FW CanDo!

The "clean natural gas" myth has been debunked by none other than the State of Texas.

Mike Moncrief, Ed Ireland, Chesapeake, XTO and other environmental criminals were wrong.

Barnett Shale gas is now, officially, just another dirty fossil fuel and a major contributor to DFW smog.

How much?

200 TONS per day !!!!!

Dr. Al Armendariz of SMU, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) all agree that oil and gas development in the Barnett Shale is about equal to all the vehicles in the 9 county DFW Metroplex.

This particular study is ONLY about air quality.

When you factor in the water and safety issues, greenspace destruction and other quality of life issues, natural gas production is a significant endangerment to public health and safety.

Environmental Justice has been denied to people, pets and wildlife in the Barnett Shale.

Now the jig is up.

We are ready for some justice.

DY

Read more below from Dr. Al's Press Release:

http://lyle.smu.edu/~aja/barnett-shale.html


from the desk of Al Armendariz, Ph.D.

May 27, 2009
Dallas, Texas
STATE DATA SUPPORTS CONCLUSIONS OF EDF/SMU STUDY ON
BARNETT SHALE EMISSIONS

Oil and gas sector emissions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are significant,
but cost-effective solutions are available to reduce the environmental impact
and increase revenue for oil and gas producers.

From 2004 to 2007, officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ) worked to develop the latest version of the clean air plan for the
Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, with input from other stakeholders
including US EPA, local and regional governments, the business community,
EDF, and other environmental groups. In May 2007, at the hearing when the
TCEQ adopted the clean air plan, testimony was presented which indicated that
oil and gas sector sources in the Barnett Shale area around the city of Fort Worth
were greatly underestimated in the clean air plan. This testimony cast serious
doubt on the accuracy of the photochemical modeling at the core of the state’s
plan. Nonetheless, the TCEQ commissioners adopted the plan.

In the state’s May 2007 clean air plan, oil and gas sources in the 9-county DFW
metropolitan area were estimated to produce only 26 tons per day (tpd) of smog-
forming nitrogen oxides and volatile organic emissions.

There is a common misconception that all the natural gas being produced in the
Barnett Shale is “clean” gas, with no impact to the environment. While it is true
that the use of natural gas for electricity generation results in much lower
emissions of sulfur, mercury, and greenhouse gases compared to coal, the
production (upstream) and processing and transport (midstream) parts of the
natural gas sector can have very large environmental impacts. The official
records from the Texas Railroad Commission demonstrate that oil/gas activity in
the approximately 20 counties of the Barnett Shale area produces hundreds of
thousands of barrels of condensate liquid and crude oil, which are stored in
thousands of above-ground tanks that vent to the atmosphere.

Since May 2007, independent efforts were undertaken by both the TCEQ and
SMU/EDF to estimate the real magnitude of oil and gas sector emissions. The
SMU/EDF effort was lead by me and coordinated by Dr. Ramon Alvarez of the
Austin office of EDF.

The new data compiled by the TCEQ after May 2007 estimates that smog-
forming emissions in the 9-county D-FW metropolitan area were approximately
90 tpd. This new data also estimated that emissions for the entire 19-counties of
the Barnett Shale area were approximately 200 tons per day.

These updated state results are extremely consistent with the independently-
produced results of the SMU/EDF study that I released in January 2009. For the
2007 calendar year, I estimated emissions in the 9-county metropolitan area to be
112 tpd on average and I estimated estimates for the entire 19-county Barnett
Shale area to be 191 tpd on average. These numbers are within 10-20% of the
TCEQ estimates (90 vs 100, 200 vs 191).

In my report I also accounted for the increase in VOC and HAP emissions that
occurs on peak summer days because of heating of volatile compounds in
storage tanks. I estimated emissions to be 165 tpd in the 9-county metro area and
307 tpd in the entire Barnett Shale area during a hot summer day.

The fact that separate efforts by the TCEQ and SMU/EDF to correct the
emissions inventory for oil/gas sector sources in the D-FW area are coming to
the same approximate answer is satisfying. Claims earlier this year by some gas
company representatives that my estimates were too high by a factor of 5 or
more appear to be completely unsupportable.

While it would have been best to have the updated TCEQ data in the emissions
inventory and photochemical computer modeling prior to TCEQ adoption of the
DFW clean air plan in May 2007, it is clear that in the future, state and federal
regulators will have a more accurate picture of the true magnitude of emissions
from the oil/gas sector in this part of Texas.

It is unfortunate that the oil and gas sector chose to lobby against common sense
measures that were introduced in the Texas Legislature this year that would
have both reduced emissions, plus resulted in increased revenue to producers
from the capture of excess hydrocarbons that are otherwise being vented to the
atmosphere.

Nonetheless, I hope the industry realizes that the days of venting methane and
hydrocarbons to the atmosphere are probably numbered. If I was their lobbyist, I
would be strongly advising them to take all necessary measures to reduce
emissions starting today, to give themselves time, lessen the impact that future
initiatives are bound to require, and help protect the environment.

my emissions inventory, references, and additional information can be found at:

http://lyle.smu.edu/~aja/barnett-shale.html