Urban Gas Drilling Is Safe

Pay no attention to that giant fireball in Hood County. We repeat ... Urban Gas Drilling is safe. This message brought to you by Chesapeake Energy -- your good corporate neighbor in Fort Worth.

Hanging Together or Hanging Separately

After a confusing day filled with conflicting reports, it appears that the Berkeley Neighborhood Association announced that they've gotten Fort Worth Energy (with drilling partner XTO) to agree to their conditions for a lease. One of the conditions is that they wouldn't use the 8th Avenue drilling site.

Here's the rub. That means the site moves north, probably near Mistletoe Heights. Yulp. They also mentioned a site east of Hemphill, but I think that's too far away to reach Berkeley minerals.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like the Berkeley Task Force threw Mistletoe Heights under the bus. If true, that is a disturbing development, because what Fort Worth will end up with is NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) gone amok. Everyone wants their mailbox money, but no one wants a drilling site or pipeline near them.

This is the downside to the lack of leadership from the City on this issue. As Wendy Davis tried to explain at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, we need to go back and revisit the urban gas drilling ordinance. As it stands right now, neighborhoods are free to cut their own deals. But if your Neighborhood Association cuts a deal that results in a well being stuck in some other neighborhood, how do you know some other Neighborhood Association won't do the same thing to you down the line? There will be winners and there will be losers. Your neighborhood may be a winner today and a loser tomorrow. But count on this, the gas drilling companies will never be the losers.

Fort Worth, this is larger than a neighborhood issue, this is a city issue. The gas drilling companies are employing a divide and conquer strategy. They will pit East Side vs. West Side and Berkeley vs. Mistletoe Heights. Don't fall for this. We need to stick together. And we need leadership from the city.

Here is what I propose:

Don't Sign: Drilling companies need 80 percent of a neighborhood to move forward. Don't sign with anyone and encourage your neighbors to do the same.

Contact Your Neighborhood Association: Tell them how you feel on this issue and encourage them to work with other associations to act together. Contact FW Can Do.

Force The City To Act: When Wendy Davis explained the need to revisit the gas ordinance, Mayor Moncrief slapped her down. The Mayor is wrong on this issue. Now it is time for citizens to make their voice heard. There is already talk of a petition to force the City Council to revisit the gas ordinance. I am throwing my support behind that idea and I'll bring you more details on this issue as they become available. It is time the citizens demand leadership on this issue.

City Council to Trinity Trees: Get Lost

God bless Wendy Davis. She tried. And what she got for her trouble was a scolding from the Mayor of Fort Worth, Mike Moncrief.

Sorry about that, Wendy. You deserve a lot better.

After the meeting, she tried not to cry, but she did a little. And I don't blame her, because I wanted to cry, too.

It wasn't just that the Mayor and the City Council washed their hands of the whole Trinity Trees issue. It was how they did it. "This kind of public rebuke from the Mayor is absolutely appalling," said one woman, who wished not to be identified. "This city has had no better advocate on so many issues than Wendy Davis."

Davis, the District 9 City Council rep who has worked hard to find a solution that would be acceptable to all parties -- Chesapeake, Union Pacific and the people of Fort Worth -- actually brought some good news to the meeting. She's meeting with the Chesapeake CEO on Friday, along with Marc Ott, the assistant city manager who is working on the Southwest Parkway. Chesapeake and Union Pacific have used the Southwest Parkway as the reason that the Trinity Trees must be sacrificed. 'Because of the needs of the Southwest Parkway, there's no way we can use any of the Union Pacific land for drilling.' That's the reasoning.

Davis is trying to cut through this nonsense by getting the right people in the room on Friday. Good you, Wendy. But she didn't stop there.

"This issue is a symptom of a bigger problem and District 9 [Davis' district] is the first to feel it," she said. "We need to be proactive about this. We need to ask the city manager and the legal department and discuss the drilling ordinance."

Davis gets it. She understands that the issue is larger than zoning and individual property rights, it's about safety and quality of life. It is about pipelines going across our land, water trucks wearing out our streets and compression stations that could pose safety and environmental issues in our city.

"Union Pacific and Colonial Country Club are not be asked to bear the burden," she said. "What are the alternatives?"

That's a good question. We are told that the CEOs of Union Pacific and Chesapeake are going to meet. But will the people of Fort Worth have a seat at the table? That remains to be seen.

But Mayor Mikey doesn't want to get involved in this issue, and he's definitely not revisiting the drilling ordinance. "I take exception to the idea that we have not been proactive on this issue," he said. "This is a very difficult issue."

"Had Chesapeake not bought that property, did you see the kind of things that could have been put there? Would you rather have a concrete plant on that property?"

No, Mr. Mayor, I wouldn't. However, your logic is awfully close to what Bud Kennedy wrote on Sunday. And, I'm sorry to break it to you, but Bud didn't share the whole truth with you or the people of Fort Worth in his column. "That is old railroad land," he wrote. "It was always set aside for heavy industry. City Hall planners zoned it K and MU-2 -- specific designations for industrial development. ... The city zoning map is easy to find. ... Check it before you take any chops at City Hall."

So I did. Sure, K is a heavy industrial development. But most of the land is zoned MU-2 (see image from the city Web site at right). That's mixed use, which includes some light industrial, but it also includes such non-industrial uses as kindergartens, day care centers, schools and museums. Funny, Bud didn't mention that, but he really should have. Take a look for yourself. In fact, most of the land around the Modern Art Museum is zoned MU-2 (see map below). I wonder what would happen if someone wanted to put a gas well on that property? Could they get a high impact variance? Do the people of Fort Worth have a right to take chops at City Hall over that?

Mr. Mayor, given the choice between gas well and museum, I'd choose museum. Maybe a Trinity Trees Museum?

The rest of the Council was either antagonistic or silent. District 7 rep Carter Burdette, a former attorney for oil and gas interests, is unmoved by any argument to save the Trees. "The only way you'll know they're gone is if you fly over them in a helicopter." District 4 rep Danny Scarth was similarly unmoved. His reasoning seemed to be not my district, not my problem. Of course, since he crafted much of the existing ordinance, he doesn't feel the need to go back and revisit it.

Basically, Wendy Davis is the only one of the City Council who is convinced this is a real issue, despite 1,300 signatures on Trinity Tree petition and a City Council chamber full of mostly Trinity Trees supporters.

One Mistletoe Heights resident told me, "I see more and more people in my neighborhood becoming concerned with this issue. It is not going away. It's only getting bigger." And she's right. People connected to the neighborhood association there say only around 10 percent of homeowners have signed lease agreements for their mineral rights. A drilling company needs 80 percent before they can drill. I'm told numbers in neighborhoods like Ryan Place and Berkeley have also been slow to sign. Because so many of the Trinity Trees people come from these neighborhoods, I could easily see this issue preventing people from signing.

Bernie Scheffler, who is running to replace Davis in District 9 when she leaves to run for the State Senate, was surprised that Chesapeake and Union Pacific won't ask the City to get involved and help find a solution. "We aren't telling you what to do with your land, we're asking you to get involved to help find a win-win solution for everyone," he said. "Here's your chance to be good corporate citizens. It's not a complex issue."

It's not a complex issue and it's not over either.

"We'll be OK," said Rick Collins with Save the Trinity Trees. "We'll be OK."

P.S.: If you'd like, send Wendy Davis an e-mail to say thanks. Or if you feel a little rowdy, send Bud Kennedy an e-mail and ask him to correct his misleading column from Sunday.

The S-T Sees The Signs

I was happy to see the cover story of the Startlegram's business section profiling community advocates Linda Yarbrough and Don Young -- they're the people behind the Just Say No To Urban Gas Drilling signs. I guess Jim Fuquay didn't get the memo from Bud Kennedy.

Sez the S-T: "Some neighborhood association leaders said they regard the signs as significant, numerous or not, because they give visibility to what they regard as a growing backlash against the active leasing and drilling in the Barnett Shale that has moved from rural areas into densely populated communities.

"'I think they work, more than election signs,' said Mike Windsor, a Fort Worth lawyer and member of the Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Association's gas-drilling committee. 'In an election, you get a lot of information from the newspaper or other places,' he said, while the drilling issue is more localized and depends on people talking to people."

Trinity Trees Public Forum

A funny thing happened at the Trinity Trees Public Forum at Capstone Church in Fort Worth last night. Civility broke out.

A crowd of around 400 people watched as speaker after speaker had their say on the whether the eight-acre tract of old growth urban forest would be preserved or go to the bulldozer. District 9 City Council representative Wendy Davis, the event's emcee, struck the tone early: "We want to have a constructive dialogue with Chesapeake." After all, she said, once this grove of trees is lost, it is lost forever.

And, as the different sides had their say, the tone of civility prevailed. Julie Wilson, the spokeperson for Chesapeake Energy, gave a slick presentation about how drilling on the Trinity Trees site is actually a good thing for the City of Fort Worth. She explained how the company believes it can minimize the environmental impact and make improvements.

Jim Bradbury with Trinity Trees explained the group's position: urban gas drilling has unknown consequences, connected tree canopy is important and alternative drilling sites exist on the Union Pacific site next door. They aren't against drilling, they are in favor of finding a third way, an alternative.

But that wasn't the funny thing. The funny thing was this -- the only extremist in the room is the guy who should know better, Tom Price, Jr., the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Chesapeake Energy. He's El Jefe for Chesapeake on this deal. But he comes off like Montgomery Burns -- corporate fatcat who always says the wrong thing and then doesn't understand why people get angry.

Price is shocked that the community would suggest that Chesapeake would "take" Union Pacific property and that moving the site wouldn't work. "For all of you to say that the answer is for Union Pacific to give up their property, I think is overreaching," he said.

The response was whatever the opposite of a standing ovation is. Honestly, I've never seen that many people boo someone who wasn't wearing a referee's uniform.

That's sort of where things got off track for the Chesapeakers. Wendy Davis immediately jumped on Price's comment. "Colonial and Union Pacific stand to benefit greatly from this, yet the community will bear all of the burden." Davis seems to be more and more outspoken on this issue as her tenure on the Council grows shorter. I like this side of Wendy Davis, and I hope to see more of it in Fort Worth, and maybe in Austin if she wins in her run for the State Senate.

Fort Worth State Representative Lon Burnham (pictured above) also encouraged finding a third way and scolded Union Pacific for not helping offer an alternative. "Union Pacific has not been a good corporate citizen in Fort Worth over the last year on this issue," he said.

Last night confirmed a couple for things for me. There is a growing base of community support against drilling on this site. The issue for these people isn't about drilling -- it's about drilling right there. And these people aren't a bunch tie-dyed, unicorn-hugging wackos, these folks look like your neighbors. Probably because they are your neighbors.

Also, Chesapeake has committed to a strategy: portray this as inevitable and portray this as infringing on the rights of private property owners.

In truth, it is neither.

Folks, this ain't a done deal. The insiders I spoke to last night indicated that the mood on the City Council seemed to be moving toward trying to slow this thing down. Chesapeake can't do anything until they get a permit, and a permit may not be coming quickly. As Wendy Davis mentioned, there is City Council meeting on Tuesday night. Folks need to get down there and let the Council know how they feel on this issue.

This also isn't infringing on the private property rights of anyone. When throwing out ideas for a third way, what's mentioned is a land swap or buying the land or finding some way to compensate Chesapeake of Union Pacific for the inconvenience. What Chesapeake wants you to imagine is Tom Price is a minuteman uniform, defending private property rights for all good Americans. The reality is this: when it comes to protecting private property rights, we the people have more to fear from gas companies than they do from us. Exhibit A: The Case of Billy Mitchell, or "Who's that guy with the eminent domain billboard?"

So who's the victim here? Well, as it stands right now, Chesapeake's reputation as good corporate citizen in Fort Worth appears to be teetering. As Bernie Scheffler, an opponent of urban gas drilling and a candidate for Wendy Davis' District 9 seat on the council said, "Why would Chesapeake Energy, who has spent millions polishing its public image in Fort Worth with commercials and billboards ... why would they blow all that goodwill on this?"

Why indeed. That is a funny thing.

To read the Startlegram's take, click here.

P.S. Big, big shout out to Jenna for helping me take notes. I'm buying you dinner, girl!

Save The Trinity Trees Picnic

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from yesterday’s Trinity Trees picnic -- a bunch of people hugging trees and eating tofu while listening to folk music?


Well, there was folk music, courtesy of The Ackermans, but the crowd looked surprisingly non-revolutionary, just regular folks. But there were a bunch of ‘em – looked to be at least 250 or 300, which was a pleasant surprise. If you can that many people out to support a couple of acres of trees and the heart of conservative, button-down Fort Worth, maybe those trees have chance after all.


I don’t get to see these trees in the daylight too often. Most often I’m riding through them before dawn. The trees are quite impressive and form a canopy that offers cool and shade even on a warm late summer day. One of the trees had a sign tied around it: “Burr Oak: 250 Years Old.” It would be a tragedy to lose a tree like that.


Of course, the Chesapeake Energy folks were there trying to put lipstick on the pig. I’ve had some crappy jobs before, but they all look pretty good compared to “energy company apologist who attends angry neighborhood meetings.”


There were speakers aplenty. I was most interested in seeing my main man Bernie Scheffler (above) do his thing. His speech was short and too-the-point – he is the only candidate running for the District 9 City Council seat who opposes gas drilling. Period.

It doesn’t get any plainer than that – if you want a voice on the council who will protect the health and safety of people in Fort Worth and not just give the drilling companies whatever they want, he’s your guy. If you happen to like rubber-stamp government and giving gas drilling companies a blank check, you have six other candidates to choose from.

Former City Council member Clyde Picht and soon-to-be-former member Wendy Davis said the same thing – the council could have done more in the past to protect the trees if they had written a better ordinance. Picht also suggested the possibility of a land swap. We’ll see where that goes.

Attorney Liane Janovsky (right) spoke powerfully and persuasively about what is at stake. “Natural gas drilling in an urban setting has never happened before on this scale. We are the guinea pigs. We must demand that the city and the gas drilling companies do what’s right so we can live in a safe, clean environment.”

Janovsky also spoke about the Tarrant Appraisal District going back and re-assessing land values in the wake of people signing drilling leases. “You are going to see the land under your house get taxed at rates never before seen.”

Probably the hottest topic for people in the Ryan Place neighborhood are the high-impact variances which would allow companies to drill within 600-feet of a residential area. Some of the proposed drilling along Eighth Avenue could come within 250 feet. Gas drilling companies say it’s safe – but gas drilling companies also say it’s normal to have gas wells spew acrid fog over your house. Yeah, I ain’t buying that one either.


One of the more amusing moments came when another District 9 candidate Chris Turner spoke. The Republican political consultant has the unique ability to talk for 10 minutes yet say absolutely nothing. Is he against urban drilling? He didn’t say. His message seemed to be this: corporations are people, too. Evidently, if we just talk to them, the gas drilling companies will do the right thing. Guess he’s never had an acrid fog over his house.

Of course, it’s only fair to give the other side a chance to speak, and Chesapeake trotted out one of their flunkies to spout the party line. Except things went terribly, terribly wrong. The Chesapeake flunky stepped in it when he said something about global warming, then tried to quickly backtrack by saying, “Of course, we don’t know if global warming really exists.” I’m sure you could have heard the groan of the crowd at Ol South Pancake House. Sorry pal, maybe the folks at Chesapeake don’t side with 98 percent of the world’s scientists, but you could bet the ranch everyone you are speaking to about the Trinity Trees does.

It went south from there with the Chesapeake guy getting into a shouting match with one of the other speakers. Note to Chesapeake: this is not how you win friends in Fort Worth.

But that wasn’t the only Chesapeake gaffe. To show what good corporate citizens they are, they placed little signs showing where they would plant replacement trees. However, the only thing that succeeded in doing was showing the edge of their proposed drilling site. And that line goes pretty close to the river. Lots of people were shocked to see just how many trees would get the ax.


I don’t know if these trees can be saved. Chesapeake owns the land and they can do what they want. But I believe that attitudes are changing against urban drilling. People aren’t liking what they are hearing about the experiences of people in Oakhurst and East Fort Worth who signed years ago. People aren’t trusting the drilling companies and they are starting to ask hard questions and dig in their heels.


Please stay tuned – there’s more coming up. If you are able, please attend the City sponsored Public Forum this Thursday, September 6, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Capstone Church, 1700 Rogers Road. Also, take some time to send a letter to the Mayor and the City Council to voice your opinion.

The Devil Is In The Details

As Tom Waits once sang, "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away." Those of us in Fort Worth who have previously signed gas drilling leases are finding out how true those words are.

As this morning's Star-Telegram reports, Fort Worth residents are finding that signing over their mineral rights may actually cost them money.

Sayeth the Startlegram: "Before they can cash their royalty checks, they have to get legal releases called subordination agreements from their mortgage companies. And the mortgage companies are asking for fees that amount to several years' worth of royalty payments. Gas-company officials said the problem may affect every homeowner who has signed a gas lease after reaching a mortgage agreement. That could include thousands of people in Fort Worth."

Get this from one Chesapeake executive: "We do realize now that there needs to be a better job of telling people upfront," she said. "We're changing our language in the leases and telling people that they have a responsibility to make sure they get the subordination."

Thanks, guys. That's the first I've heard of this. Is it premature to utter the words "class-action lawsuit"? I'm having a little bit of trouble accepting the fact that I may actually lose money because I signed a drilling lease. Meanwhile, my good friends at Chesapeake and Four Sevens are rolling in the money and laughing all the way to the bank.

Oh, well. Caveat Emptor. If you haven't signed a drilling lease, I urge you to be VERY CAREFUL. You may not be getting what you think.