Calvin Tillman, Former Mayor of DISH, TX

Devon Flir Video

2012-01-21T09:55:00.001-08:00

The Paper Tiger

2012-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

To those of you who have children, you have no doubt seen the movie, The Jungle Book. In this movie the villain is played by the dreaded tiger Shere Khan. Shere Khan was feared by all in the land except for the young child Mogli, who exposed Shere Khan's weakness, which was fire. Shere Khan was of course what we call a paper tiger, which appears to be powerful, but is actually powerless and ineffective.

When I started dealing with the natural gas industry, I was initially intimidated by the size and wealth of the industry. I soon learned that negotiating with them in this frame of mind, I would come up short. The industry is poised to prey on those who are intimidated by them, and I had began to hear a number of horror stories regarding the industry and how they would threaten and intimidate those who would dare to question them. Frankly, I found the initial approach to be friendly... friendly like a car salesman, not friendly like neighbor. However, after being sold a bad used car a couple of times, you quickly learn that maybe you should question what is going on. That is when you start seeing the threats begin; first the sales pitch, and then the threats.

When growing up everyone had to deal with a bully. Maybe is was the ugly kid at school whose parents didn't like them much and who never learned to get their way without using force. But, eventually the skinny kid punches them in the nose, and the secret is out that they bleed like everyone else. The skinny kid does that when it seems likely the only option. If you figure out that you are going to get your butt kicked either way, you may as well go down swinging and this is when the paper tiger's weakness gets exposed.

This is very similar to the story in DISH. At some point we knew that there would be nothing left if we did not make a stand; nothing more than an eventual statistic. We went through the sales pitch from the paid liars, and the constant threats from the industry sociopaths. I knew we were likely going to lose, but why not go down fighting? I quickly learned that this industry was nothing more than a paper tiger, and began finding and exploiting their weaknesses. I found with a little strategy, it does not take much to get ahead of this industry.

I like playing chess, and compare this little battle to playing chess with a checkers player. They have employed the same strategy for so long, that they do not have the ability to try something different. Everyone who plays chess is familiar with the four move checkmate; however, the four move checkmate works every time on those who work in this industry. I have told them on a number of occasions that I have two advantages over them, the first being that they get paid for this...I don't, and the second being that when they were snuggled into bed I would be lying awake staring at the ceiling thinking about my next move. Many times I got only a blank stare at this comment, kinda like the lights are on, but no one is home look.

Many of the people I have spoken with feel like they are behind they industry and always reacting and catching up to them. However, I think that it is imperative to make the industry react and catch up to you. When they are getting ready to make a move, they must consider what you will do. They must make your reaction a part of their plan. Through my dealings with the industry, it is apparent that the plan that they employ is very simple, they lie, they bully, and when that doesn't work, they get the laws changed so that one of the other tactics works better next time, then they wonder why nobody likes them.

It has come to my attention that the industry is trying the bully tactic on some of my friends made through my travels around the United States. They apparently have stooped to the level of stalking and intimidating people. This is happening from Texas to Pennsylvania to people who are only trying to live the American Dream, and having that dream stolen by this industry. I have had a number of people call me and caution me about being so vocal on the industry. Many have been worried about my safety and I certainly appreciate the thoughtfulness of these warnings, but you must know by now that I am not afraid of the paper tiger.

Just like the skinny kid that bloodies the bullies nose, you have have to figure you are going to get your butt kicked either way, so why not put up a fight. This has helped improve the situation in DISH, and it will help you as well. When we have meetings in DISH, and the industry showed up, I asked them to let me know so that I could hire private security to insure their protection. Typically, they stand in the back of the room, staring at their shoes, and only speak when spoken to, I think they may actually have left their vehicles running in the parking lot for a quick escape. You see in DISH, we were not intimidated, but rather the industry was intimidated by us; in DISH we controlled the situation. Many of the state regulatory agencies also have been put in their place by the angry mob in DISH.

There always seems to be one industry person who draws the short straw and has to attend one of my presentations. They are easy to spot and do not wish for me to know their identity. I always try to sneak up on them and introduce myself. I have to sneak up on them, because if they see me coming, they will avoid the meeting. If I do manage to introduce myself, you can see the uncomfortableness of the individual as I shake their hand, making sure to squeeze their hand just enough to get their attention, and I have already told several to watch the exchange to see the reaction from the paper tiger. Many may say that I am using my notoriety to intimidate them and therefore I am no better than them. I do this for a reason, and that is to show those who invited me exactly how weak those in this industry are.

There have also been reports that some are intimidated by none other than their own neighbors, who are apparently disappointed that they have not signed the lease and are "stopping progress". I have already spoken about the "gold rush" scenario, so I won't go into that. But nonetheless, there are those who feel that it is only you that are preventing them from fulfilling their lifelong goal of being rich. They have not managed to get rich with all of their other schemes, but this is the one that will finally work. Not realizing that they are doing nothing more than helping a guy in Oklahoma make payments on his NBA arena and is wine collection. They have just been taken advantage of one more time, and they don't even know it, and they will likely end up as broke as they are now.

I am not suggesting violence, or anything that could be interpreted as that. What I am suggesting is to stand up and deal with this problem. When politicians take away our rights for the benefit of this industry, let's show them the door. When the industry tries the techniques I have described, expose them for what they are. If they stalk you, get photos, videos, and expose them for what they are doing, send this information to me and others who can expose these sort of actions. Don't let their threatening emails and message go unnoticed. Call the authorities, call the media, or call me. You will find very quickly that you are dealing with a paper tiger, the intimidation will stop immediately. And this message is also for those in the industry, it is your people that are taking these tactics, and it is your responsibility to help prevent it. A little advice for those in the industry, if you don't want to be treated like a scumbag...don't be a scumbag.

Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Athens OH Press Release

2012-01-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan 18, 2012
Contact: Christine Hughes at cthughes@fastermac.net

Fracking Presentation to Educate Community and Officials

There will a public presentation on the environmental, economic and health related impacts of horizontal hydraulic fracturing on Jan 28 at 2 p.m. The event will feature Calvin Tillman as seen in the film Gasland, and will be held in Morton Hall Room 237.

Tillman, former mayor of Dish Texas, will discuss the health effects he and his family suffered as fracking moved in to his small Texas town. He will also examine the accountability of the natural gas industry, and share what he is doing to help communities protect themselves.

S Thomas Bond, a retired teacher with a Ph. D. in Inorganic Chemistry, will be presenting on the connection between the environment, land ownership, quiet country living and resources for the future. He will speak more extensively on the kinds of damage to be expected from shale drilling, and will point out what he considers the objective of shale drillers, the concept of externalization of costs. Bond is also a member of the Guardians of the West Fork and the Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact in West Virginia.

“Hearing about fracking from individuals who live with it will help us know what is in store for us if industry moves in,” says Christine Hughes, a local business owner and organizer of the event. “I feel that personal accounts ‘from the trenches’ are what officials are looking for, to pinpoint what must be done to prevent damage to our own community.”

Following the event will be a casual reception at Jackie O’s at 5 p.m to give individuals an opportunity to speak directly to Tillman and Bond. Contact Christine Hughes at cthughes@fastermac.net for more information.

Putting the Cat Back Into the Bag

2012-01-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

Since the town of DISH released the results of the ambient air study in 2009, the oil and gas industry has worked overtime to put that cat back into the bag. They first attacked the consultant that conducted our study, and then came after me personally with numerous threats and frivolous public information requests. They also spent a tremendous amount of resources to find any angle to put a cloud of doubt around the study, although the lab results clearly showed a problem, and subsequent studies show similar results including those studies perform by the oil and gas industry themselves. This rhetoric did not stop at the industry public relations departments, but also went to the highest levels of government in the State of Texas. Our state wide elected Railroad Commissioners can be heard on public record regurgitating the same vile comments that the industry groups were spewing, all working in collusion to make this little problem go away.

Once the Town of DISH started to get attention worldwide from this air study, the industry worked even harder to cloud the truth. Through my research it is apparent that the oil and gas industry will dispute any and all actions that cost the industry money, even likely spending more money to dispute the facts than accept responsibility and correcting the problem. Although, if they would show even one ounce of responsibility, it would pay huge dividends to their public image. One example of this propaganda is the AskChesapeake (CHK) website. Before the town of DISH air study was made public, there was a section of this website that admitted to the release of many of the chemicals found in DISH, and other areas, including the carcinogen benzene. The site indicated that these chemicals were tightly regulated by numerous state and federal agencies. When the DISH study was released, it became apparent that these sites weren't quite as regulated as Chesapeake (CHK) had indicated. Therefore, shortly after the release of the DISH air study, which had Chesapeake's (CHK) name all over it, that section of their website disappeared, and was replaced with a page that basically said " a little benzene exposure is ok".

The industry also likes to deflect blame from themselves by pointing out other industries that pollute. They act as though bad behavior by others makes it alright for them to do it. I have heard that there have been idle threats aimed at municipalities from Chesapeake, stating that if air testing was accomplished at any of their facilities, they would hire a firm to test the air around some of the area's largest employers. Hmmm, didn't see that advertised on AskChesapeake.

Now when traveling to make presentations around the country, I carry a library of air studies, and numerous photos from around the country. I explain these studies and photos during my presentation, because I know by now that someone will accuse me of dramatizing these issues. The industry would much rather show a photo of a little deer running in front of a drilling rig, than an aerial view of DISH, or better yet, the satellite images that show thousands of large well pad sites. That makes it a little difficult for them to say that there will only be a few wells here and there, and the land will be returned to its original condition. Therefore, the group of paid liars, show up and video my presentation, trying to find something to take out of context and use against me. They then write some hack piece on their websites that are only read by those looking to get paid by the industry, and that makes the band of thugs applaud.

Another issue that follows the same pattern is the small community of Dimock, PA. A private water well actually exploded and yet now the claim is that everything is fine, again trying to put the cat back in the bag. Anyone who has visited the affected people in Dimock, know that everything is not fine, but rather still quite a mess. But the state agency designed to protect the people of Pennsylvania are also working in collusion with the oil and gas industry. This agency has allowed the industry to stop delivering fresh water to those whose water wells are tainted by the irresponsible activities of others. With these sort of actions, does anyone wonder why people are moving out of Gasland? When you cannot depend on those who are paid to protect you, you must protect yourself and your family. None of us are in this position because of our own doing, or because we want to be.

There have been numerous university studies that have attempted to validate the industry's stories. Whether it deals with health impacts, or economic impacts, if they are funded by the industry, they always paint a rosy picture. While typically those who perform studies that are not funded by the industry, typically tell a different story, and if the story is not rosy, it is attacked. In the industries eyes only the studies they fund are valid, and not too many studies show a rosy picture if they are not industry funded. There have been numerous air studies accomplished throughout the Barnett Shale. First there was the DISH Study, that was followed up by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality testing, then the industry performed a study, and lastly the City of Fort Worth perform a study. If looking at only the lab results, all of the studies have very similar findings. There were the same chemicals detected and at levels above the Effects Screening Levels, including benzene that was detected in all of the studies. Frankly, some of the benzene levels found in the other areas were much worse than those found in DISH. However, the study in DISH indicated that there might be a problem with being exposed to benzene, while the other studies indicated that being exposed to a little benzene was ok, and when the levels were very high, they stated that they were being corrected. Although the lab results showed problem, the press release said everything was rosy. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality actually lied to the public about their test results, and had a subsequent internal ethics investigation that showed how this organization intentionally misled the public when they stated that they had not detected benzene in eight air samples, when results showed that half of the samples had elevated benzene levels. No one was ever held accountable for this intentional misleading of the public.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) even came to DISH to take blood and urine samples. This showed several elevated chemicals in the blood and urine of over half of the households, and most of those chemicals had been found to be produced by the compressor station; however, the TDSHS said things like household chemicals and smoking caused the elevated levels, when only four of the twenty seven people tested actually smoked. I was one of the ones who gave samples for the test, and along with 2/3 of those tested, I had toluene in my system. The TDSHS blamed this exposure on my commute, which I had not accomplished in 72 hours, and the half life for toluene is said to be 4 hours. During the meeting where they presented this information, there were several questions posed that the TDSHS could not answer, such as what the number of men vs women that were tested, were there different results in men vs women, how far did each person live from a well or compressor site, did those who lived closer to wells or compressors have higher exposure than those living further away. After it became apparent that the person responsible did not do an effective study, she admitted that this was not a scientific study, and that it should not be looked at as such (you can find the presentation on youtube). However, it has been treated and touted as the smoking gun that things are fine...nothing to see here . There have even been those in academia who have supported this study after it was admittedly flawed, while both the university professors, and the TDSHS are both paid by the State of Texas, where negative talk about the oil and gas industry is not tolerated. Consequently, the governor, who has never had a real job, made a run for President of the United States due to his support from the oil and gas industry, although that is not working out to well for him.

I do not have PhD that follows my name, nor am any kind of scientist, doctor,or lawyer. I admittedly do not understand things like climate change or global warming, but I do believe that I have a little common sense, and I have a lot of smart people that consult me. Therefore, when the benzene level goes up, so does the risk of someone getting cancer, and my children waking up to massive nosebleeds is not normal. Since moving from DISH 9 months ago my children have not suffered one nosebleed in the middle of the night. So although I am not a scientist, and can't explain why my children were getting nosebleeds, or why the noxious odors gave me a headache and a sore throat, I know I feel better now, have a lot more energy, and that moving out of Gasland was a smart move for me and my family. For those really smart people who think that everything is fine in Gasland, please let me know...I bet I could find you a great deal on a house with a compressor station in your back yard, because it is very easy to say things are fine, when you don't have any skin in the game.

Calvin Tillman
Former Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Chesapeake (CHK) Well Site FLIR Video Fort Worth, TX

2012-01-14T10:08:00.001-08:00

Chesapeake (CHK) Well Site FLIR Video

2012-01-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Chesapeake Energy Nomac Rig 17 Blowout Fire

2012-01-12T19:11:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=smpw0Ee-OuQ

Into hostile territory

2012-01-08T05:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Drilling_PR_Tactics_0108.3b6985fad.html

Tim Ruggiero: Leaving Gasland

2012-01-05T03:54:00.000-08:00

http://www.earthworksaction.org/earthblog/detail/leaving_gasland

Oil giant's shell game nets elderly farmers

2011-12-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45804987/ns/business-us_business/#.Tv0JWdSS-_R

Keystone XL Letter to U.S. Congressman Michael Burgess

2011-12-22T09:07:00.001-08:00

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0P-oym-MTKzY2FhNTg3ZGItZTlhYy00ZGNhLThjNTItMWU1NzRkYjhkMzA2&hl=en_US

Monte Besler, Hohn Engineering principal and owner of FRACN8R challenges a fracking debate

2011-12-05T14:49:00.001-08:00

http://www.texassharon.com/2011/12/05/monte-besler-hohn-engineering-principal-and-owner-of-fracn8r-challenges-us-to-fracking-debate/

Letter to Texas State Representative District 25 on Senate Bill 875 Amendment by Dennis Bonnen

2011-11-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

This is an open letter to citizens located in Texas House of Representative District 25, currently held by Dennis Bonnen. Representative Bonnen, pushed a property rights destroying amendment to a bill in the last legislative session. For those in Texas, please share with your groups.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0P-oym-MTKzNTc2ZmZiMzUtZTE0NS00NzU3LTk0MTAtMzZmZGNlYmQ3ZDFj

News Report From Canada

2011-11-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agf5EmRB2GI&feature=related

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

2011-11-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3cQMFFNXOg&feature=youtu.be

Interesting Article

2011-11-08T18:15:00.001-08:00

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45208498/

No Easy Way Out

2011-10-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

It has now been over seven months since me and my family moved from DISH, TX. Since that time it has become more and more apparent that we made the right choice to move. Since moving from DISH, my children have not experienced the periodic nosebleeds that they had while living there, and we have been able to enjoy being outside at our home without the noxious odors. It is amazing how you miss things like opening your windows on a nice day to let a breeze blow through your home. This has taken a tremendous burden off of the entire family. Being that moving was such a difficult decision; it brings us peace with the decision we made. Looking back, we were blessed that we got out of that situation in the manner that we did. I think it is difficult for those who have never been in this situation to understand exactly how difficult that decision was to make. However in hindsight, it is apparent that we were the lucky ones.

Traveling around and talking to various people, I have found that there are many others in the same position that we found ourselves in; however, getting out for most is not as easy. There are many people who are struggling with the decision on whether they should stay in their homes or move away. However, sometimes that decision can have multiple consequences. Once someone is put in this situation, selling their home, even at a massive loss can be difficult if not impossible. So foreclosure is the only option available for some folks to get out of the situation that they have put in, which in many cases is through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, foreclosure is not the end of it, because after that, your credit will be ruined and all the money invested will be lost, not to mention being able to find another place to live.

I am unsure how a situation like this can occur in America, but it has on numerous occasions and keeps repeating itself. There has been so many who has lost everything because of this situation. These are honest hardworking, taxpaying Americans who have worked hard and saved to buy a home, and spent their life savings on the home of their dreams, only to see that dream be taken away by an energy company that could not care less about the impacts they are making on someone’s life. They are forced to deal with exposure to hazardous chemicals, tainted water, and noxious odors that prevent them from peaceful enjoying the home of their dreams and threaten their children’s health. They are faced with decisions that an American should not have to be faced with.

We were also fortunate that we lived close enough to the edge of the Barnett Shale, that we could move off of the shale without needing to switch jobs, and maintain key relationships. Many are not in a similar position, for them to move off of their prospective shale, or other formation, they would need to move several hundred miles away to escape. So you are then left to wonder where exactly you could move to get out of your situation, and what you may do when you get there. Scenarios such as this prevent families from leaving a bad situation. Therefore, they continue to live in a home, where the air or water may be tainted because there is simply no good option to move elsewhere.

The stories that I hear over and over again and again, seem to get worse and worse. Every time I hear one of these stories, I tell myself that this is as bad as it can possible get; only to hear one that is worse. I am grown man that has stood toe to toe with very powerful politicians and a very powerful industry, but these stories break me. I look at small the small children at these homes, and wonder about their future, how will their lives be impacted by all of this, and think about my own children, who we tried to buffer from all this. I thought we had been successful, until I recently heard my son talking about us moving because of the “stinky compressor station”. His life has certainly been altered because of this as well.

This is an aspect of this subject that is not discussed often enough, and the number of people who are affected in this manner continues to grow. There are so many that are wanting out of their current situation, and have no viable options to make that happen. Therefore, they are stuck in a situation that perhaps is negatively affecting their health and or the health of their children. To those of you out there in this position, I hear your voice and only wish I could do more to help you.

Canton OH - October 9, 2011.

2011-09-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

Concerned Citizens,

If you attend only one fracking event for the remainder of the year, this is the one to choose. Former Mayor Calvin Tillman of Dish, Texas, will share the firsthand accounts of what this community experienced from extensive gas drilling, particularly how drilling has impacted their air quality. Much has been written about the water concerns related to hydraulic fracturing around the country, but air pollution is a different, important pathway that can negatively impact public healthâ¦yet itâs rarely discussed.

Mark your calendar for this free event!

When: Sunday, October 9, 2011 Doors open at 6:30 pm; 7:00 presentation

Where: Oakwood Middle School, 2300 Schneider Ave., NE., Canton, Ohio 44721

Sponsors: PLAN (Plain Land Alliance for Nature); Stark Concerned Citizens; Concerned Citizens of Lake Township and T.A.S.K. (Take Action, Spread Knowledge)

To read more about Mr. Tillman and Dish, TX, here are a few web sites you may wish to visit. Dish, Texas was also featured in the documentary "Gasland."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/mayor-calvin-tillman-leav_n_827478.html

http://baddish.blogspot.com

New Gardap Video

2011-09-24T06:24:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFJvAGgWc4U

Gardendale, TX Video #4

2011-08-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8t4NbGeEdY

Keystone XL Pipeline

2011-08-20T12:19:00.001-07:00

During my daily drive home of an hour or more, I listen numerous radio programs. Most of the time I listen to sports or one of the various talk radio programs that are on during that time. I more or less channel surf, stopping to listen to several channels for only a moment. A few days ago, I stopped on the Mark Levin Show, which is a conservative talk show host. I do listen to this show periodically, so although I do not agree with everything Mr. Levin states, I do know the format of the show, and frankly I do agree with some points made in the show and find entertainment value with it.

Mr. Levin began discussing the tar sands pipeline that is proposed to stretch from the Canada tar sands, all the way to the Gulf Coast, with numerous lines going in different directions along the way. He began telling a story of radical wacko environmentalist that were going to surge on Washington DC, and protest, ready and willing to go to jail for this cause. He further stated that it was these wacko environmentalist, and a few American Indian Tribes that were holding up this entire project. These few radicals were preventing the country from creating 20,000 new jobs.

Unfortunately Mr. Levin's staff may not have performed adequate research on this subject. The radical environmentalists that Mr. Levin was referring to, includes ranchers and farmers from the Plains, who are doing nothing more than attempting to protect their property. Perhaps Mr. Levin should have noted that this project would be given the power of eminent domain, so that these radical farmers and ranchers would not have a choice as to whether the pipeline could cross their property. Perhaps Mr. Levin should have noted that there can be nothing, not even a tree placed upon this pipeline easement, which will be at least 100 ft wide, just in case they want to install another line at some point. Let's also not forget that there have been numerous cases of pipelines leaking recently because there is virtually no oversight of the installation of these lines, and when that leak happens, that radical farmer and rancher will never be able to use that property for farming or ranching again.

Let's not forget that in the past that when lines such as this were installed, that the property owner is offered pennies on the dollar of what property is worth, and this does not include the damage that could and will happen to the property. And when the property owner does not accept those pennies, they are drug into condemnation court, and their property is taken without their consent. How does that not completely destroy private property rights in America?

In Mr. Levin's show he continually quotes the United States Constitution, so I am curious how Mr. Levin can twist it to support his position on this matter. Because is certainly seems to me that the First Amendment protects the right to assembly and demonstrate, and also an American's freedom of speech. And the the Fourth Amendment seems to protect citizens of the United States from unreasonable seizures of their property. Perhaps, like most of those who like to quote this document, Mr. Levin uses it only to help in his points, maybe we shouldn't forget that the Constitution applies to everyone, whether they have your views or not. I served for over eight years protecting and defending the Constitution, and I did that gladly, knowing that I was defending people's rights that likely disagreed with my views. Maybe Mr. Levin should read some of my favorite quotes below.

Private property was the original source of freedom. It still is its main bulwark. ~Walter Lippmann

In Texas you can own and peacefully enjoy property as long as someone with more money doesn't want it. ~Calvin Tillman, Former Mayor of DISH, TX

The Right of property is the guardian of every other Right, and to deprive the people of this, is in fact to deprive them of their Liberty ~Arthur Lee

No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent. ~John Jay

All men have equal rights to liberty, to their property, and to the protection of the laws ~Voltaire

What is strange is that Mr. Levin is a conservative talk show host, which are supposed to support the protection of private property rights. However, his voice and action supports exactly the opposite. He also continually states that he worked in the Reagan administration, although I think that might be a stretch. More than one tenet of communism involves the destruction of private property rights, and I was thinking that Reagan spent his entire tenure as President attempting to prevent the spread of communism. I do not think it matters if it is the government taking your property or the government giving that authority to a "for profit" corporation, your rights and property are still taken, and I am betting the average American would agree with that.

Included in Mr. Levin's rant on the American farmers and ranchers, he accused the American Indian Tribes of attempting to stop this pipeline. Growing up in Oklahoma, we studied the American Indian History and what they went through when this country was being settled. It is also difficult to grow up in Oklahoma and not have some American Indian in your heritage. In my home office, I have American Indian artwork and truly respect what they have been through. The way Mr. Levin described this, it was as though those pesky Indians were stopping progress again, which sounded similar to what being said over a hundred years ago. Perhaps Mr. Levin and his followers would be happy if we handled this the way we did over a hundred years ago. Perhaps in Mr. Levin's mind we should begin to amass troops at the gates of the reservations, letting them know if they don't give us their land, we will take just like we did back then.

We should not even breach this subject without pointing to the fact that the oil and gas industry does have the power of eminent domain; however, the renewable industry does not. This is one of the reasons that the renewable industry can not easily expand, it also doesn't help that they oil and gas industry get billions in corporate welfare. Texas is actually one of the largest wind power producing states, but is having difficulty getting it's infrastructure in place to get the power to where it is needed. This prevents it from expanding, as it could. Again, I oppose the taking of hard working American's property through eminent domain, but am just pointing out that there is not a "free market" on this matter.

Shows like Mr. Levin's do nothing to spread misinformation on subjects like this, and this particle case, he is destroying the very thing he says he is trying to protect. I would gladly debate him on the subject; however, Mr. Levin is one of those hosts, that do not encourage participation. Phone calls that make it through his screening, that does not share his views are typically muted and berated. Even some of the callers who do agree with him are treated in this manner. So instead of being this strong conservative voice who can walk the walk, he is a coward that hides behind the microphone and mute button. This reminds me of those who berate Josh Fox for Gasland, but are too much of a coward to set on a panel and debate this with him. My daddy would have called that "chickenshit", and so would I. From Mr. Levin's words, who exactly is the radical here? Who is the wacko?

Calvin Tillman

Former Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

WSJ Article

2011-08-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904253204576512684070410032.html

Gardendale, TX Video #3

2011-08-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T3Gj6osN8o

Worth our Tax Dollars?

2011-08-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

I recently spoke at an event with a representative from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), which regulates and promotes the Oil and Gas Industry in Texas. After dealing with the organization for several years, I have little respect for them as a tax payer funded organization, as do most of the people that have been forced to deal with them. When I was mayor of DISH, I tried for years to get the RRC involved in our situation, and they did nothing. They would not respond to our complaints, and if they did return calls, they certainly would not show up on site. When you call after hours or on weekends, the person who responds will likely not be from your area, because they only have one person on call for the entire state. I bring this up, because the RRC representative stated that they respond to every complaint, and that is simply inaccurate. I am not saying the RRC representative was lying, but he was inaccurate. It is possible that the suits in Austin are quoting some general written procedure that no one follows, or perhaps they really could be lying about the situation.

It is further disappointing that the Texas State Legislator failed to take action to help improve this situation during the 2011 legislative session. Texas has a wonderful idea, and that is the Sunset Advisory Commission, which was created to eliminate waste and inefficiency in government agencies. The Sunset Advisory Commission agreed with me and most of the people who know anything about the RRC. You can read the entire report at: http://www.sunset.state.tx.us/82ndreports/rct/rct_dec.pdf. The RRC is led by three elected commissioners, which are kindly referred to by some as the Moe, Larry, and Curly. The only type of oil and gas experience required for the commissioners is to pay close attention to what the industry lobbyist tell them, and properly accept the envelope of cash slid across the table to them. The Texas Legislature failed to do their job and get rid of this sacred cow.

I suspect the organization has been given a reprieve to the next legislative session to clean up their act. However, it is clear that they are not going to clean up their act, but rather send their PR folks out to tell lies and mislead the public. One thing that shocked is that the RRC employees are paid very well to do very little, and in the case of the employee who was on the speaking panel, he is paid almost $100,000.00 per year. Now remember that the Texas education budget was cut by four billion dollars but the RRC was fully funded.

I am ashamed that our conservative legislature who is sent to Austin to get rid of wasteful spending, are still wasting tax dollars on this organization, but can not invest in our children's future. If the RRC simply went away, the average Texan would not know the difference, and certainly would not miss the organization. For the most part the average Texan does not even realize that the "Railroad Commission" has anything to do with the oil and gas industry, not completely convinced that the "Railroad Commission" is aware that they have anything to do with the oil and gas industry.

Another disturbing fact about this organization is that they have voted on thousands of occasions to take private property that belongs to a taxpayers in Texas and transfer this to a corporation without compensation. In Texas there are spacing rules that prevents an operator from drilling up against an unleased property line; however, the operator can request an exception to that rule and therefore put the drill bore against the property line. When the hydraulic fracturing takes place, the minerals from the unleased property are collected without compensating the mineral owner. This has been accomplished thousands of times in the Barnett Shale. The commissioners will attempt to state that this rule is need to prevent one person from stopping others from benefiting from their minerals. However, that is not how it is being used, but rather the operators no longer negotiate in good faith. They will simply make a low offer and if it is not accepted in a timely manner, they will simply move toward the exception. This was outlined in a recent local article which can be found at: http://www.fwweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4950:free-gas-for-drillers&catid=76:metropolis&Itemid=377

Once this trick had been sniffed out, the people in the Barnett Shale began protesting the exceptions, and therefore holding up the drilling process. Therefore, they have proposed to alter the current rule to notify the property owner only after the exception had been approved, which would prevent those annoying people complaining about their minerals being stolen. We have several instances in Texas where the surface owner have been pushed around by these companies, now they are doing it to the mineral owners also. This action completely destroys the theory of a free market system, and also destroys private property rights. The free market system in Texas, is directly related to the amount of money that is donated to a particular campaign, and you can own and peacefully enjoy your property as long as someone with more money does not want it. Not sure that is exactly how the founding fathers of this great nation planned it.

In today's economic climate it is imperative that we cut ineffective organizations. Every tax dollar counts, and we the taxpayers should influence what that money is spent on. So many of these organizations that are paid to protect our health safety and welfare, simply go through the motions and collect a pay check. That is exactly what the state officials want...the masses to think they are being protected, and that is simply not the case. In many of these organizations, the low level boots on the ground want to do the right thing, but are prevented from doing that by a political appointee. However, that is not the case with the RRC; their way of doing business has been going on for so long, that it is ingrained in their culture. Therefore, some ineffective organizations could change with new leadership, but with the RRC, we need to abolish the entire organization.

Those of you in other states, may not have this exact problem, but I would bet that your "regulatory agency", has the same problems that exist here. The organization is there only to give the perception that the state is trying to protect health, safety and private property rights, but are really in existence only to protect the industry. It is time that these organizations fulfill what the taxpayers are paying them to do, or get funded by a source other than taxpayers.

In Texas, the RRC is the entry level political office, for the above stated qualification requirements, however, many of these officials go on to further political careers. One current commissioner has announced a run for US Senate, while a recent former commissioner is running for a US Representative seat. I am betting that they will be rewarded for the thousands of occassions that they allowed the legal theivery of private property by corporations. We simply can not let this cycle continue. It makes no sense for us to spend millions or billions on organizations that simply make no effort to perform their intended functions.

Calvin Tillman
Former Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Researching Protests

2011-08-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

The lady below would like visit with people who participate in protests. Her contact information follows the message.

Hello again,

Thank you so much for posting something on your blog - I hope that not only will it help further my research, but also that it will help others realize that there are many others out there who are going through similar issues with the gas industry. After watching footage from July 14th's TCEQ hearing, I see that there are a number of people who share similar concerns - but my ideas that we all need to come together and fight harder were only solidified.
I'm interested in conducting research on the dynamics, motives, behaviors, and patterns of natural gas protests. I'm looking for information concerning the protesting process and whether or not one feels it has been successful or not, any reasons why one feels a need to protest the drilling, how difficult (or easy) it has been to come together with others, and the names of any groups or group leaders who may be able to give further information. I hope to in the near future administer a brief questionnaire or survey to protesters, but right now am just looking for basic information. Any and all help is appreciated!

Allyssa Sobey

--

Allyssa Sobey, McNair Scholar
University of North Texas, Department of Geography
allyssasobey@my.unt.edu

Article

2011-08-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/8212?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theoildrum+%28The+Oil+Drum%29

2011-08-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04natgas.html?_r=1

Surprise, Surprise.

2011-07-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.gcmonitor.org/article.php?id=1339

Gardendale, TX Video #2

2011-07-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlNQWbN4O_U

2011-07-04T07:56:00.001-07:00

http://www.pennenergy.com/index/articles/newsdisplay/1447433505.html?cmpid=EnlDailyPetroJuly42011

Interesting

2011-07-02T05:53:00.001-07:00

http://my.brainshark.com/Ponzi-Gas-Frackers-8298212

Gardendale, TX Video

2011-06-18T13:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-kaA5xQ7o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

One Year Later.

2011-06-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

It has now been one year since we had the ordeal that would forever change our lives. This was the results of an entire week of my two young children having frequent nose bleeds while they were sleeping at night. These incidents coincided with strong odor from the natural gas compression station and processing facility in our area. It was at this point when me and my wife made a decision to put our home on the market and move from DISH.

This was a very tough decision and one that me and my family put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into. I often ask people, "what would it take for them to uproot their family and move away"? While considering that, think about how much time and effort I have put into this little community. This community was a big portion of my life for six years, and that is difficult to walk away from. Also, I believe I made a difference in those six years. Although we were well known for changing the name of our community, and our public battle with the natural gas industry, we accomplished so much more.

We cut the town's debt by over 50%, built a very nice municipal park and library which provides computers with internet access to the community, as well as wii fit systems to area residents. We also have won the Governor's challenge on fitness four of the six years I was involved and two of the four years I served as mayor. Another proud moment was when we installed solar panels on our municipal building. We did all of this without raising taxes or putting undue burden on the taxpayers. Another thing that I am very proud of, is that we partnered with area churches to develop programs to help our area youth. This was very successful and well attended by our area youth. However, the thing that I am most proud of, is that we came together as a community and stood shoulder to shoulder to protect our turf. For these reasons, it was an extremely difficult decision to walk away from; to ensure my children's health, I did just that.

We have also managed to get some improvements on the natural gas processing facility and compression stations. However, there are still some needed improvements, and I will continue to support the citizens of DISH TX in making this facility as good as it can possibly be. I did not want to move from DISH, but rather felt that I had no other viable option.

Although, I have moved out of DISH and off of the Barnett Shale, I will still be very involved in the issues surrounding natural gas production, as well state and local politics on a variety of subjects including private property rights, and holding our state agencies accountable. Even as a private citizen, I hope to make a difference both in the State of Texas and around the country. We are also fine tuning how Shaletest.org will work around the country. We expect to make big strides with Shaletest.org in the near future.

You will not see me running for higher office anytime soon. I am thankful to those who have urged me to take that step; however, at the moment, I think that I can make a bigger difference in my current roles. After spending the last few months dealing with the legislative session here in Texas, I have little confidence that I could make a difference there. I also have a family that have sacrificed a great deal over the last six years and I have a lot of making up to do. So I will choose my roles very carefully and do my best to make a difference.

I am still speaking and have done several events recently, telling my experiences and discussing Shaletest.org, which also has a mission to educate the public on shale gas issues. However, I am limiting myself to one weekend a month to do these type of events. Please seeShaltest.org, to schedule an event with me or other members of the Shaletest.org team. I still do not charge a speaking fee and never will, and hopefully our story can be helpful to others around the country.

Another thing that I would like to do in the future is a series of videos that dissects a portion of this issue and discuss steps I believe we need to take to improve the situation. I will try to do a couple of these a month as my schedule permits. If someone has something in particular you would like me to discuss on camera in one of these videos, I would certainly do that. Perhaps I could even talk about something specifically, that you could show your local officials or other groups. I will let you, let me know, what you would like in that area. I would like to thank the citizens of DISH, and others around the United States as well as the World who have supported me and my family through all of this. Please know to all of you that have adopted me as your mayor, that I am still your mayor and will support you however you need me too. Thanks again.

Calvin Tillman
Former Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Eagle Ford Shale Speaking Tour

2011-06-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

I will be in South Texas this weekend touring the Eagle Ford Shale and speaking the following events:

- Friday June 10, 2011 at 6:00 PM, I will be speaking at UTHSC-SA Laredo extension campus Auditorium, 2nd floor, 1937 Bustamante Street, in Laredo, TX.

- Saturday June 11, 2011, presentation begins at 10:00AM on Pleasanton's River City Park, Pavilion One, next to the Playground, 1220 River Park Road, Pleasanton, TX.

- Saturday June 11, 2011, Cuero, TX, 3:00 PM at Cuero Municipal Clubhouse.

- Sunday, June 12, 2011, Bryan First Unitarian-Universalist Church,

305 Wellborn Road, Bryan, TX.

Radiation Cover Up at TCEQ.

2011-05-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

What a surprise. Maybe the new mayor of DISH, Bill Sciscoe was right...perp walks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl9Q8UcaA6g

Letter to Texas State Representatives on Senate Bill 875 Amendments

2011-05-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a letter that I have sent to two Texas State Representatives that tried to slip in a property rights destroying amendment at the last minute.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0P-oym-MTKzZjQ4ODNiMGUtYTE2OC00NmNkLThiNjEtOTljZWMxNTE4NDY1&hl=en_US&authkey=CIv1orEG

DRC Article

2011-05-26T19:05:00.001-07:00

Very nice Peggy...again.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_tillman_0526.358b7bc4f.html

I will be speaking in Moab Utah on Saturday May 21st See The Flyer Below

2011-05-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0P-oym-MTKzZWQzZDI2NzQtODJhMi00M2U2LTk4OTYtMTFjNjFiMGE3M2I4&hl=en

Energy in Depth is at it again, so I have to republish this one.

2011-05-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

The following is a press release from Energy In Depth who poses seven questions to me. My response to each question is in bold and follows their questions.

Friday, February 12, 2010 PERMALINK

Contact: Jeff Eshelman • 202-857-4774 • jeff@energyindepth.org
Chris Tucker • 202-346-8825 • chris@energyindepth.org

* * *
Seven Questions for the Mayor of DISH
In advance of Mayor Tillman’s trip to New York next week, EID poses a series of questions residents should ask while he’s there
It’s not every day you’re likely to run into the mayor of a small town in Denton Co., Texas ambling about the Southern Tier of New York State. But next week, that’s precisely where you’ll find DISH mayor Calvin Tillman – slated to make the nearly 1,500-mile trip to the Empire State to rally local environmental activists against efforts to explore for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.
Now, wait a second: Isn’t this the same Marcellus Shale that studies suggest could create 16,000 high-wage jobs in Broome Co., N. Y. alone -- and generate $15.3 billion in local economic development? Yep, that’s the one. Turns out, though, that the mayor of DISH isn’t as sanguine on shale gas as you’d expect. And to help him punctuate his case, he’ll be bringing to New York a couple of recent “studies” on the subject aimed at scaring local residents into believing that natural gas exploration will ruin their air, sully their land, and poison their water. Should be quite the show.
Of course, we can’t say for certain whether the mayor will mention to local residents that these studies have been almost universally panned by independent environmental engineers; that they were recently debunked by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) itself; or that the contractor who did the study for Mayor Tillman doesn’t have a licensed professional engineer on its staff.

And who knows? He may forget to mention his relationship with the Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP), an anti-energy group based in Colorado (but active in New York) which considers clean-burning natural gas a “filthy” form of energy. He may not find it relevant to mention that OGAP funded one of the studies he plans to show off – or that his town’s official government website links to OGAP’s page on the internet. Who can say for sure?

Thankfully, on the off-chance the mayor forgets to mention any of these details to the audiences he plans to visit – or that reporters forget to ask – Energy In Depth has assembled the following list of questions that Mayor Tillman might like to answer during his stay in New York:

Jeff and Chris,

I thank you for your interest in the happenings in the town of DISH, TX. I would like answer the questions that you have posed below, and would also like to personally invite you to DISH, TX, for a guided tour. I have outlined your seven questions and my answers will appear in bold after the questions. However, I must first start with your opening comments which contains several inaccurate statements.

First and foremost there has been no "debunking" of the air study performed here in DISH, at least not by anyone who is not getting a check from one of the energy companies. Furthermore, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has validated the findings here in and DISH, and went as far as to write an internal memo highlighting the health effects from this study, showing their concerns for the levels detected. The TCEQ has performed additional air studies in DISH and oddly enough found benzene at elevated levels.

The second item is your assertion that I do not see the positive effects of the shale plays. Just a couple of years ago the Barnett Shale added 10 billion dollars and 100,000 jobs to the economy for the State of Texas. That is an impact that no one can ignore, and I state this in every presentation that is given on the subject by me. I do not wish to see people lose their jobs, or the owners of the mineral lose their royalty checks. Why can we not make this a win-win situation? What if we could have that economic impact and those jobs, and do it more responsibly and respectfully than we are doing it? Do we have to trade our air quality, water quality and property rights for this economic gain? The answer is no...we do not.

The next item is that you expect me to back away from my relationship with the Oil and Gas Accountability Project (OGAP). The things that OGAP stands for, and are trying to help reform are: surface owners rights, water quality, and air quality. For some reason I don't find it too repulsive that someone is trying to keep our water safe to drink, our air safe to breath, and give surface owners in a split estate a little more say so in what happens on their land that they worked hard to purchase. The industry may not like them, because they have had some success getting reasonable regulation in other states. I have not heard of the "filthy form of energy" comment; however; it is clear that the cleanest burning hydrocarbon does not come out of the ground that way. It has to go through a processing facility to remove the liquid hydrocarbons and other impurities. Unfortunately in Texas those contaminants are irresponsibly dumped into the environment. Could you please provide me with a copy of the article the quote was used in? I suspect this might be a story that keeps getting bigger as it passed down through the industry extremists.

1) Mr. Mayor, your assertion that local natural gas exploration activities have adversely impacted the air quality of your town appears to be entirely founded on a study you commissioned by a group called Wolf Eagle Environmental. Are you aware that TCEQ conducted an internal review of this study and found that “it is not possible” to draw the types of conclusions that appear in that report?

This statement is completely false. The TCEQ has never publicly said anything even remotely close to this, and any internal review only validated the findings. I will have copies of the internal reviews with me in New York (NY) and will happily provide a copy to you personally should you wish. The TCEQ has done many things to discredit themselves, but even they would not make the above statement.

2) Mr. Mayor, are you aware that Wolf Eagle Environmental was formerly known as Wolf Eagle Environmental Engineers & Consultants – but was forced to change its name upon it becoming public that the organization did not (and, in fact, still does not) employ an actual licensed professional engineer on staff?

This matter has been brought up by several industry extremists, who are looking to personally attack a very knowledgeable and credible person. The president of Wolf Eagle has a PhD in Environmental and Civil Engineering, in addition to a Masters in Public Health. She is also far more nationally recognized as an environmental expert that anyone who works for TCEQ, or the oil and gas industry. She is commonly asked to serve on national committees, and came highly recommended from several others who had PhD in their title. The environmental expert for one of the energy companies, isn't even smart enough to send an email, so we are way ahead of them. I think the industry has tried to vilify her, because she does not work for them, and her studies are honest and valid, and the common person trusts her. Therefore, she poses a threat to the hap-hazard way they are doing business in Texas. Plain and simple, she works for the little guy, the Davids who are facing Goliaths, and the industry views anyone who would help the underdog get justice, as a threat.

3) Mr. Mayor, is it true that once the Wolf Eagle evaluation was debunked, you accepted an offer from the national Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP) to fund a second study of a similar type? Is it true that OGAP links are found on your town website? Are you aware that OGAP considers clean-burning natural gas a “filthy” energy source, and was in fact established as a means to fight natural gas exploration wherever, whenever and however it takes place?

Again the Wolf-Eagle air study was not debunked, but rather it was validated through several other studies. Unless you consider the attack from the Railroad Commission of Texas Chairman Victor Carrillo, a real sharp cookie I might add :), who was ready to blame all of our air problems on a tiny airport that stores more high end motor homes than it does airplanes, and houses nothing that would cause the 16 toxins found in DISH. However, the sixteen toxins found here are typically found in oil and gas operations. Maybe he and you should do a little more research before you make fools out of yourselves. However, the real question is regarding my relationship with OGAP, which I will not back away from. A true national hero and MacArthur award winner helped us perform a health assessment on the citizens of DISH, which showed some cause for concern. However, she does this for many small communities around the country; again a genius and a hero. There are several links on the town's website to help folks gather information on oil and gas issues including OGAP. Not sure why this would be a concern to you, most cities have similar links on their websites as well, if your company was a legitimate source of this information, we might add you as well, but you have a ways to go before you become legitimate. From the statement above, please provide me a source of the tall tale "filthy energy" comment.

4) Mr. Mayor, have you had the chance to take a look at TCEQ’s recent air quality study of the areas in and around the Barnett Shale? If so, did you note that of the 94 sites tested by TCEQ, 92 registered short-term effects screening levels (ESL) well below anything that would cause “alarm,” according to TCEQ’s toxicology director? Are you also aware that repairs at the remaining two sites tested by TCEQ have already been completed and certified by the agency?

As a matter of fact I printed the entire 313 page report and have been going through it page by page. Unfortunately, my schedule has not allowed me to complete my report on the document, but I will provide it to you upon completion. If you actually read the document (which I am certain you have not) you will see that the "94 sites", are counting each individual sample that was taken. Some may have been upwind, while others were downwind, and so forth. Therefore, each facility may have had numerous samples taken. Actually, there were only 44 separate facilities tested and half of those had benzene levels that were above the long term effects screening levels, not to mention the many other harmful toxins that were detected. There have also been reports that these facilities were only producing a third of their potential output, and even in TX, the weather is mild in October and November, so this study is in no way the worse case scenario. Wait till you see the numbers from July or August, they will be much worse. However, if the average person read the entire 313 page report, even though it is likely lower than reality, they would be shocked and realize there is an immediate danger in this area. I will bring the document with me to NY to show anyone who has questions about it.

5) Mr. Mayor, you testified on numerous occasions that energy operators in your area are responsible for the emission of benzene and other potential contaminants into the air. But did you know that the mere act of filling up your tank with a conventional gas pump (one without a vapor recovery device) could expose you to benzene levels of 11,000 parts per billion (ppb), according to TCEQ -- without any ambient air to dilute it? Are you aware that not even the Wolf Eagle study was able to find a single site in your area exceeding 78 ppb?

It is nice that you recognize the fact that we had some pretty high levels of benzene detected around the natural gas compressor stations. If you are suggesting that the levels detected in DISH do not pose a health risk, I am afraid that you are horribly mistaken, and there is no expert that would agree with that, even the industry extremists wouldn't make that stretch. I am not sure about the exposure levels of filling up my car with gas. However, as you mentioned there are vapor recovery devices to help minimize the exposure, and I would like to see that same vapor recovery technology used on emission sources in the oil and gas industry. I am glad you have highlighted the importance of vapor recovery and hope your suggestion helps in making that technology mandatory. This technology actually saves both money and this precious resource, and cuts up to 95% of the emissions produced by these sites. Why don't we use this simple and effective technology? Please note that the benzene levels are constant here, not just once for two minutes every couple of weeks, it is here 24/7. Also, the long term effects screening level for benzene is 1.4 ppbv, and therefore we detected over 50 times that level on residential properties where children reside. Would you want your children exposed to this 24/7?

6) Mr. Mayor, are you aware that according to EPA, “oil and natural gas production contributes only 2% of the total benzene emissions in the U.S., and shale gas represents a very small subset of this 2%”?

I have heard similar statements before, and do not wish to dispute this, because I am sure that other industries also pollute their neighborhoods. Unfortunately, for the citizens of DISH, part of that 2% is right here. It does however appear that this is one of those statistics that was carefully extracted from a larger report. Have you by chance read the report that this was extracted from? Please provide me with this report, and know that it may be changing because the EPA has been to DISH a couple of times.

7) Mr. Mayor, did you know that energy exploration is responsible for directly employing more than 200,000 people in your state? Accounts for the payment of more than $44 million in royalties and rents to landowners every year? And sends more than $4 billion each year to your treasury, representing nearly seven percent of your entire budget? Here in Upstate New York, we aren’t trying to be the next Texas – but can you understand how the availability of even a fraction of these new resources could help revive and strengthen our economy?

Yes, I am well aware of the economic impact that the Barnett Shale has had in TX. Actually, as I have stated the numbers you are quoting are a low estimation. However, I consistently give the industry credit in that area, and do not wish to see people or the state lose those jobs. Frankly, there are many who work in this industry that I personally like. However, we can do this better that the way they are doing it in TX. If NY can get ahead of this, and get reasonable regulations in place, there is a possibility that you can get the great economic impact without destroying the land, air and water in the process. I am not going to NY to talk anyone out of drilling, but rather to inform them of what has happened here and give them some ideas as they move forward. Hopefully, they will make the decision knowing the whole story, not the industry version of the "gold rush". My goal is to let them make the decision with their eyes wide open, not eyes wide shut. What happened here does not have to happen in NY. You could get a win-win situation, let's give it a try anyway.

I hope that this helps you in answering many of the questions you have posed. If not I could further clarify. And although I do not use words like sanguine, my knowledge level on shale gas far outweighs most of those who work in the industry, including yourself. It certainly appears that rather that perform valid research, you are simply regurgitating the personal attacks that I have become accustomed to from this industry. I truly hope that when the benzene clears, that we will all be better off for this. I hope that the people of NY can reach the full benefits of the Marcellus Shale without the extreme side effects. I also hope that these simple measures will be mandated in Texas as well. It can be done; however, this industry must quit stating what good neighbors they are and start acting it.

For Immediate Release: DISH Mayor Calvin Tillman and Affected Property Owner Tim Ruggeiro, Co-Founders of ShaleTest.org, Will Be Touring the Marcellus

2011-04-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release: DISH Mayor Calvin Tillman and Affected Property Owner Tim Ruggeiro, Co-Founders of ShaleTest.org, Will Be Touring the Marcellus Shale.

DISH, TX -- DISH mayor Calvin Tillman and affected Wise County property owner Tim Ruggiero will be touring the Marcellus Shale discussing ShaleTest.org, a non-profit environmental testing organization co-founded by the two.

Last fall the formation of ShaleTest was announced in Fort Worth. Since the announcement, the ShaleTest Board of Directors have been working on building the non-profit in an effort to to provide environmental testing to lower income families. DISH mayor Calvin Tillman says that "this will be my fourth trip to the Marcellus Shale and it will be great to announce ShaleTest to that area, it is our goal to have a permanent presence in this region soon ".

Co-Founder Tim Ruggiero says "I have seen first hand the damage caused by drillers motivated more by profit than any attempt at being a Good Neighbor. Some drillers are reckless, cut corners and simply do not follow the law. Self-regulation and self-reporting are not working. Where there is no responsibility, there is no accountability. We need to drill, and we need the energy-but it needs to be done responsibly, with respect to people and their private property. I am excited to join Mayor Tillman on the 2011 Truth Tour on the Marcellus Shale."

Board of Directors member Susan Knoll says "ShaleTest is here to help those people in gas-developing communities who are unable to help themselves".

The tour will visit the following locations:

Monday - April 25, 2011:

Erie Art Museum,

411 State Street,

Erie, PA 16501

7:00 PM

Tuesday April 26, 2011:

Hughesville Fire Hall

Railroad & Water Street

Hughesville, PA

7:00 PM

Wednesday April 27, 20011:

Temple B'nai B'rith Auditorium

408 Wyoming Ave

Kingston, PA

7:00 PM

Thursday April 28, 2011:

Montrose Theatre

18 Public Ave

Montrose, PA

6:30-7:30 PM Showing of documentary 'Frack'

7:45 PM Tillman/Ruggiero presentation

Friday April 29, 2011:

American Legion Hall

118 South Jensen Rd

Vestal, NY 13850

6:00 PM

Saturday 30, 20011:

Penn State University- Dubois Campus

Hiller Auditorium

Dubois, PA

7:00 PM

For More Information:

Contacts:

* Tim Ruggeiro, Co-Founder of ShaleTest.org

(917) 763-8901, lonestar.ranch@gmail.com
* Calvin Tillman, Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640, tillman4council@aol.com.

www.shaletest.org

DRC Article

2011-04-17T06:27:00.001-07:00

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Drilling_Bills_0417.28fe8cde4.html

Marcellus Tour Schedule April 2011

2011-04-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

All dates are April 2011. Please see www.shaletest.org for details.

Mon 25th: Thomas Jefferson Education Society

3207 State Street

Erie, PA

7 PM

Tues 26th: Hughesville Fire Hall

Railroad & Water Street

Hughesville, PA

7 PM

Wed 27th: Temple B'nai B'rith Auditorium

408 Wyoming Ave

Kingston, PA

7 PM

Thur 28th: Montrose Theatre

18 Public Ave

Montrose, PA

630-730 pm Showing of documentary 'Frack'

7:45- Tillman/Ruggiero presentation

Fri 29th American Legion Hall

118 South Jensen Rd

Vestal, NY 13850

6 PM

Sat 30th: Penn State University- Dubois Campus

Hiller Auditorium

Dubois, PA

7 PM

Bill Aimed at Taking Away Municipal Permitting Authority for Drilling Operations in Texas

2011-04-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

The bill below would essentially take away permitting authority for local governments in Texas. Please call your legislators. 82R5223 PMO-D By: Keffer H.B. No. 3105 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the applicability of the Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act to certain governmental actions. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 2007.003(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) This chapter applies only to the following governmental actions: (1) the adoption or issuance of an ordinance, rule, regulatory requirement, resolution, policy, guideline, or similar measure; (2) an action that imposes a physical invasion or requires a dedication or exaction of private real property; (3) an action by a municipality that: (A) has effect in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality, excluding annexation, and that enacts or enforces an ordinance, rule, regulation, or plan that does not impose identical requirements or restrictions in the entire extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality; or (B) damages, destroys, impairs, or prohibits development of a mineral interest; and (4) enforcement of a governmental action listed in Subdivisions (1) through (3), whether the enforcement of the governmental action is accomplished through the use of permitting, citations, orders, judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, or other similar means. SECTION 2. The change in law made by Section 2007.003(a), Government Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an action the effective date of which occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. An action the effective date of which occurs before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. this.window.focus();

The Story

2011-04-03T17:34:00.001-07:00

http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_031611.mp3/view

Speaking Events

2011-04-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

I will be on a panel at the Society of Business Editors and Writers annual conference on April 8, 2011 at 3:45 PM. The panelist will include: David P. Poole, a Senior Vice for Range Resources Corporation; Prof. Tad Patzek, Chairman of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Austin, who has testified before Congress in connection with the Deep Water Horizon disaster; Elizabeth Souder, energy writer for the Dallas Morning News, and myself. This will be held at Southern Methodist University and I do not believe it is open to the public I will also be speaking 16170 Horseshoe Dr, Gardendale, TX (just outside of Odessa) in the heart of the storied Permian Basin on April 9, 2011. Hot dogs and soft drinks start at 5:00 PM. Tim Ruggeiro and myself will be touring the Marcellus Shale again from April 24th through May 1st. Watch www.shaltest.org for the complete schedule. May be in Utah in late May, still finalizing the details on that trip. Stay tuned, and don't forget to find me on facebook.

DRC Article

2011-03-27T18:25:00.001-07:00

This is an article by a graduate student. She did a very nice job, take a look. http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_dish_0327.2237e19e0.html

2011-03-27T18:23:00.001-07:00

http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=1128

Property Rights Destroying Bill in Texas Senate

2011-03-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Below is a bill that would essentially strip us of all property rights in regards to the tresspass of chemicals on our property, and any nuisance caused by that tresspass. Listed below are the state senators on this committee. I would urge you to call them immediately and oppose this bill. I think that most of us are fine with industry doing their business, but want them to keep their problems on their side of the fence. There is an action alert by the Texas Oil and Gas Accountablity Project that makes it easy and only takes a minute. Please click an this link: http://bit.ly/TXOGAP-SB875 and make a phone call if you can. For those who do not know, the zipcode in DISH is 76247. Please share with everyone on your email lists. Thanks.

2011S0434-2 02/18/11

By: Fraser
S.B. No. 875

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to compliance with state and federal environmental

permits.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 7, Water Code, is amended

by adding Section 7.257 to read as follows:

Sec. 7.257. DEFENSE TO NUISANCE OR TRESPASS. A person, as

defined by Section 382.003, Health and Safety Code, who is subject

to an administrative, civil, or criminal action brought under this

chapter for nuisance or trespass has an affirmative defense to that

action if the person's actions that resulted in the alleged

nuisance or trespass were authorized by a rule, permit, order,

license, certificate, registration, approval, or other form of

authorization issued by the commission or the federal government or

an agency of the federal government and:

(1) the person was in general compliance with that

rule, permit, order, license, certificate, registration, approval,

or other authorization while the alleged nuisance or trespass was

occurring; or

(2) the person received enforcement discretion from

the commission or the federal government or an agency of the federal

government for the actions that resulted in the alleged nuisance or

trespass.

SECTION 2. Section 7.257, Water Code, as added by this Act,

applies only to an enforcement action or prosecution that is

commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. An

enforcement action or prosecution commenced before the effective

date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the

action or prosecution commenced, and that law is continued in

effect for that purpose.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2011.

The Honorable Troy Fraser
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0124

The Honorable Craig Estes
State Capitol, Room 3E.8
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0130
(512) 463-8874 Fax

The Honorable Bob Deuell
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0102
(512) 463-7202 fax

The Honorable Robert Duncan
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0128
Toll Free (800) 322-9538
Fax: (512) 463-2424

The Honorable Kevin Eltife
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0101
(512) 475-3751 (Fax)

The Honorable Glenn Hegar
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0118
(512) 475-3736 (Fax)

The Honorable Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0120
(512) 463-0229 Fax

The Honorable Mike Jackson
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0111
(512) 475-3727 Fax

The Honorable Robert Nichols
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0103
1-800-959-8633 (toll-free)

The Honorable Kel Seliger
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0131
(512) 475-3733 fax

The Honorable Carlos I. Uresti
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0119
(512) 463-1017 Fax
Calvin Tillman Mayor, DISH, TX (940) 453-3640 "Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Lifestyles of the Corrupt and Elected

2011-03-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/lifestyles-of-the-corrupt-and-elected

Lavish lifestyles with campaign cash

2011-03-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/investigations/lavish-lifestyles-with-campaign-cash

A Very Nice Editorial

2011-02-24T18:22:00.001-08:00

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/opinion/editorials/stories/DRC_Editorial_0223.180dd05ff.html

Will Be at Hendrix College on March 1, 2011

2011-02-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

http://thecabin.net/entertainment/events/2011-02-23/%E2%80%98gasland%E2%80%99-director-speak-hendrix-college

Mayor to move out of Dish, citing natural gas drilling operations | Barnett Shale | Dall...

2011-02-23T05:52:00.000-08:00

Mayor to move out of Dish, citing natural gas drilling operations Barnett Shale Dall...

Response To The Attacks on Gasland

2011-02-14T06:54:00.000-08:00

It has been disappointing to see the endless attacks on Josh Fox and Gasland by the paid liars for the natural gas industry. Up until this point I have been somewhat silent on the matter. However, this foolishness has really gone far enough. The natural gas industry acts as though, everything they do works as designed, and they would never take a shortcut in the interest of profits. Having a unique experience of dealing with several of these companies, I can unequivocally say, that is a lie.

Most of these companies will fight tooth and nail to keep from spending a few thousand dollars on a piece of safety equipment, but when they get sued, they will hire the biggest, most expensive law firm in town. In turn the biggest law firm in town knows that this is a case they will lose, but will bill the company fifty thousand before they settle. When I was growing up on the farm, my daddy called that "stepping over a dollar to pick up a nickel". Therefore, this whole idea that they want to be "good neighbors" is just another lie. They are only going to be good neighbors and responsible corporate citizens when they are forced too, or embarrassed into it. And when things go wrong they will shrug their shoulders and say it wasn't them and expect us to simply take their word for it.

The approach they are taking with Gasland is exactly the same approach as they have taken for years, but the average person never hears about it. Of course with the magnitude of Gasland, we all can see their tactics. I have read letter after letter from this industry disputing any claim that does not promote their product.

The natural gas industry keeps stating that the flaming water in Gasland was "naturally occurring" methane. They further state that the state officials in Colorado have validated this story. I am sure that there is "naturally occurring" methane. However, I have yet to see something like this in an area, that drilling was not present. In the matters that I am familiar with, there were other chemicals present that are not "naturally occurring". Don't forget that state officials said everything was fine in Niagara Falls, NY, better known as "Love Canal".

Our state governments bureaucrats receive below average compensation for their specialties, and therefore does not attract the top notch employees of any given field. If they should by chance get a "pick of the litter" employee, they will move on to something better, whenever something better comes along. Therefore, you likely have people running state organizations that simply would not make it in the real world, and certainly would not be in charge of anything. As Reagan once said "we are being governed, by people who cannot govern themselves". Unfortunately, these organizations are the ones that we depend on to keep us safe, and they are failing. I have seen failure at all levels in the State of Texas, but it is not isolated here. If you should ever be in the unfortunate position of needing a state agency to protect your rights, you will quickly see just how right I am about this.

For example we are monitoring the pollution in DISH...monitoring. The State of Texas has spent $250,000.00 on a permanent air monitor in DISH, that clearly shows that whatever is happening at the compressor site is not staying at the compressor site. However, after a year and half on the job, the benzene level at the monitor was the highest ever recorded on February 12, 2011 at 8:00 AM, and by no means do I think that the monitor reading was anywhere near accurate, most likely well below what was actually present in the area. However, they will do nothing about this, it has been well over a year, and I am not sure how much better off we are for it.

Another clear example is the private well water in DISH that was contaminated with drilling mud. The mud did not show up in the water until the gas drilling was started close to the home, it tested positive for all of the known chemicals in drilling mud, the Railroad Commission documents show a substantial loss of drilling mud during drilling, and guess what? The Railroad Commission found that this could not possibly have been caused by drilling...there are your tax dollars at work. Therefore, it is clear that our state organizations are not or will not protect private citizens. They are either not smart enough, do not have the experience, or are mandated to keep their head in the sand.

Our state officials are likely to get exposed by a plaintiff's attorney real soon. With all of the lawsuits out there, it is only a matter of time before they have will have to face depositions and an attorney that will bring down this house of cards they are building. I can only hope that we get some of them in a courtroom, where their testimony will become a matter of public record. This will clearly show that we have the bottom 10 percent in our state governments. Many of the state agencies involved in DISH, have brought their dog and pony show to the citizens of DISH. They acted as though they were talking down to bunch of country bumpkins. However, these country bumpkins shredded these highly educated skilled state employee to bits, and made them look like fools (there are some youtube videos out there of the meetings). It was not long before they were looking for the door. Most of the state agencies will no longer allow their employees to attend a DISH town meeting.

This idea that methane seepage from a natural gas well could not cause someone to ignite their water, and this is only caused by "naturally occurring" methane, is a bold face lie. Several agencies have found that methane has seeped into aquifer from a gas well, including Dimock, PA and Parker County, TX, just to mention a few. The same industry reps that are attacking Josh, have stated on camera, that if gas wells casings are not properly installed they will be compromised, and further acknowledge the importance of the gas well being properly cased. Internal industry documents also show that improperly cased wells can allow the "product to escape". Therefore, for them to state that this is naturally occurring is a lie. Also, it wasn't like there was only one family that could light there water on fire in Gasland, there were numerous people that could do this trick, all in areas of active drilling, and all had other chemicals present. Maybe the paid liars forgot to mention that.

Having been intimately involved with this industry a couple of things are very apparent, one of which is that they never do things the way that they are supposed to, and the other is that the "company suits" have no idea what happens on the ground. For example, Enterprise Texas Pipeline, which is the same company that killed an employee in the Mont Belvieu, TX when their gas processing plant exploded recently, installed a pipeline in DISH a couple of years ago. When this line was installed, after of course they took the land against the will of the property owners, they did nothing that they agreed to do in the easement agreement. For example, sufficient fencing was to be installed around the trenches to prevent livestock from getting killed or injured. This was part of the easement agreement or the contract with the property owners, and they did not comply with this. They also crossed a creek, and were required to return it to its original condition, again they did not. After I brought this to the attention of several in the organization, I was set to meet with the officers of the company. They began the meeting by telling me that all of the concerns were corrected and would not happen again. Imagine their surprise when I slid several photos that had been taken right before the meeting clearly showing that they had not taken care of any concerns. What this shows is that first, they do not do what they are supposed too, can not follow simple instructions, and that the senior management have no idea what is really happening on the ground.

Many of the problems we have had in DISH, were due to reckless actions by employees on the ground. The releases, leaving condensate tanks open, leaving valves open, not recognizing pending failures, intentional releases, etc. On many occasions I asked myself, "can these guys do anything right". In my view, they either do not have or do not follow established procedures when doing these jobs. I mean for crying out loud, they had a barbecue grill in the middle of a natural gas processing plant in DISH, how dumb can they really be? This reckless abandonment is not limited to the pipeline crews or companies. Tim Ruggiero has documented the entire drilling process on his property and has recorded many reckless mistakes that happened. Drilling mud spills, condensate spills, methane leaks, Braden head pressure, and these are just the things I know about. Tim has a much longer list of the simple things the drilling crews could not do properly. Someone used the term that this industry "could tear up a bowling ball with a fly swatter"...I agree.

The fact of the matter is that this process is a delicate process, in which everything needs to be done exactly right to work properly. When things are not done properly bad things happen, I know this and so does the industry. Does anyone remember Deep Water Horizon? When those responsible are not held accountable for their mistakes, there is nothing to encourage them to do it better next time. Even when they are fined, it is nothing compared to the profits made at a single location. Therefore, there is simply no incentive to do it right, or develop safer technology, and it has gone on for so long that it is ingrained in their culture. We have allowed this and propagated these actions for way too long.

The endless attacks on Josh are baseless, foolish, and as Tim would say either a lie or a half truth, like most of the other things that come from the industry paid liars. What Josh has done with Gasland is nothing short of amazing, and the attacks from this industry are not going to stop that. He gave a voice to people who did not have a voice, he helped people who no one else would help, and he helped bring a nation and quite possibly the world together on this issue. Sorry, the cat is out of the bag and no matter how hard you try to get it back in there...it is out. Growing up on the farm, my daddy would have described what this industry is doing to Josh in one word..."chickenshit"...and I agree.

Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX (940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS: Reading email while the tap water burns

2011-02-14T04:34:00.000-08:00

Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS: Reading email while the tap water burns

Statement from Josh Fox in response to recent attacks by the Gas Industry

2011-02-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

Dear friends-
Here is my response to the recent Gas Industry attacks. I hope you can spread it around! I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!!!!
Josh

AN OPEN LETTER TO JOURNALISTS FROM GASLAND DIRECTOR JOSH FOX IN RESPONSE TO ATTACKS BY GAS INDUSTRY

February 7, 2011 -- With the recent Oscar nomination of my documentary film GASLAND, Big Gas and their PR attack machine hit a new low in its blatant disregard for the truth.

In an unprecedented move, an oil and gas industry front group sent a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saying that the film should be ineligible for best documentary feature.

We are honored and encouraged by the Academy’s nomination. It is terrific to be acknowledged as filmmakers by the film world’s most prestigious honor. But perhaps more than that, I believe that the nomination has provided hope, inspiration and affirmation for the thousands of families out there who are suffering because of the natural gas drilling. The Oscars are about dreams, and I know that for all of us living with the nightmare of gas drilling the nomination provides further proof that someone out there cares.

Now Big Gas wants to take that away, as they have shattered the American dream for so many.
GASLAND exposes the disaster being caused across the U.S. by the largest domestic natural gas drilling campaign history and how the contentious Halliburton-developed drilling technology called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking threatens the water supply of millions.

Fracking is a whole-scale industrialization process that pumps millions of gallons of toxic material directly into the ground. Thousands of documented contamination cases show the harmful chemicals used have been turning up in people's water supplies in fracking areas all over the map.

We stand behind the testimonials, facts, science and investigative journalism in the film 100 percent. We have issued a point-by-point rebuttal of the group’s claims (“Affirming Gasland”), posted on our website: www.gaslandthemovie.com.

It’s not just us they’re after. The gas industry goes after anyone who tries to punch a hole in their lie. Last week the same pro-drilling group, Energy in Depth (EID), attacked an investigative piece on drilling pollution by ProPublica, the highly credible public interest journalism organization.

And just last week, T. Boone Pickens, the most visible promoter of gas fracking, went on The Daily Show claiming that he personally has fracked over 3,000 wells and never witnessed any contamination cases, even when Jon Stewart asked him about GASLAND point blank. He simply stated over and over again the industry lie, that fracking is safe. Not a single word of acknowledgement, or responsibility for the claims of thousands and the threat posed to millions.

The gas industry believes it can create a new reality in which their nationwide onshore drilling campaign isn’t a disaster. But no amount of PR money or slick ads can keep the stories of contamination coming from thousands of Americans from being any less true.

On Monday, Congressional investigators called out frackers for pumping millions of gallons of diesel fuel directly into the ground, exposing drinking water sources to benzene and other carcinogens. This makes EID’s specious and misleading attack on the science and data in GASLAND especially ironic since Halliburton stonewalled Congressman Henry Waxman’s investigation into fracking, refusing to provide data on their use of diesel and other harmful chemicals injected in the fracking process.

There are major watershed areas providing water to millions of Americans that are at risk here, including the watershed areas for New York City and Philadelphia. The catastrophe has been widely covered not only in GASLAND, but also by hundreds of news stories, films and TV segments. This is a moment of crisis that cannot be understated.

Even before its release, the power of the film was not lost on the industry. In the March 24th edition of the Oil and Gas Journal, Skip Horvath, the president of the Natural Gas Supply Association said that GASLAND is “well done. It holds people’s attention. And it could block our industry.”
GASLAND was seen by millions and I personally toured with the film to over 100 cities. In affected areas, people came to the screenings with their contaminated water samples in tow. They came to have the truth they know shared and confirmed

As Maurice D. Hinchey, U.S. Representative (NY-22) recently said, “Thanks to GASLAND and the millions of grassroots activists across the country, we finally have a counterweight to the influence of the oil and gas industry in our nation's capital."

Big Gas is blocking the truth in their pursuit of hundreds of billions of dollars of profit. Their clear goal is to ensure our nation remains addicted to fossil fuels for the rest of this century. They seek to stifle the development of truly renewable energy.

They’re playing dirty in more ways than one, attacking the film and the testimonials and science in it instead of taking responsibility and addressing the contamination, destruction and harm that they are creating. I now know how the people in my documentary feel, to have the things they know to be true and the questions they are raising so blatantly discounted and smeared. It is truly unfortunate that the gas-drilling industry continues to deny what is so obvious to Americans living in gaslands across the nation.

Josh FoxDirector, GASLAND
www.gaslandthemovie.com
Media Contact: Josh Baran – jcbaran@gmail.com – 917-797-1799
Josh Fox is based in New York City and will be in Washington, D.C. on February 17. He is available for interviews. DVD screeners for the media are available.Share
Notice: This e-mail message contains information that may be confidential and privileged. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive messages for the addressee), you may not use, copy, or disclose this message (or any information contained in it) to anyone. If you have received this message in error, please advise the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message. Nothing in this message should be interpreted as a digital or electronic signature that can be used to authenticate a contract or other legal document.--
GASLAND NOMINATED FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY OSCAR!http://www.gaslandthemovie.com
GASLAND out on DVD available NOW!
Buy it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Gasland-Josh-Fox/dp/B0042EJD8A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294692880&sr=8-1

Barnett Shale: Explosions rock Texas natural gas facility

2011-02-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Barnett Shale: Explosions rock Texas natural gas facility

Thirty lawmakers ask Perry to declare funding for Barnett Shale air monitors a legislative emergency (Updated) - PoliTex

2011-02-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

Thirty lawmakers ask Perry to declare funding for Barnett Shale air monitors a legislative emergency (Updated) - PoliTex

Dallas Observer Article

2011-02-01T16:20:00.000-08:00

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/02/oscar-nominated_gasland_direct.php#

Gas Drilling Technique is Labeled Violation

2011-02-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

January 31, 2011
Gas Drilling Technique Is Labeled Violation

By TOM ZELLER Jr.Oil and gas service companies injected tens of millions of gallons of diesel fuel into onshore wells in more than a dozen states from 2005 to 2009, Congressional investigators have charged. Those injections appear to have violated the Safe Water Drinking Act, the investigators said in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday.

The diesel fuel was used by drillers as part of a contentious process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves the high-pressure injection of a mixture of water, sand and chemical additives including diesel fuel into rock formations deep underground. The process, which has opened up vast new deposits of natural gas to drilling, creates and props open fissures in the rock to ease the release of oil and gas.

But concerns have been growing over the potential for fracking chemicals particularly those found in diesel fuel to contaminate underground sources of drinking water. “We learned that no oil and gas service companies have sought and no state and federal regulators have issued permits for diesel fuel use in hydraulic fracturing,” said Representative Henry A. Waxman of California and two other Democratic members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, in the letter. “This appears to be a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.”

Oil and gas companies acknowledged using diesel fuel in their fracking fluids, but they rejected the House Democrats’ assertion that it was illegal. They said that the E.P.A. had never properly developed rules and procedures to regulate the use of diesel in fracking, despite a clear grant of authority from Congress over the issue.

“Everyone understands that E.P.A. is at least interested in regulating fracking,” said Matt Armstrong, a lawyer with the Washington firm Bracewell & Giuliani, which represents several oil and gas companies. “Whether the E.P.A. has the chutzpah to try to impose retroactive liability for use of diesel in fracking, well, everyone is in a wait-and-see mode. I suspect it will have a significant fight on its hands if it tried it do that.”

Regardless of the legal outcome, the Waxman findings are certain to intensify an already contentious debate among legislators, natural gas companies and environmentalists over the safety of oil and gas development in general, and fracking in particular. Oil services companies had traditionally used diesel fuel as part of their fracturing cocktails because it helped to dissolve and disperse other chemicals suspended in the fluid. But some of the chemical components of diesel fuel, including toluene, xylene and benzene, a carcinogen, have alarmed both regulators and environmental groups.

They argue that some of those chemicals could find their way out of a well bore either because of migration through layers of rock or spills and sloppy handling and into nearby sources of drinking water. An E.P.A. investigation in 2004 failed to find any threat to drinking water from fracking a conclusion that was widely dismissed by critics as politically motivated. The agency has taken up the issue again in a new investigation started last year, although the results are not expected until 2012 at the earliest.

The House committee began its own investigation in February last year, when Democrats were in the majority. In Monday’s letter, Mr. Waxman, along with Representatives Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Diana DeGette of Colorado, said that they were so far “unable to draw definitive conclusions about the potential impact of these injections on public health or the environment.” Still, the investigators said that three of the largest oil and gas services companies Halliburton, Schlumberger and BJ Services signed an agreement with the E.P.A. in 2003 intended to curtail the use of diesel in fracking in certain shallow formations. Two years later, when Congress amended the Safe Water Drinking Act to exclude regulation of hydraulic fracturing, it made an express exception that allowed regulation of diesel fuel used in fracking.

The Congressional investigators sent letters to 14 companies requesting details on the type and volume of fracking chemicals they used. Although many companies said they had eliminated or were cutting back on use of diesel, 12 companies reported having used 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel, or fluids containing diesel fuel, in their fracking processes from 2005 to 2009. The diesel-laced fluids were used in a total of 19 states. Approximately half the total volume was deployed in Texas, but at least a million gallons of diesel-containing fluids were also used in Oklahoma (3.3 million gallons); North Dakota (3.1 million); Louisiana (2.9 million); Wyoming (2.9 million); and Colorado (1.3 million). Where this leaves the companies in relation to federal law is unclear.

Mr. Waxman and his colleagues say that the Safe Drinking Water Act left diesel-based hydraulic fracturing under the auspices of E.P.A.’s “underground injection control program,” which requires companies to obtain permits, either from state or federal regulators, for a variety of activities that involve putting fluids underground. No permits for diesel-based fracking have been sought or granted since the Safe Drinking Water Act was amended in 2005. Lee Fuller, a vice president for government relations with the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said that was because the E.P.A. had never followed up by creating rules and procedures for obtaining such permits and submitting them for public comment.

The agency did quietly update its Web site last summer with language suggesting that fracking with diesel was, indeed, covered as part of the underground injection program, which would suggest that permits should have been obtained. But Mr. Fuller’s organization, along with the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, has gone to court to challenge the Web posting, arguing that it amounted to new rule-making that circumvented administrative requirements for notice and public commentary. The E.P.A. said Monday that it was reviewing the accusations from the three House Democrats that the companies named were in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. “Our goal is to put in place a clear framework for permitting so that fracturing operations using diesel receive the review required by law,” Betsaida Alcantara, an E.P.A. spokeswoman, said in an e-mail message. “We will provide further information about our plans as they develop.”

Below the Radar

2011-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

For the past several months I have intentionally tried to stay below the radar and out of the public eye. I found myself at speaking at a different meeting every night and at the brink of exhaustion, and needed to re calibrate a bit. I have found that my family, which is very tolerant of my involvement, was being ignored, so I have been spending some time with them also.

However, there has been a lot going on in DISH, and that is not being ignored. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we had the highest readings for several chemicals ever recorded on the state's air permanent monitor. On many occasions the operators of this facility have attended public meetings, and explained how this stuff goes straight up to the moon, never crossing the fence. However, we now know that to be incorrect. The scary thing about this incident, is how high some of the volatile chemicals reached. It very well may have reached explosive levels...there is only one way to know for sure, and I hope we never find out that way. You can see these levels at: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/agc_daily_summary.pl.

Pay particular attention to the ethane level, which is a component of methane. We have been exploring some of our legal options on this matter. I still live in DISH although the home is still on the market.

Oddly enough, none of the industry executives have taken me up on the opportunity to live here free of charge. We have had several lookers, and frankly at the price it is a bargain; however, no offers.

We also announced the formation of ShaleTest, which is a non profit organization geared to helping lower income families, get environmental testing. This also has proved be a great deal of work to get off of the ground; however, we have done some testing, and have a big announcement concerning ShaleTest that will be coming out in the next few weeks. You may check our website at http://www.shaletest.org/.

After resisting for several years, I am now on Facebook (thanks to Tim Ruggeiro). I am still getting the hang of it, but you can contact me there if you would like.

I would like to start putting together my travel and speaking plans for the year, so if you are interested in having me speak, please let me know. The same rules still apply, I will cover may travel costs and will not accept compensation for speaking. It sounds as though the activity is going to increase in the Marcellus area, so I would like to be more active in that area. Please let me know if you think I can help. Unfortunately, I have reached the conclusion there is only so much time in the day, so there will be some things that I will be unable to accomplish, but would like to maximize my involvement. Please let me know if I may help you in any way, and look for me and Tim in the Marcellus in April.

Calvin Tillman Mayor, DISH, TX (940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Spectra Energy Watch » Blog Archive » Mayor Tillman vs. Governor Ridge

2011-01-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Spectra Energy Watch » Blog Archive » Mayor Tillman vs. Governor Ridge

EPA acts after water contaminated by drilling in Parker County | wfaa.com | Dallas - Fort Worth Local News

2010-12-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

EPA acts after water contaminated by drilling in Parker County wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth Local News

Cities want to retain power to regulate gas drilling activities | Barnett Shale | Dallas...

2010-11-21T05:39:00.001-08:00

Cities want to retain power to regulate gas drilling activities Barnett Shale Dallas...

Star Local News > Flower Mound Leader > News > Debate over local vs. state control heats up

2010-11-21T05:39:00.000-08:00

Star Local News > Flower Mound Leader > News > Debate over local vs. state control heats up

Foes of shale drilling take message to Green Tree

2010-11-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

Foes of shale drilling take message to Green Tree

EARTHWORKS - 2010 People's Oil and Gas Summit Final Agenda

2010-11-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

EARTHWORKS - 2010 People's Oil and Gas Summit Final Agenda

EPA Press Release

2010-11-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 9, 2010

Eight of Nine U.S. Companies Agree to Work with EPA Regarding ChemicalsUsed in Natural Gas ExtractionEPA conducting congressionally mandated study to examine the impact of the hydraulic fracturing process on drinking water quality; Halliburton subpoenaed after failing to meet EPA’s voluntary requests for information.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) todayannounced that eight out of the nine hydraulic fracturing companies thatreceived voluntary information requests in September have agreed tosubmit timely and complete information to help the agency conduct itsstudy on hydraulic fracturing. However, the ninth company, Halliburton,has failed to provide EPA the information necessary to move forward withthis important study. As a result, and as part of the agency’s effort tomove forward as quickly as possible, today EPA issued a subpoena to thecompany requiring submission of the requested information that has yetto be provided.

EPA’s congressionally mandated hydraulic fracturing study will look atthe potential adverse impact of the practice on drinking water andpublic health. The agency is under a tight deadline to provide initialresults by the end of 2012 and the thoroughness of the study depends ontimely access to detailed information about the methods used forfracturing.

EPA announced in March that it would conduct this study andsolicit input from the public through a series of public meetings inmajor oil and gas production regions. The agency has completed thepublic meetings and thousands of Americans from across the countryshared their views on the study and expressed full support for thiseffort.

On September 9, EPA reached out to nine leading national and regionalhydraulic fracturing service providers – BJ Services, CompleteProduction Services, Halliburton, Key Energy Services, Patterson-UTI,RPC, Inc., Schlumberger, Superior Well Services, and Weatherford –seeking information on the chemical composition of fluids used in thehydraulic fracturing process, data on the impacts of the chemicals onhuman health and the environment, standard operating procedures at theirhydraulic fracturing sites and the locations of sites where fracturinghas been conducted. Except for Halliburton, the companies have either fully complied withthe September 9 request or made unconditional commitments to provide allthe information on an expeditious schedule.

More information on the subpoena and mandatory request for informationon Halliburton’s hydraulic fracturing operations: http://www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing

Group tackles testing barrier | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

2010-10-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

Group tackles testing barrier Denton Record Chronicle News for Denton County, Texas Local News

For Immediate Release: Award Winning Documentary "Gasland" Playing in Fort Worth

2010-10-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

Fort Worth Texas--ShaleTest will host the award winning and highly acclaimed documentary "Gasland" for a screening at the Lander's Machine Shop Art Studio at 217 E Broadway in Fort Worth, TX.

Josh Fox will join the ShaleTest Board of Directors for a screening of the documentary in an intimate setting at the Lander's Machine Shop on the Southside of Fort Worth. There will be never before seen footage from right here in Texas during this screening, and a question and answer session with the producer. After the viewing there will be an after party with Josh, and food and beverages will be provided. Please join the ShaleTest Board of Directors in welcoming Josh Fox and his award winning documentary to Fort Worth.

ShaleTest was formed by DISH, TX Mayor Calvin Tillman, and Wise County property owner Tim Ruggiero. Other founding board members include founder of the BlueDaze website and Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project community organizer Sharon Wilson, Susan Knoll, of Bartonville TX and Cora Bell of Corinth TX.

Activities will begin at 6:30 PM with the screening beginning at 7:00 PM. Suggested donations are $ 12 general admission, $ 7 for students and $ 50 for the after party. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.shaletest.org.

When: October 26, 2010, 6:30 PM

Where: Lander's Machine Shop Art Gallery, 217 E. Broadway, Fort Worth, TX

For More Information

Contacts *
Calvin Tillman, Mayor, DISH, TX(940) 453-3640, tillman4council@aol.com.

Tim Ruggiero
(917) 763-8901, trruggiero@gmail.com

Sharon Wilson
(940) 389-1622, sharson@gmail.com
Links:

www.shaletest.org

www.gaslandthemovie.com

For Immediate Release: Award Winning Documentary "Gasland" Playing in Flower Mound

2010-10-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

Fort Worth Texas--ShaleTest and Flower Mound Defense Fund will host the award winning and highly acclaimed documentary "Gasland" for a screening at Celebrations 2380 FM 407, Highland Village, TX.

Josh Fox will join the ShaleTest Board of Directors and the Flower Mound Defense Fund for an viewing of Gasland. There will be never before seen footage from right here in Texas during this screening, and a question and answer session with the producer. After the viewing there will be an after party with Josh, and food and beverages will be provided. Please join the ShaleTest Board of Directors and the Flower Mound Defense Fund in welcoming Josh Fox and his award winning documentary to Flower Mound.

ShaleTest was formed by DISH, TX Mayor Calvin Tillman, and Wise County property owner Tim Ruggiero. Other founding board members include founder of the BlueDaze website and Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project community organizer Sharon Wilson, Susan Knoll, of Bartonville TX and Cora Bell of Corinth TX.

Screening will begin at 7:00 PM. Suggested donations are $ 15 general admission, and $ 50 for the after party. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.shaletest.org, and www.fmshares.com.

When: October 27, 2010, 6:30 PM

Where: Celebrations, 2380 FM 407, Highland Village, TX

For More InformationContacts * Calvin Tillman, Mayor, DISH, TX(940) 453-3640, tillman4council@aol.com.
Tim Ruggiero
(917) 763-8901, trruggiero@gmail.com

Sharon Wilson
(940) 389-1622, sharson@gmail.com

www.gaslandthemovie.com

www.shaletest.org

www.fmshares.com

Shale Gas Drilling: A Changed Environment

2010-10-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Shale Gas Drilling: A Changed Environment

2010-10-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

Non-profit formed to test impact of gas drilling | LEWISVILLE/FLOWER MOUND Blog | dallasnews.com

2010-10-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Non-profit formed to test impact of gas drilling LEWISVILLE/FLOWER MOUND Blog dallasnews.com

For Immediate Release: Information Meeting Announcing The Formation of ShaleTest Non-Profit Environmental Testing

2010-10-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release: Information Meeting Announcing The Formation of ShaleTest Non-Profit Environmental Testing

Fort Worth Texas-- Josh Fox, producer of the award winning documentary Gasland will join the Board of Directors for the announcement of ShaleTest, a non-profit organization that will provide environmental testing on water, soil and air for lower income families. ShaleTest was formed by DISH, TX Mayor Calvin Tillman, and Wise County property owner Tim Ruggierro. Other founding board members include founder of the BlueDaze website and Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project community organizer Sharon Wilson, Susan Knoll, of Bartonville TX and Cora Bell of Corinth TX.

ShaleTest.org is a new national group that has a mission: “To provide lower income and compromised individuals with environmental testing of their drinking water, air and soil that might have been impacted by natural gas development. Our testing involves analyzing and measuring these elements for the presence of natural gas development fluids or associated chemicals and compounds. We also provide the public with educational awareness to the dangers associated with natural gas development." Currently, ShaleTest has testing volunteers in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arkansas, and is recruiting in other states.

DISH mayor Calvin Tillman says that " I have seen a real weakness in the availability of quality environmental testing across the United States to all families, especially in lower income areas. Therefore, citizens must rely on poorly equipped and understaffed state agencies to protect them, ShaleTest will level the playing field for these people".

Co-founder Tim Ruggiero says "I have seen first hand what negative impacts natural gas development has had on our air, water, soil and even our property values. I have also seen the unwillingness to address these issues and the political game playing and foot dragging from our local and federal level politicians and protection agencies to assist any of us.We cannot allow our quest for energy to outweigh our need for clean air and water. Mayor Tillman and I formed this non-profit group to do what the very same agencies that have sworn to protect us simply refuse to do."

"Currently, it is up to citizens to prove harm rather than industry to prove lack of harm and it is now clear that state regulations do not protect public health." said Sharon Wilson, Organizer for Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project. "With enough data we can shift that burden back to those who profit and hold them accountable for their irresponsible operations."

When: October 26, 2010, 12:30 PM

Where: Tandy Lecture Hall inside of the Fort Worth Library, located at 500 West 3rd Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102

For More InformationContacts

* Calvin Tillman,
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640, tillman4council@aol.com.

Tim Ruggiero
(917) 763-8901, trruggiero@gmail.com

Sharon Wilson
(940) 389-1622, sharson@gmail.com
Links:

www.shaletest.org

www.gaslandthemovie.com
Calvin Tillman Mayor, DISH, TX (940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Josh Fox Coming to Texas!!!

2010-10-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Josh Fox, producer of the award winning documentary Gasland, will be coming to Texas later this month, and I wanted to update everyone on the schedule of events for his trip.

On October 26, 2010, Josh will be joining us for an announcement at 12:30 PM. There will be a press conference at the Tandy Lecture Hall, located in the Fort Worth Library at 500 West 3rd Street, Fort Worth, TX. On the evening of October 26th, there will be a screening in Fort Worth for Josh's award winning documentary Gasland, site TBD.

On the evening of October 27, 2010, there will also be a screening in the Flower Mound area, with more information to follow.

Please mark your calendar to attend one of these events.

Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Sour gas well debated » News » Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, Texas

2010-10-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Sour gas well debated » News » Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, Texas

What I have Been Up Too.

2010-10-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

I have had some inquiries as to what I have been up too, since things have been quiet for a while. I have not thrown in the towel, nor have I quit as mayor of DISH, but I have been trying to spend some time with my family. I have also been busy working on a project that we will be releasing information on at the end of October. I am very excited about this announcement, and think that it will shake things up a bit. Looks like the tentative date for releasing the information is October 26, 2010. There will be a press release in the afternoon, with a celebratory gathering that evening. More details will follow, but please mark your calendar and plan on attending the night of October 26, 2010. We should have the location soon, and will pass on that information as soon as we get it.

Downwinders at Risk Commercial

2010-09-25T19:24:00.001-07:00

http://www.texasobserver.org/forrestforthetrees/new-tv-attacks-perry-tceq

The Texas Gas Industry's Potemkin Village Tour - The Texas Observer

2010-09-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Texas Gas Industry's Potemkin Village Tour - The Texas Observer

Drilling can dig into land value | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

2010-09-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

Drilling can dig into land value Denton Record Chronicle News for Denton County, Texas Local News

The Challenge

2010-09-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

In the next week or so, my home will officially be put on the market. It has been a struggle for me to come to grips with the fact that this would be the best thing for my family. It is apparent that the operators will not take the simple measures necessary to make this a livable area, and the regulatory agencies won't make them. So the only option for me is to attempt to sell my home to protect my family.

There will be some who think that I am overreacting, and will conclude that things are safe here. The latest propaganda, not science, states that with the levels detected, it would take 70 years to get a negative health affect, and it looks like the plan is to make sure we are exposed to those levels for 70 years. Please note that those who say it is "fine", live elsewhere, and do not have to deal with the odor, or the chemical exposure, nor do they have their children waking up in the middle of the night to bloody noses.

Let me first say, that I do not think that it is safe for anyone to live as close as my family does to a site of this magnitude, when it is operated in such a reckless manner. Unfortunately, there are many others who live much closer than I do, to this and other facilities. However, to those who think I am overreacting, I would first say there soon will be a house on the market, and you are more than welcome to make an offer on it. But there was recently reports floating around that stated that there were no natural gas operating company officers that actually live in close proximity to facilities such as this. I find it interesting that, although they proclaim it to be safe, they refuse to live in areas where they have facilities such as the one here in DISH.

I therefore issue a challenge to the executives of the following companies to move to DISH for one year: Chesapeake, Crosstex, Devon, Atmos, Energy Tranfer, Enbridge, Enterprise, or JW Operating. If they would agree to move here with their family and spend every night here, I would work out a deal to allow them to live here for a year at no cost. However, they can not be alone in living here, they must bring their families; their children or grandchildren, and use the home to entertain guests. Maybe they would see how if feels to have to bring your children in the house because of the odor being to strong to enjoy the outdoors, or like another resident who was entertaining over a hundred guests outdoors, and the dehydration units began spewing the familiar odor.

I suspect that if they lived here for a year, they would find, that I am not that unreasonable and may actually take the necessary steps to clean this site up. Also, it needs to be the executive level, because the lower level personnel may actually believe that this site is fine in the manner in which it is being operated. Therefore, we need the one of the officers of a company to live here with their family for a year. This could be a great public relations stunt for one of these companies, and would let them know what they are forcing others to deal with, and who knows, this could be a new reality show. And there is free DISH network, so they won't miss any Thunder games.

New toxins report released | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

2010-09-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

New toxins report released Denton Record Chronicle News for Denton County, Texas Local News

Drilling won't necessarily bring jobs for locals » Columns » The Daily Star, Oneonta, NY - otsego county news, delaware county news, oneonta news, oneonta sports

2010-09-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Drilling won't necessarily bring jobs for locals » Columns » The Daily Star, Oneonta, NY - otsego county news, delaware county news, oneonta news, oneonta sports

2010-08-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

You may have seen the headlines in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, announcing that the "EPA was fine with air monitor data in DISH". They were of course referring to the permanent air monitor installed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) near the massive compressor station permitted to operate by the same organization. In mid July the town of DISH had summa canister samples taken near the permanent monitor and showed different results. For example our 24 hour canister sample showed triple the amount of the carcinogen benzene than the permanent monitor detected only 35 meters away.

The EPA reviewed the data, and gave theories as to why there could be differences in the readings, which I respect. One of which was that for each 24 hour period, the permanent monitor only collects for 15 hours, and another is that the permanent monitor analyzes the samples in a climate controlled trailer, while our samples were taken out in the elements where people would be breathing it. So the conclusions was that it could be possible that both samples were accurate, under each circumstance. I am not sure what that says about the limitations of the machine, when a canister 35 meters away shows benzene at three time the level of the monitor detected and both could be accurate. The report also mentions the possible influence of the dehydration unit on the canister that was 650 meters from the permanent monitor.

This past week the TCEQ announced 8 more permanent monitors were being installed in the Barnett Shale, which will carry a price tag of around $2,000,000.00 of the tax payers money. I am guessing that they do not take kindly to someone questioning that data, when they have dumped that much money into it. The monitors are better than nothing, because they at least show spikes, and what chemicals are being detected, but not sure that we should consider ourselves safe because we are near one.

Below is the EPA's report in its entirety, just didn't want anyone to fall for TCEQ's propaganda. Looks like propaganda is about all they have left, and they are reaching at that.

REGION 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
8/23/10

ISSUE: CONCERNS ABOUT DISH CONTINUOUS VOC/AIR TOXICS MONITOR

BACKGROUND
At the August 2, 2010, OAQPS public meeting in Arlington, TX on EPA oil & gas industry air quality regulation development, Mayor Tillman of DISH and Alisa Rich of Wolf Environmental gave verbal comments. One of their comments mentioned discrepancies between their sampling results and the readings from TCEQ’s continuous air toxics monitor in DISH, TX. They pointed out that the TCEQ monitor readings were lower than their sampling results and called the accuracy of the TCEQ results into question.

Region 6 requested the DISH sampling results from Mayor Tillman mentioned in the public meeting in order to evaluate why there may have been differences in the sampling results.

Mayor Tillman provided the sampling results to Region 6, and provided access to his consultant Wolf Environmental, who had conducted the sampling.

Wolf Environmental, collected two 24-hour canister samples were taken in the vicinity of the TCEQ continuous air toxics monitor in DISH. The DISH canister samples were both taken in a 24-hour period from July 15, 2010 to July 16, 2010.

Region 6 was able to compare 8 compounds: benzene, ethylbenzene, styrene, toluene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, m/p xylene, and o-xylene. The DISH canister results were higher than those reported by the automated gas chromatograph (auto-gc), and the sampling results between the two DISH canisters themselves were different by factors of 2 to 8.

EPA REGION 6 EVALUATION
There are scientific and technical reasons why the DISH VOC canister sampling results could have differed from what the DISH continuous monitor recorded during the same 24-hour period. Some of these reasons for the different measured concentrations could be:the different sampling locations, different sampling methods utilized, and possible different emissions sources.

SAMPLING LOCATION

All three sampling locations (TCEQ auto-GC, and the two canisters) are located in proximity of different potential sources of VOCs. The TCEQ auto-GC is close to a compressor station. As described by Mayor Tillman and maps provided by Wolf Environmental; one of the canisters was in proximity of an airplane runway, and the second canister was near a dehydration and amine unit. Depending on wind patterns and operations at the potential VOC sources, the sampling at these three locations could be monitoring different contributions resulting in possible different concentrations.

- One canister was about 35 meters from the auto-GC, another was about 650 meters away.
These distances apart could result in the samplers being impacted by emissions from nearby sources differently than the auto-gc, particularly the canister approximately 650 meters away.

Note: The canister about 650 meters away from the auto–gc (and more likely to be impacted differently) had higher reported concentrations for six of the eight compounds mentioned above.

- The two canister samples were taken at ground level, while an auto-gc sample inlet is typically at 2-3 meters above ground level for sampling

- The two canister samples were outdoors, different from the climate controlled auto-gc trailer environment which could impact resulting concentrations being measured with the two different sampling climate conditions.

SAMPLING METHOD

- The VOC canisters took one continuous sample for 24-hours which was analyzed by a lab.

- An auto-gc typically samples for 40 of 60 minutes each hour. There are also at least 2 full additional hours of calibration verification standard (cvs) /blank checks per each 24-hour period.

- Over the course of 24-hours, the 40 minute per hour sampling plus the 2 full hour cvs/blank checks would result in about 15 total hours actual sampling by an auto-gc, compared to 24 total hours actual sampling for a canister.

This sampling time difference during a 24-hour period could also yield different sampling results. The canister samplers may have been impacted by nearby emissions while the auto-gc was doing internal analysis and not sampling during 20-minute periods/hour and during the full hour cvs/blank checks.

CONTINUOUS MONITOR (AUTO-GC) OPERATIONS
Region 6 evaluated the on-line QA/QC and calibration information for the DISH continuous monitor and investigated the operations of the instrument during the timeframe in question with information from TCEQ, the University of Texas (which operates the monitor) and ORSAT, a sub-contractor for UT. Monitor operations were double-checked and looked fine. There was no obvious internal reason to doubt the validity of the data from the DISH auto-gc at this time.

Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

DISH Odor Returns

2010-08-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

To all,

It has now been a year since the town of DISH performed our air study around the massive natural gas compression station located in our community. You may remember that this study showed several carcinogens and neurotoxins at some pretty disturbing levels. Over the past year we have had a permanent monitor installed, and several other tests performed. Although things clearly have improved, it is also clear that further improvements are needed before people can live here and enjoy their property. We have patiently waited for our state regulatory agencies to catch up with the facilities they have permitted here in DISH. However, that simply has not happened.

Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part, but I actually thought that things were getting better; however, that horrible odor returns just as it has so many times before. Unfortunately, the odor seems to also carry some pretty nasty chemicals along with it. This odor of course is coming from the natural gas dehydration units, and amine sweetening units that are also part of the compressor complex.

It takes very little research to find that both of these processes causes horrendous odors, and even those within TCEQ are well aware of the odor issues associated with this equipment. However, when discussing the odor issues, they immediately act as though they have no idea about what could cause these odors, or at least I hope they are acting, because we are really in bad shape if they honestly don't know where the odor is coming from. But I have not pushed the issue, hoping that one of the TCEQ "back room deals" would result in some relief for us. However, after been given a year to fix the problem, we still have periodic odor that prevents us from enjoying our property.

Someone from TCEQ has been to DISH numerous times for investigations, and on most every occasion, they have sent a letter acknowledging the presence of odors, and refused to take any action to prevent it from reoccurring. TCEQ has actually adopted a regulation the protect us from these sort of actions, but has refused to enforce it. It is found the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), and more specifically this requirement is outlined in 30 TAC § 101.4 which states:

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.

I have formally asked TCEQ to enforce this regulation and am reaching out to you for support on this matter. Many of those who will read this have been extremely supportive of me, and I must ask your help one more time. The odor issues and the inaction of TCEQ, has essentially forced me to put my home on the market and attempt to leave the place where me and my family have lived for several years. Therefore, I am asking you to either place a short phone call, or send an email to those in TCEQ who have chosen to ignore the problems in DISH as well as other areas of the Barnett Shale.

It is not often that I ask for help, but this is one time in which I do not feel as though I have a choice, and I hope that you know I would do the same for you. It is clear that TCEQ will not take action, without some encouragement. If you are with an organization, I would ask for the support of that organization. Please contact the following individuals, and simply ask them to enforce 30 TAC § 101.4 on the natural gas operators that do business in and around the town of DISH as well as the entire Barnett Shale, and allow everyone to enjoy their property:

Alyssa Taylor, REM
Air Section Manager
817.588.5828
ataylor@tceq.state.tx.us

Mark Vickery, Executive Director
512.239.5105
mvickery@tceq.state.tx.us,

Thanks to everyone out there, God Bless and stay in the fight. Please post on your websites, blogs, or facebook pages, and forward to your email lists.

Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640

"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Help tough to find for Corinth panel | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

2010-08-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

Help tough to find for Corinth panel Denton Record Chronicle News for Denton County, Texas Local News

For Immediate Release: Permanent Air Monitor Installed by State of Texas Giving False Readings.

2010-08-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release: Permanent Air Monitor Installed by State of Texas Giving False Readings.

DISH, TX -- A permanent air monitor installed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in DISH, TX near a massive natural gas compressor complex, is giving inaccurate readings. The Town of DISH contracted independent testing near the permanent monitor, and the independent testing showed level of the carcinogen benzene at triple the levels detected by the state's permanent monitor. For the carcinogen toluene the levels detected during the independent testing were 50 times the monitor's detections. Additionally, there were several other chemicals detected that the permanent monitor does not sample for.

DISH is located in the epicenter of the Barnett Shale gas play and is home to a megacomplex of compressor stations, as well as pipelines, metering stations, gathering lines and gas wells. The town of DISH spent nearly 15% of its annual budget on a comprehensive air study after months of complaints to the state regulatory agencies and the operators of the compressor sites, gave the citizens no relief.

DISH mayor Calvin Tillman says that "we really thought our air quality was improving, this is devastating to find this information is inaccurate. The TCEQ permitted this facility, and they have no idea how to clean it up to to protect public health. It is also very disappointing that the State of Texas has spent a million dollars on equipment that is not accurate".

The monitor has been running since mid April and has detected no major problems with the air quality in the community. It is unclear whether the monitor is not capable of producing accurate results, or if the results are being manipulated. The TCEQ has not given the Town of DISH any explation for the false readings, or any plans to protect the health of the citizens of DISH.

For More InformationContacts
* Calvin Tillman, Mayor,
DISH, TX(940) 453-3640, tillman4council@aol.com.

* Town of DISH
5413 Tim Donald Road
DISH, Texas 76247

Alisa Rich, Scientist
Wolf-Eagle Environmental, LLC
(469) 939-1020

What About The Money?

2010-08-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

When I was preparing for my first trip to the Marcellus Shale, I was approached by someone who lived in Upstate New York to discuss the issues that was going on in DISH as well as the Barnett Shale in general. As we began discussing the lessons learned here about leasing, and the amount of money given at lease signing, he interrupted me to state that in several small towns in the Upstate New York area, they were ready for drilling to begin...for the jobs. He further stated that everyone was waiting to get “their new white pickups and Halliburton hard hats”. That they were not even concerned about the leases and that most had already leased for one or two dollars per acre. He continued to state that when I mentioned the $ 30,000.00 per acre that was once offered in the Barnett Shale, some would collapse in tears, knowing that they had been taken advantage of by this industry.

Throughout my several tours around the country, the question about jobs and the vast influx of money into the local economy came up constantly. I quickly found that my new friend was right, there were a large number of people who really thought they would soon have a new white pickup and Halliburton hard hat. I always asked the crowd, “how many certified pipeline welders do I have in the room?” They seemed to quickly get the point that most of the folks in rural New York would not have the skill set required to work in this industry. Although, I do know of folks here in Texas that started working on a drilling rig with no experience, and worked their way into a nice paying job, it is unlikely with the slowdown, that the industry would need to hire people with no experience. So any jobs would be entry level and low paying. There are plenty of folks out of work with experience in the industry.

In areas of Pennsylvania where gas exploration had begun, there was a noticeable amount of vehicles with Texas plates that highlighted this point. I was almost offended when the local population complained about the amount of Texans that followed the natural gas boom to this area. It was apparent that the population increase was not something that they were yet comfortable with.

While growing up in the Oklahoma oil fields, we went through the boom and bust cycle several times. It seemed as though most of the males would go to work in the oilfields after graduating high school and made a decent living for themselves. However, with the economy based upon this one industry, the downturns were pretty severe on the local economies. When the bust came, it left everyone scrambling to find another job. However, with the economy based on this one industry, most of the jobs were either in the industry or supporting the industry. Therefore, in the bust, there were not many jobs to be found. This resulted in many of the small rural towns to simply dry up, with people moving away to find work.

On a recent trip to New Mexico, I met with Gilbert Armenta, the New Mexico rancher depicted in the documentary Split Estate. Mr. Armenta has spent his entire life living with the boom/bust cycle in Northwestern New Mexico. In this part of the country, the oil and gas industry is the predominant industry. As the industry has cooled over the last year or two, he stated that there was 12 % unemployment in that area. I might add that the Farmington, New Mexico mayor was nice enough to write a letter with some negative comments about your truly, as well as talking about how great the industry was to him.

One thing that I had heard on several occasions is that when the eventual bust comes, the crime rate goes up almost immediately. Mr. Armenta confirmed this fact during his presentation, that crime levels increase particularly during the bust cycles. He further stated that the crime that increased the most was robbery.

Was has happened in Mr. Armenta's area is that it is solely an oil and gas economy. All other industries have moved on and therefore everything directly or indirectly is dependent on this industry. So even if you do not work directly for the industry, when the bust comes, you are affected. In our local area I have noticed over the past several years, that we have been going through a transformation to an oil and gas economy. In some areas of the Barnett Shale, the transformation has already taken place. We managed to avoid an economic catastrophe only because the industry has continued to drill when it wasn't profitable, knowing that regulation was coming. Otherwise, many of the towns in the western part of the shale would have simply went away.

It has become very tempting for cities to embrace the explorations for the quick shot of tax revenue with the budget shortfalls over the last couple of years. Falling to this temptation has led to more and more of the area transforming to this new economy. Unfortunately, when the bust comes, and we know it will, the entire area will be devastated. This may very well lead to this area being destroyed economically at some point, because we know that this is only temporary. It is key for cities to develop strategies for sustainable funding that is not primarily put on the backs of the taxpayer, and does not destroy future growth.

Unfortunately, one city that comes to mind is the City of Fort Worth. This city has the largest number of gas exploration activities of any city in the world, yet financially is by far the worst in this area, having a 73 million dollar shortfall this year. Part of this expenditure is a $600,000.00 air study to determine if the exploration activities is harmful to public health. Fort Worth is also home to several of the exploration company's headquarters. The downturn has affected everyone, but the city most dependent on the natural gas revenue, is the one doing the worst financially. As Tim Ruggeiro would say "it does not take a PhD in economics to see there is a problem here".

Another thing that this does, is give the industry extreme leverage to demand things like tax breaks and loose regulations. They simply threaten to pack up and move somewhere else, and take the jobs with them. When it is an oil and gas economy, them leaving makes a ghost town. Although this is only a threat, local officials are held hostage by this threat. So they give in, and keep cutting the setback requirements like the City of Fort Worth continues to do, or they allow this industry continuously cut corners putting their citizens at risk.

For some here it is too late to build a diverse economy, there will be booms and busts, it will be feast or famine. However, for some of you out there this does not have to be the case. Look ahead and do not let this industry take over your economy and hold you hostage like it is doing in many other parts of the country. Be very careful of what you wish for.

EPA 08-02-10 TIM RUGGIERO

2010-08-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

YouTube - EPA 08-02-10 TIM RUGGIERO.flv

Bob Best, Atmos Energy | CEO | PBS Video

2010-08-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Watch him squirm when she asks him about DISH.

Bob Best, Atmos Energy CEO PBS Video

Returning from Vacation

2010-08-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

For those who have tried to contact me over the last week, please know that we took our family vacation to Northern New Mexico. It was a refreshing and wonderful nine days camping in the mountains with my wife and children. There were a few nights that we had to run the heater in our camper. This has been a well need break to prepare me for the long road ahead. We did stop in the Mora/Las Vegas NM area to visit with some folks about gas drilling and give my presentations. I was fortunate enough to visit with Debra Anderson who produced the Emmy nominated Split Estate. Gilbert Armenta, who is the fifth generation rancher from San Juan County who is profiled in the film was also on the panel. Mr. Armenta has probably been more impacted than any one person by the oil and gas industry.

Even with squeezing in some public speaking it was still a relaxing and enjoyable time. It was nice to breathe the clean mountain air and get a little rest. I feel rejuvenated and am very much looking forward getting back to work on the tasks at hand. I hope to have some more information on my future soon. I will be getting to my emails and phone messages over the next week, so please be patient and know that I am not ignoring those who have tried to contact me.

Fears of Pervasive Air Pollution Stir Up Politics in Texas Shale Gas Country - NYTimes.com

2010-08-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Fears of Pervasive Air Pollution Stir Up Politics in Texas Shale Gas Country - NYTimes.com

Up in the Air.

2010-07-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

I made an announcement shortly after Memorial Day weekend, that I would be putting my home in DISH on the market. This decision was made by my family after several instances of both of my children having nosebleeds during the night. These nosebleeds correlated with strong odors and spikes in the chemicals being emitted by the natural gas compression station a quarter mile from our home. We are still planning on putting our home on the market by the end of August. This is a tough decision, but to ensure the safety of my family, it is something that I will do.

A year ago, you essentially could not be outside for more than a couple of hours without being forced into your home by the noxious odors. In the few months prior to Memorial Day the odor events were limited to the late evening/early morning time frame and happened a few nights a week for a couple of hours. After the Memorial Day incident, the TCEQ brought a canister for me to keep at my home for instances of the strong odor, I still have this canister. There have been periodic odor events over the past couple of months; however, they now only last for a brief time. By the time I get the canister ready to take the sample, the odor is gone. Unfortunately, my air conditioning system sucks the odor in the house, and the odor sometimes lingers longer inside than outside. So over the past year, the situation has improved tremendously. Is it enough? I am not sure.

This announcement got a great deal more attention than I had anticipated. I had to make sure that those who know me and support me, knew why I was making this decision. I did not want everyone to find out when the for sale sign went up. There have been a flurry of media stories that have been taken by some to suggest that I will be resigning as mayor and moving from DISH immediately. Another report actually had me being forced out, which was wishful thinking for some. I have a great group of citizens here in DISH that have been extremely supportive of me and know that I will support and defend them to the end, and it will be difficult should I end up leaving. I will be better about keeping everyone in the loop so there are no misunderstandings of my intentions.

When me and my wife made the decision to put our home on the market, we had seen both of our children having several massive nosebleed during the night. These nosebleeds coincided with the strong odor that filled our community. At this point we contemplated moving immediately and figuring things out after that. Since that time neither of my children have nosebleeds at that level and only a few minor nosebleeds and none at night. So we are not the motivated sellers we once were. However, do to the continuing problems and little faith in our regulatory agencies, we will be putting the house on the market. Like most anyone reading this, we can not put it on the market tomorrow. For the past 3 years I have worked around 80 hours a week and therefore the home has been neglected. So there are several projects that were half completed, and need to be finished before we can market it. I am not anticipating a big market for the home, but if by some miracle it should sell, I would then have to resign as mayor, but not a minute before. I will likely not leave it on the market indefinitely either, it will sell, or it will not.

Every time that I have given either the operators or the regulatory agencies a pat on the back, something bad immediately happens. So it may be foolish, but I have some level of optimism currently about this facility. Several things have been accomplished to make this a better facility, and I am certain that no other facility has as many controls in place as this one does. But with the massive size of the facility, I am not sure if it can be...good, just better than the others. I am sure there is more than one photo of me on a break room dartboard, and I am also sure these companies have unwillingly spent a great deal of money, but the conditions have improved greatly for the citizens of this community.

Some were also led to believe that I would simply disappear from DISH, and from this matter all together, which again is wishful thinking. Whether I live in DISH breathing chemicals, or somewhere out of this area, I will always be involved in this subject in some capacity. In the next couple of month, I will be making an announcement about part of what will be in my future. For the past five years this has taken up a great deal of my time, and we have somewhat been the poster child of what can happen to a community. Therefore, it is impossible for me to simply walk away. As always I thank those who have supported me through this decision.

What happened to conservative values?

2010-07-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

It has been very disappointing to see our conservative values continue to dwindle under the pressure from large corporations. In Texas our politicians talk conservative values right up to the point where they fail to follow them. Two foundation pieces of conservatism, are property rights and the free market system. In Texas, our "conservative" politicians have taken away both from the average Texan. You are allowed to enjoy your property, as long a corporation or someone with more money doesn't want it. This used to be a state where you could move out in the rural areas, buy a piece of land, and live in peace. Now if you move to the country to have some property, you are an immediate target for a corporation to take your land, or make it unlivable.

The prime example of this is the oil and gas industry. The State of Texas has taken away most of the rights that pertain to land ownership from the citizens and given it to these large corporations. One glaring example is the natural gas pipeline midstream companies, which have been given the tremendous power of eminent domain. These are private, for profit companies that have been awarded all the power of government to condemn property. This not only takes away property rights, but it destroys the free market system that allows for a property owner to negotiate in good faith for the use of their property. Instead the private property owners are immediately subjected to threats and intimidations. Due to these companies being for profit, it is in their best interest to obtain the easement and install the pipeline as cheap as possible, and they use whatever tactic necessary to achieve this. Therefore, private property owners are paid a fraction of the value of the land and not compensated for associated property damage. This is not limited to the active drilling areas, due to pipelines being installed all over the state.

Another example is what is known as forced pooling. It has many names and variations, but again it is another method to transfer private property rights to large corporations. This again takes away the requirement to negotiate in good faith from the private property owner for their mineral properties. In Texas the minerals are the dominant property right, so the surface owners have little input on what happens to their property. However, under forced pooling, the energy companies can even take your minerals without your consent. This again takes away private property rights and undermines the free market system. The private property owner also has no protection if something goes wrong in the process. Therefore, these corporations can take your property without your consent, destroy it, and the only recourse is a lawsuit that may cost the private property owner tens of thousands of dollars.

I have seen other "conservative" states like Pennsylvania following the Texas policy of destroying private property rights, and not allowing private citizens to enjoy their property investments. I would urge the other states to not do it the "Texas Way". In Texas it is only worth owning property, if you are willing to concede that you have no right to enjoy that property. So you must ask yourself if that is what you want for the citizens of your state? Private property rights and free market system are the values that are important to the "Average Joe" trying to live the American Dream, let's not continue to destroy this.

Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640
"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"

Arkansas Schedule

2010-07-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

MAYOR CALVIN TILLMAN OF DISH, TEXAS IS SPEAKING IN ARKANSAS ON JULY 16th and 17th. He brings a compelling story of a little town ravaged by the ill-effects of gas drilling and fracking and how they stood up and made the world take notice.

Mayor Calvin Tillman of DISH, TX will be speaking at the Clinton Senior Citizen's Center on Friday July 16th at 7PM; he will also speak the next day, July 17, at the McGhee Center in Conway, AR at 7PM. Calvin will tell of his experience with gas drilling abuses from his unique perspective as the mayor of a small Texas town which is crisscrossed with pipelines, monstrous compressors and dotted with gas wells. The town has devoted ten percent of its budget on testing and has come up with compelling results.

Come out to hear this amazing speaker. He has toured extensively in New York State and Pennsylvania in the Marcellus Shale play. I have spoken to many who have verified he is a true blue American who is selflessly attempting to protect our country from the gas drilling excesses and abuses. Calvin has refused to accept and money for this, not even expenses or hotel costs and is doing this from his own savings. Please invite as many people as you can to this very rare opportunity for the Natural State.
Calvin's website is http://baddish.blogspot.com/

Invite as many people as you can don't miss this event!!!! Let’s try to save the Natural State!July 16th at the Clinton Senior Citizens Center 311 Yellow Jacket Lane Clinton, AR 72031 July17th at the McGee Center 3800 College Avenue Conway, AR 72032

CARE
http://a4gda.blogspot.com/

July 16th 7PM
Senior Citizen's Center
311 Yellow Jacket Lane
Clinton, AR 72031

July 17th 7PM
McGee Center
3800 College Avenue
Conway, AR 72032

ExxonMobil Shareholders Support Disclosure of Fracking Risks | Chem.Info

2010-07-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

ExxonMobil Shareholders Support Disclosure of Fracking Risks Chem.Info

My Schedule

2010-06-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

Several folks have inquired about my speaking schedule. I have slowed a bit, but have not stopped making appearances. Frankly, I have been trying to take a much needed break. I will begin doing some public speaking tours again in the next couple of weeks. I will be traveling to Arkansas to the Fayetteville Shale on July 16th and 17th. I will publish the times and locations when I receive that information. Also, I will going to New Mexico in conjunction with a family vacation and speak in the Las Vegas, NM area. Again I will share more information when I get the specifics. I am also working on another trip to the Marcellus Shale this fall. We will see how that gels together. If you would like have me speak at your event, please let me know. As always I do not accept any funding for my speaking.

Who's On The Attack?

2010-06-26T14:00:00.001-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-grandia/who-are-the-spindoctors-b_b_621190.html

Dish mayor's outcry on gas drilling brings big buzz to tiny town | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

2010-06-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

Dish mayor's outcry on gas drilling brings big buzz to tiny town News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News