 6 and FloMo Cares facebook administrators thought it might be helpful to host a debate amongst the 6 candidates in a neutral location with a mutually agreeable moderator.

During a recent council meeting, we socialized the idea with Mr. Webb who had some reservations and asked for more information. 

Meanwhile, the group worked to secure a great location that could accommodate a couple hundred folks. Parker Square. Family friendly, accessible to all of Flower Mound - a great venue all around.

With a location in hand, Rob Marcoe sent the following invitation to all six candidates. Jody Smith, Bryan Webb, Gerald Robinson, Melissa Northern, Al Filidoro and Steve Lyda. 

(click on image to expand)

Unfortunately, Mayor Smith, Mr. Webb and Mr. Robinson declined-- below is their email response.  Almost immediately, Rob received a call from Chris Roark from the Flower Mound leader inquiring on the debate.

(click on image to expand)

Understanding their concerns and eager to facilitate an address to the town's people, the group agreed to modify the format from a "debate" to a "meet and greet" where each candidate would be given an opportunity to speak for 10 minutes covering various topics important to the town. Below is the follow up invitation that we sent and once again Northern, Filidoro and Lyda accepted. 

(click on image to expand)

Unfortunately, Mayor Smith, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Webb once again declined.

Suffice it to say, we are very disappointed with the manner in which these candidates seeking public office addressed our group and ultimately declined our invitations.

***UPDATE***  Thursday, April 15, 2010

Despite the the lack of interest from Mayor Smith, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Webb, the FMC and Stop Morris 6 groups decided to proceed with the candidate forum set to take place in Parker Square next week. Late this afternoon, we received a message from the property manager advising the group that we could no longer use the venue citing the following:

"Parker Square has always welcomed open forum debates, events, etc., but has never allowed individual candidates to even place signs on the property, regardless of political position.  I do not fault you for the evolution of the program, but now realize it has become something other than what we originally discussed.  Today’s comments in Star Local News confirmed to our satisfaction the debate is no longer a debate but a forum for promotion of one side’s agenda.  As a privately owned property, we will not be able to host this program.  I appreciate your work and you have been very nice to work with.  I wish you the best with your plans."

Thank you.

Curtis Shore

It is important to note that the forum was never intended exclusively for the  benefit  of the N.F.L. candidates as Mr. Shore suggests. The forum was left open for all six candidates to attend and address town residents.

We're once again disappointed that Flower Mound residents will not have an opportunity to listen to ALL the candidates speak in what is arguably one of the most important  and most contested elections in our town's history.

Sadly, today's events only reinforce our opinion that our town needs a Mayor and Town Council representatives willing to listen and address ALL their constituents -- even those with opposing views.

New drilling safety measures to be considered. How about a MORATORIUM?

Excerpt from  The Dallas Morning News 

By: Wendy Hundley whundley@dallasnews.com

The Flower Mound Town Council discussed a number of new safety measures for gas drilling operations, including a system for monitoring air quality around drilling sites.

Matt Woods, the town's director of environmental services, outlined possible updates to the existing oil and gas ordinance.

They included reviewing the technologies for vapor recovery, screening the pad sites, recycling produced water, charging additional fees from operators, and monitoring the air quality around pad sites.

"I like a lot of these suggestions," said council member Tom Hayden. He and council member Al Filidoro recently publicized their own recommendations for strengthening the town's drilling regulations.

Hayden said he had additional ideas. He also suggested a moratorium on drilling applications "while we're doing a major overhaul of our ordinance."

But council member Mike Wallace said there was no need for a moratorium because there hasn't been a rush of gas drilling applications. [Really?]

There have been no new applications since Dec. 8, Town Manager Harlan Jefferson told the council. [What about the 10 applications on Dec. 7th?]

The council should "decide which responsible, common sense enhancements to our ordinance would be appropriate without a moratorium," Wallace said.

Council members expressed support for fast-tracking the recommendations, perhaps in the next 30 to 60 days. They asked for information about funding for additional air quality testing to be placed on the April 5 meeting agenda.

Read full story here:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/032710dnmetfmair.456d318.html

Gasland - PBS Interview with Josh Fox

In the debate over energy resources, natural gas is often considered a "lesser-of-evils". The new boom in natural gas drilling, a process called "fracking", raises concerns about health and environmental risks.

A topic of concern and great debate in Flower Mound and other North Texas towns.

This 23 minute interview does a great job to explain the gas drilling process along with the the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing. See link below to view.

Gasland on PBS Tonight
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/613/index.html


Other Gasland testimonials on youtube can be found here.

Fracturing Fluid Spill in Flo-Mo?

Ever wonder why Flower Mound residents have been so concerned about Gas drilling activity so close to residential neighborhoods and schools?

Today's 80 Barrel spill (approx. 3,000 gallons) of produced water at the Cummings' well site is precisely the reason why Flower Mound needs to reinstate a Moratorium on drilling activity and a collection facility. Below is a link to the story and video on the produced water spill. 

If you are a concerned about the increasing dangers associated with the growing gas drilling activity in Flower Mound, please take 5 minutes to contact the Mayor and Town Council at the emails below to ensure your voice is heard.

Jody Smith: mayor@flower-mound.com
Steve Dixon: place1@flower-mound.com
Al Filidoro: place2@flower-mound.com
Mike Wallace: place3@flower-mound.com
Jean Levenick: place4@flower-mound.com
Tom Hayden: place5@flower-mound.com

More on today's spill can be found at the following page:

http://stopthedrilling.blogspot.com/2010/03/today-there-was-spill-in-flower-mound.html

New oil and gas legislation and oversight expected in 2011

New oil and gas legislation expected from next session of Texas Legislature

New laws regulating the oil and gas industry are likely to pass the Texas Legislature in 2011 in response to some of the continuing conflicts between operators and residents in the Barnett Shale gas field, the head of the Texas House Energy Resources Committee said Monday, March 15.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/15/2041992/new-oil-and-gas-legislation-expected.html#ixzz0iNR3FpPi

FM Place 2 race down to Al Filidoro and Gerald Robinson

Keep Al Filidoro in Town Council. Vote N.F.L. in May.
 

Story reprinted from Star Local News 

By Chris Roark, roarkc@acnpapers.com

The race for Place 2 on the Flower Mound Town Council got a little smaller Tuesday.

Bob Kohankie and Jan Balekian both told The Leader that they plan to withdraw from the race, which now features incumbent Al Filidoro and Gerald Robinson.

“I got to understand more about the candidates and decided not to run,” said Kohankie, a 29-year Flower Mound resident.

Kohankie said he will now support Robinson.

“Robinson has a long history with various aspects of the town, serving on various committees and boards,” Kohankie said. “He has an extensive business background, and he approaches issues facing the town today with a fact-based approach instead of on assumptions and innuendos.”

Kohankie went on to say there is a lot of wrong information being circulated.

“I’m looking to encourage people to talk with people to verify facts instead of going by hearsay,” Kohankie said.

Balekian said she will also support Robinson.

“I filed to enter the race for Flower Mound Town Council Place 2 primarily because it appeared that Al Filidoro was going to run unopposed,” Balekian said. “I do not believe Mr. Filidoro is the type of person we need on our town council. With the emergence of an outstanding candidate, Gerald Robinson, I have decided to withdraw and put my full support behind Mr. Robinson. I believe Mr. Robinson has the experience, the commitment, and the values we need in our community to keep Flower Mound a great place to live.”

Among Robinson’s experience that Kohankie referred to was serving on the Open Space Board about 10 years ago, as well as being chair of the board. That later became the Environmental Conservation Commission (ECC), which he also chaired. Robinson was also a member of the master plan steering committee in 2005-06 and later, as part of the mixed use committee, he helped create the town’s mixed use ordinance.

Robinson has also served on the town's citizen's budget review committee and on the Denton County Transportation Board. He has also been a Flower Mound Rotarian and was president of the Rotary in 2004. He is also vice president of the Summit Club.

Filidoro has also served the town in a wide capacity, including being on the town council for a full term and part of another term.

Filidoro has served on the town’s planning and zoning commission, he is president of the Summit Club and is a member of the Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce and the Flower Mound Rotary Club.

Filidoro, an attorney, is licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas and admitted to practice in front of the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Flower Mound and Denton County Bar Associations. He is an associate professor of MBA programs at the University of Phoenix in Dallas and Los Colinas teaching business law.

Lawsuits against Flower Mound & Haltom City challenge denials for gas pipelines

By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
whundley@dallasnews.com

Two local lawsuits are pitting municipalities against natural gas companies, and the outcomes of these legal battles could have far-reaching effects on urban drilling in the Barnett Shale.

The issue: whether gas pipeline companies can use the power of eminent domain to acquire easements on public property.

"This will be a landmark decision in Texas," said Tom Hayden, a member of the Flower Mound Town Council. "It will decide whether a municipality trumps a utility or vice versa."

Both Flower Mound and Haltom City have been sued because they have failed to approve requests to run gas pipelines on municipal property.

In Flower Mound, Mockingbird Pipeline wants to run 500 feet of pipe through a 30-foot pipeline easement behind a fire station.

In Haltom City, Enterprise Texas Pipeline LLC wants to transport processed gas to market by running a pipeline through the city, cutting across parkland, several streets and acreage that may be a future nature area.

Haltom City Attorney Steven Wood said a pipeline would restrict use of the public land. "You can't build on top of a pipeline," he said. "And you can't imagine how many trees they'd have to tear down to get that pipeline in."

While the power of eminent domain is usually associated with government bodies, other entities – such as electric and telephone companies – have also been granted this authority because they provide a service for the public.

In Texas, many pipeline companies are considered public utilities with eminent domain power. Of the 34 pipeline companies in the Texas Pipeline Association, more than half are public utilities and all have some public utility assets, said executive director Patrick Nugent.

While condemnation lawsuits involving private property owners are not uncommon, "I'm not familiar with any litigation filed between a pipeline and a municipality," said Nugent.

He said he had not heard about the Flower Mound and Haltom City cases but speculated that they would be closely watched by the gas industry.

For municipalities, the legal battle is over sovereign immunity and the right to protect public property from unwanted encroachment.

Flower Mound lost the first round in its argument that municipalities have immunity from lawsuits when Denton County Probate Judge Don Windle ruled Feb. 25 that the court had jurisdiction. He said the pipeline company had no alternative, except to move the pipe and take private land.

"Governments have no purpose to own and hold land except for the public trust and benefit," Windle said, according to a court transcript.

Robert Brown, who is representing the town, is appealing to the Texas Court of Appeals.

The case "could have far-reaching consequences around Texas, particularly for those municipalities that do not agree with pipeline companies that want to locate and install natural gas pipelines in parks, across fire station properties, in front of city halls and at other municipal properties," Brown said in a written statement.

Hayden agreed.

"We need to defend our town," he said. "If we didn't do that, it would set a dangerous precedent."

In Flower Mound, Hayden said granting the right of way could open the door to other pipelines, including ones that could transport wastewater from gas drilling sites to a centralized collection facility.

"That doesn't mean it's going to happen," he said. "But I don't want to have the possibility that town land could be used for that."

Williams Production, which has been at the center of an ongoing debate over natural gas drilling in Flower Mound, has not filed an application for a collection facility and has limited its request to pipelines.

"We're talking about a short stretch of land that the city previously condemned to obtain," said Kelly Swan, a spokesman for Williams, which is affiliated with Mockingbird Pipeline.

"Today, that right of way on the edge of the fire station property is an existing utility corridor that has another natural gas pipeline and a sewage line," he said. "Our short stretch of pipe would fall between them."

He said pipelines are needed to transport natural gas and bring new supplies to consumers.

"The gas from the wells in the area needs to get to other pipelines to carry the gas into the marketplace," Swan said. "If gas lines are needed, it's really a question about locating an appropriate route, which is why our project makes sense."