An XTO Energy Gas Site Blows Frac While I See My First Tandy Wildflower Of The Year & Contemplate Taking A Trip To TRIP

The arrival of the first wildflowers coloring up the Tandy Hills was a good indication today that spring is almost here.

Only 15 days until we can say goodbye to the worst winter I've experienced in all the years of my Texas exile.

Yesterday I blogged about a potential gas leak at an XTO Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Operation next to Pappy Elkins Lake in Dalworthington Gardens.

Today, the source of the potential gas leak information, Kim, followed up with what she's found out about what happened at the XTO site next to a lake and apartments and Veterans Park, in Arlington....

Last night, the Dalworington Gardens XTO site had a failed valve and loudly blew (radioactive?) frac sand all in the air near an apt. complex and never called the incident in to the RRC. Since I called this in (thanks to an email tip), the RRC rep called me back and told me that the choke valve leaked into their cellar and blew frac sand out of the well. XTO shut in the well and made the repair. While there was "wash out" in the area, no chlorides or effluents came off the pad into Pappy Elkins Lake. I do not know if any evacuations of the nearby apartments were attempted.  Also unknown is if any people were exposed to any gas or other effluents that the frac sand was under pressure from. 

On a different incident, the drilling spill at Lake Arlington last summer was reported by the Star Telegram as a small water spill, but a report I received today states that at least 95 barrels of produced water was recovered. The five barrels is what they estimate made its way into the lake which is the drinking source for over 500,000 souls.

My next door Chesapeake Energy drilling site has erupted with loud noises a couple times, loud popping noises. I did not know about the Lake Arlington spill. Lake Arlington is fairly close to my abode.

Change of subject. Back to the Tandy Hills. In the picture we are looking west at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth. As you can see it was a bit overcast in the noon time frame. It has since brightened up a bit.

I may be taking a TRIP to the west side of beautiful downtown Fort Worth in a couple hours.

Was There A Gas Leak Last Night At The XTO Energy Drilling Site In Dalworthington Gardens?

I got email this morning about the XTO Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas drilling site you see in the picture. It is located in Dalworthington Gardens by Pappy Elkins Park and Veterans Park in Arlington.

I have made mention of this drilling operation many times, due to its proximity to an apartment complex and people I've talked to who live in that complex who complained about the noise and pollution.

The email I got this morning was a compilation of email exchanges between various parties which began with the following statement...

"I believe there was some kind of an incident tonight with the gas well in dalworthington gardens (near Arkansas Ln)."

Another emailer in the exchanges spoke with RRC, whatever that is, about the alleged spill, saying...

"Just spoke with RRC and they have the correct site....not a spill (thank goodness cause there is a water body adjacent to that site)...all I know is that there was a gas leak at the DWG XTO site. I'll bring my son to school today after all.  I guess he'll be safe.  Life's a crap shoot these days in the gaspatch? The info I received from a council member for the Pantego site near my son's school is..... "...Frac'g is complete.  Some of the trucks drilled out plugs at the various frac stages. The only issue I heard had to deal with evacuating some frac water from some of the completed wells. When laterals get spaced closed together, sometimes as the shale cracks, frac water migrates to another well lateral so that water has to be pumped out before the well will start producing gas again.  There have been some pressure issues between the distribution pipeline and the well head pressure..."

I think the Pantego site being reference is the one to the northwest of the intersection of Pioneer Parkway and Bowen.

That's really was all the information I was able to glean from this email. Someone thought there was a leak. Someone else said there wasn't. The subject line was "Dalworthington Gardens XTO Gas Leak Last Night." The email was flagged urgent.

Also in the email was an interesting bit of Texas law...

Texas Administrative Code, Title 30,  Part 1, Chapter 101, Subchapter A, Rule 101.4, Environmental Quality, Nuisance

No person shall discharge from any source whatsoever one or more air contaminants or combinations thereof, in such concentration and of such duration as are or may tend to be injurious to or to adversely affect human health or welfare, animal life, vegetation, or property, or as to interfere with the normal use and enjoyment of animal life, vegetation, or property.

The law in Texas can be so ironic. There should be a law against that.

The Overexposed Icy Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Worrying About Natural Gas Dissipating All Over Fort Worth

You are looking at a photo facsimile of the Overexposed Icy Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man, taken around noon today.

I don't know what the technical term for that Shadow photo is. Overexposed? I did not realize, when I was taking pictures today, that the camera was still on the ISO setting that I use to take a picture when it is dark, like the picture, this morning, of the view from my cold window.

I do not know what ISO means. No one will tell me. Not even Google.

I reluctantly agreed to take Big Ed hiking with me to the Tandy Hills today. I usually am not agreeable to that, due to a propensity for incidents that reduce the peacefulness of being in the Tandy Hills Sanatorium.

Big Ed wanted to go hiking today due to too much sitting apparently causing his feet to swell up like an overweight pregnant lady in her 8th month.

Yesterday I saw an odd comment or posting or whatever you call it on Facebook, by Big Ed, something about screaming like a school girl. It really made no sense.

For me the hiking did not go well. Why? I don't know. It started off badly when I tripped on a cable. After that I seemed a bit unstable. So, I sort of cut the hiking short.

I was parked at the top of Mount Tandy.

You can tell when Big Ed approaches due to the loud wheezing and the thumping of his heftiness as he stomps along the trail.

I got myself a big chunk of wood, hid behind a bush and waited for Big Ed to wheeze past on his way up Mount Tandy. When he did I threw the chunk of wood at him. He jumped and let out a scream like one of those school girls he Facebooked about.

As soon as I saw the height of the jump and volume of the scream I regretted not having my camera out and on and in video mode.

On a completely different note. This past week I have speculated as to whether or not my recent respiratory woes might be related to Chesapeake Energy activity at their gas pad across the street from my abode, which they were working on last week.

This morning, in north Fort Worth, an XTO Engergy gas well site was pluming out a big vapor cloud. Fort Worth Firefighters arrived and blocked off the site of the leak, while Fort Worth police routed traffic away from Main Street. I am guessing this leaker is a gas well site due west of the Trinity River, due south of the Fort Worth Stockyards. I recollect being appalled when I saw one going up there whilst pedaling my now stolen bike on the Trinity Trails.

An XTO crew got the leak under control before the fire officials went into evacuation mode.

A spokesman for XTO Energy said the vapor cloud dissipated as soon as the leak was stopped.

Dissipated? As in mixed in with the air we all breathe? Or, for some of us, try to breathe? I prefer my air to be free of dissipated natural gas.