After a 10-year moratorium, the Fort Worth City Council appears poised to approve locating underground wastewater disposal wells inside the city in areas zoned I, J, and K.
They could be 1,000 feet from a protected use -- such as your home -- but would require council approval if they were closer than 1,000 feet. Also called "saltwater" wells, these are dump sites for the cocktail of water, sand and fluid used in natural gas hydraulic fracturing operations. There is evidence that some of the "frack" fluids in this wastewater are toxic.The question is "What has changed that would prompt the city to consider allowing the placement of such wells?" Ironically, there appear to be more concerns now about the wastewater produced in the fracking process and the disposal wells than there were even five years ago.In early August, the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission banned fracking disposal wells in central Arkansas, near the communities of Greenbrier and Guy and for a 1,150 square mile radius because of earthquakes. A state geologist reported evidence that certain earthquakes occurred when massive amounts of waste were put in disposal wells in the affected area.Last year, a study of seismic activity near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by SMU and University of Texas at Austin researchers showed that wastewater disposal wells were a "plausible cause" for the series of small earthquakes that occurred in the area between October 2008 and May 2009. A state tectonic map showed a northeast-trending fault intersects the Dallas-Tarrant county line approximately at the place where the DFW quakes occurred. A wastewater disposal well was placed on or near that fault.When the injections stopped, the quakes stopped.Earthquakes caused by wells sited over or close to fault lines, potential for leaks and spills of the chemically laced frack water, potential for contamination of well water or ground water, resident radiation in the frack water, corrosion of the pipelines that could be carrying the water from the well site to a disposal well -- the list goes on and on for why it's hard to love the idea of wastewater disposal wells inside any metropolitan area.Are either disposal wells or the trucking of contaminated water out of the city the only two options available? Not according to cutting edge industry that is promoting mobile evaporative units to treat the frack water in Pennsylvania. The units are able to return some of that water to be recycled. We are living in a historic drought when some cities in our area have begun to ban fracking during the summer months as well as banning the use of city water for fracking. Water conservation is an ongoing concern. Can we afford to put millions of gallons of contaminated water underground and just leave it there, lost forever?We recommend that the city continue its moratorium on wastewater disposal wells and encourage the use of new technology to deal with the issue. We would like for Fort Worth to be able to say that it supports the production of "cleaner burning" natural gas in a manner consistent with our obligation to be effective stewards of local natural resources and to have firm oversight of those business activities which may adversely affect the health, safety and economic welfare of our residents.The Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods has commented on all the proposed revisions to the City's Gas Drilling Ordinance (www.fwlna.org). These comments include the following recommendations:Protected Uses -- Add Trinity Trails as a protected use with a 600 foot protection area to be measured from the center line of the Trails. The Trinity Trails should not be used for drilling thoroughfares.Multiple Well Pad Sites -- Residential or commercial property renters should have the ability to consent to a drill site affecting them. No payment for waivers should be allowed.Gas Pipelines -- The city proposes a Notification Zone ordinance that requires more residents be notified when a company plans to drill on a site. Instead of the 30 days notification proposed by the city, the league recommends notification of 120 days prior to drilling.Ensure that adequate public discussion of pipeline route selection is included before siting approval is granted. This would include review by Gas Drilling Review Committee, the Zoning Commission, the Plan Commission, the Parks and Community Services Advisory Board, etc.Make all pipeline permit information publicly available online and ensure that the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP), pipeline diameter size, and potential radius graphs of all pipelines are provided in such information before approval is sought from various committees or the City Council.Make all permitted pipeline routes available online before approval is provided.Require pipeline operators to provide certification of pipeline maintenance records to the city of Fort Worth on an annual basis and make those records available to the public online.Air Quality -- Ensure that the three sets of best practices proposed include the following OR require the following in addition to the "Best Practices" lists:Use of electric drill rigs, electric compressor engines and electric motors for driving any other stationary as field infrastructure should be used on new well sites and on any wells that are to be refracked.For all new wells and wells that are to be refracked:Condensate/produced water tanks must be independently monitored for control of VOC emissions.Vapor recovery units must be used when appropriate.No-bleed pneumatic valves and fittings must be used on pipeline networks near protected uses and/or high population facilities such as schools, hospitals, facilities for the elderly, etc.Green completions must be used.Substitutions for toxic materials must be used when non-polluting options are available.Testing and monitoring should be carried out for the life of the wells by an independent entity. Operators should not be allowed to provide testing results. All testing should be done without operators' prior knowledge.The city of Fort Worth should use infrared cameras to inspect well sites regularly.Per ERG recommendation, air quality monitoring and testing should be established on a regular basis in Fort Worth neighborhoods.No flaring of wells should be allowed.A public hearing on proposed revisions to the Gas Drilling Ordinance is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fort Worth City Hall. A vote on the proposals is scheduled Oct. 25. Residents may comment online at www.fortworthtexas.gov on the Planning Department Page, Gas Drilling.Libby Willis is president of the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
