Aug 27, 2008
by Steve-O
Following hot on the heels of the Wall Street Journal, CNN and NPR, NBC is coming to town to check out this Barnett Shale thing. Word is that NBC Nightly News will be in town on Thursday to talk with Jerry Horton on Carter Avenue. Even though Ms. Horton agreed last week to give up the right-of-way for a pipeline after realizing that there was no legal way to keep a natural gas pipeline company from building its gathering line beneath her home, this incident is just another example that Fort Worth can offer the rest of the country about gas drilling — how not to conduct gas drilling in an urban area.
Tags: Barnett Shale, Jerry Horton, pipelines
Related Posts on West and Clear
- July 31, 2008 -- Texas Midstream Moving Ahead on Carter Ave.
- October 10, 2008 -- Chesapeake Energy Withdraws TCU Permit
- August 17, 2008 -- A Conversation with Jerry Horton
- August 8, 2008 -- Three Out of Four Lawyers Surveyed Say: City Needs a Master Plan for Drilling Infrastructure
- August 5, 2008 -- Crestwood, Carter Park High-Impact Variances on the Agenda at Tonight’s City Council Meeting
- August 4, 2008 -- Fort Worth Pipelines in Wall Street Journal
- July 31, 2008 -- Westcliff Pipeline Meeting: The Haiku
- July 28, 2008 -- West Meadowbrook NA Schedules Public Meeting on Pipelines for Wednesday
- July 23, 2008 -- Chesapeake Continues “Improving Our Neighborhoods” for the TCU Gas Well Pipeline
- July 16, 2008 -- Are Pipelines the Next Trinity Trees?
13 Comments, Comments or Pings
Margaret Ritsch
Hi Steve–
NBC not coming to do the Barnett Shale story … it got cancelled a couple of hours ago. Only because the local NBC affiliate did a big Barnett Shale story about 8 months ago, and the national network didn’t know that.
Margaret
Aug 27th, 2008
Greg
But the local affiliate didn’t cover an old lady being bullied into signing away part of her property while city officials sworn to protect citizens stood by and watched. That only happened last week.
It’s a sad day when such abdication by government officials isn’t news.
Interesting inside scoop on network thinking. Ready to cite sources?
Aug 27th, 2008
steve
The old lady got over $15,000 for a right of way that has pipe 20 feet underground, no surface operations, no dead trees . Her house is falling down and the neighborhood is delapidated and in blight. She milked the sympathies of otherwise intelligent people and media. Let it go.
Aug 27th, 2008
Suzette Watkins
Did they fix the contract? They had feet represented by inch marks ” ” instead of foot marks ‘ which would drop the depth to 2 - 3 feet! Also in the contract, at one point, “if they hit bedrock” then they could go even shallower. Watch out for the unethical tactics of the Energy Companies. 0)
Aug 27th, 2008
Kevin Buchanan
No dead trees is the goal - it may not be the reality.
If a neighborhood’s in “blight,” you don’t fix it by cramming the streets full of water trucks and condemning property for pipelines.
Aug 27th, 2008
Greg
Steve:
Right. Beat up an old lady. Feel better about yourself? And your employers?
She didn’t want to sign the papers. She was bullied into it. Not as graphic as a full fledged beating, but cowards did it and cowards stood by.
God help this city. It’s been a lovely place to live. Its founders spin in their graves as we type.
Aug 27th, 2008
steve
Wow, Greg. Are you related to Horton ? Maybe owe her some money ? The depth is 20 feet, not 2 or 3 as was mentioned by Suzette. Jerry Horton was not bullied into anything.
She told the pipeline company that she needed the $ to fix her roof. The rest was a show.
God doesn’t need to help the City, Greg. He already is by blessing us with the Barnett Shale. You guys that beat XTO and Chesapeake over the head for enriching the area are riding on the short bus. Sell you car and ride a bike. Then maybe we’ll give you an ounce of creedence.
Aug 28th, 2008
Kevin Buchanan
The Barnett Shale is hardly some sort of holy blessing. You really think it’s going to to jack squat with energy problems? Natural gas is peaking and will fall even harder than oil. The shale plays are just a blip on the radar. If any of you who are so infatuated with drilling for this gas everywhere in town no matter the cost actually think this shale play stuff is going to be any more than a short-term Band-Aid, you’ll be very disappointed.
Gas drilling for the most part isn’t enriching the area. It’s another way for certain members of our society to keep their heads in the sand and pretend we can drill our way to happiness and $0.99 fuel again and never have to even consider changing the status quo. There is a rude awakening beginning and this precious shale play isn’t going to save us.
Those of you who wish to sell out our city for this stupid, pointless insignificant bump in gas production that’s not going to do anything in the grand scheme - you absolutely terrify me. I suppose that’s the consequence of this “status quo at all costs” mentality.
Aug 28th, 2008
Bernie
Steve (Garth)- as an employee of Chesapeake, you aren’t doing much to convince those who have thoughtful objections to the way your company operates when you come here under disguise and accuse them of “riding the short bus.” That’s offensive, and I assure you these tactics are only making CHK look worse in the eyes of many Fort Worth residents.
Aug 28th, 2008
sirius_girl
speaking of busses - am i crazy, or are there fewer CHK promos on the road?
if that’s the case, thank god! I’m looking forward to a few minutes not choking on Chesapeake PR fumes.
Aug 28th, 2008
Chris H
Steve,
I don’t have a car and I ride a bike. What kind of leeway does that give me?
Aug 28th, 2008
Ben
Kevin - are you for real? Do we really need to keep trotting out the same statistics & articles saying the tremendous impact this is having on the area? I don’t think Steve is saying that we can drill our way to happiness or that it is going to solve all of our energy problems. All we are saying is that it IS having a financial impact and that we would be in worse shape without it .
Aug 28th, 2008
Kevin Buchanan
Ben,
Please. The shale plays are nothing more than a drop in the bucket. It’s not going to do squat long term. It’s a complete dodge that lets certain people feel good thinking we’re doing something worthwhile, when we are in fact just shuffling the same tired cards around trying to delay the inevitable. It lets people think we can just keep the status quo running full-steam with their heads buried in the sand.
It is certainly not something we should be raping our city for. Apparently, though, people don’t mind as long as they get a little cash each month, comfy in their delusions that the shale is doing something to keep their faux-happy little world of hour-plus commutes, Wal-Mart, strip malls, and cheaply-built jive plastic tract homes running at full speed as they plunge towards the cliff, steadfastly refusing to even acknowledge the possibility that this whole thing has absolutely zero future.
The entire discussion makes me sick, and I will have no part of it any further. Good day to you all.
Sep 2nd, 2008
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