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Leaving Gasland
January
4, 2012 - Our ordeal living in Gasland has ended. All I
can say about it, and all I care to say about it, is
that “The matter has been resolved”. Read into that how
you will, I'll say no more about it.
 As my
family and our animals begin our new life in Pilot
Point, TX, where the air is clean, and the water supply
free of drilling chemicals, I have been fielding a
number of calls and emails about our new life. "So,
you're moving?"..yes. "You sell your house?"...yes. "Who
did you sell your house to?..*.the matter has been
resolved.* "Oh". Someone asked if I felt we had ‘won or
lost’, obviously looking for details. That got me to
thinking.
Regardless of where one lives in Gasland, whether it is
the urban setting or rural, I'm hard pressed to say that
there is no such thing as 'winning,' only degrees of
losing;
When the
drillers first show up, one loses any sense or belief
one has about personal property rights. One learns the
hard way the definition of ‘split estate’, and that
somewhere along the line, someone decided that mineral
rights trump all other rights, including any one thought
they had according to the U.S. Constitution.
When the
constant noise comes, with the 24/7 screech of the rig
brakes on pipe, stadium lighting blinding, huge plumes
of diesel exhaust, non-stop semi truck traffic at all
hours of the day and strange workmen tramping around
just a few feet from one’s home, one tends to lose
faith; Not in God, but in the State. The very same
agencies- the TCEQ, TRRC, and even the EPA to a large
extent- are either unwilling or unable to help anyone.
View out the kitchen
window during drilling
The Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality are people appointed
by the Gashole Governor, and he’s all for tearing up the
entire state of Texas, if need be, to keep the gas
flowing; the Commissioners have their marching orders,
and they are loyal soldiers.
The Texas
Railroad Commission, the chief regulatory agency of oil
and gas in Texas, couldn’t be more corrupt; every one of
them, led by conflict- of- interest Chairman Elizabeth
Ames Jones, sees their job as promoting oil and gas
development, not actually regulating it. Commissioner
David Porter refers to people like me as ‘unsatisfied
landowners’. He is absolutely correct; I couldn’t be
more unsatisfied with the TRRC’s lack of knowledge,
ability or desire to help the very same people they are
supposed to be protecting. The lack of enforcement
actions and denial of the few enforcement actions on
rare recommendation is proof enough of that.
Chairman
Jones uses her position to testify before U.S. Congress,
extolling all the so-called ‘benefits’ of natural gas
development, and denies any water contamination is due
to hydraulic fracturing. Her testimony was an appalling
display pandering for congressional support in her then
run for U.S. Senate. Perhaps she’s merely splitting
hairs, as she has recently acknowledged reports of
ground water contamination due to surface spills.
This
distinction brings little comfort to those with
contaminated water, where testing results shows drilling
chemicals in their drinking water.
When the
drilling is complete, and the production begins, one
loses any sense of well being and suffers from ill
health effects. The gas emissions are constant, and the
equipment is often faulty. If one complains enough, the
driller will install a flare and then burn those gases
instead of just releasing them into the air. In doing
so, the drillers will credit themselves for ‘improving’
the air quality, although it’s simply trading one
emission for another. There’s nothing ‘safer’ or
‘better’ about these emissions. When one complains to
the TCEQ, they will conduct an air sample.
Ruggiero's house at
left center of photo
If the
sampling proves to be above limits, the TCEQ will say
their equipment is faulty. When the sampling is below
limits, then they say it’s ‘acceptable’ and ‘within EPA
guidelines’. It makes little difference that one’s
exposure to Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylenes
were ZERO prior to the drilling. And diesel exhaust?
TCEQ does not measure that.
When the
production falls, and it falls fast, losing as much as
50% or more within the first year, the drillers bring in
a compressor station or two. (Or FIFTEEN, like
Chesapeake is attempting in the middle of a residential
neighborhood in Fort Worth) One loses any sense of
tranquility and peace and sleep, as the noise is loud
and constant. The compressors emit not only a loud
noise, but also low frequency vibration. Is it truly
unknown the cause of acoustic vibrostic disease in
people who do not work in an industry where this occurs,
but only because they live next to compressor stations?
When one
has thoroughly exhausted all potential remedies- the
TCEQ, TRRC, County Commissioners and Judges, County
Sheriff, EPA, U.S. Senators and Congressmen, Texas State
Senators and Congressmen , one realizes there’s only two
choices about the future; One can stay and risk their
health and that of their children, put a strain on their
marriage and relationship with their children, or they
can leave and risk their credit. The decision is not
easy, but there really is only one choice; One has to
leave, as credit can always be repaired, health cannot.
When children have sudden unexplained nosebleeds, that’s
the huge flag waving that says it’s time to go, get out
now.
So we
have left Gasland, and life begins anew. We cannot get
back what we have lost over the last two years, but we
are, by the grace of God, able to start over away from
Gasland. I can say that our ordeal has strengthened my
faith in God, solidified my marriage, and given me the
opportunity to spend time with my daughter instead of
fighting with elected and appointed officials, filing
public information requests, and losing sleep over what
catastrophe will come next. I look forward to
videotaping my daughter’s swim meets, not the next
spill, leak or tank venting.
Leaving
Gasland is not winning, it’s merely an end to losing. I
will continue my work with Shaletest, continue on
speaking tours, both with Mayor Calvin Tillman and
perhaps occasionally without, and I will continue to
speak out for those who have been negatively impacted by
natural gas well development.
Tim
Ruggiero
Pilot Point, TX
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