Thursday, September 22, 2011
Westchester Gasette: Oh, My.
Westchester Gasette: Oh, My.: So here's Part 2 of that story about an Arlington Church's business deal with Chesapeake: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 High Point Church...
Westchester Gasette: What the Quack is Going On?
Westchester Gasette: What the Quack is Going On?: The 5,000-member High Point Church was founded in 2000 by Simons and his wife, April, whose brother is Joel Osteen , well-k...
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Westchester Gasette: It's a Hurricane
Westchester Gasette: It's a Hurricane: A LANDMAN on the Arlington, TX City Council?? Or What Is It, Pray Tell? The Councilman does have a very nice résumé. Here's how you,...
Monday, March 7, 2011
Natural gas fields have provided a fount of cash for Texas cities Second of two parts Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11066/1130239-84.stm#ixzz1Fw4LbYBB
By Bill Toland - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Monday, March 07, 2011
Note by Faith Chatham: I have read a lot of coverage on gas drilling in the Barnett Shale. Mr. Toland's 2 part series is the best articles I have read in years and can serve as a primer of what resident's need to know when the land man starts showing up in their neighborhood. I am excerpting some of his second article below but recommend that you click on the READ MORE LINK and read the entire article.
Read more article part 2: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11066/1130239-84.stm#ixzz1Fw5uh7LH
Note by Faith Chatham: I have read a lot of coverage on gas drilling in the Barnett Shale. Mr. Toland's 2 part series is the best articles I have read in years and can serve as a primer of what resident's need to know when the land man starts showing up in their neighborhood. I am excerpting some of his second article below but recommend that you click on the READ MORE LINK and read the entire article.
Talk of the town
Despite success stories, people remain wary about urban gas drilling, and it's hard to overstate the degree to which gas drilling dominates the news cycles.
The local newspaper, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, runs a weekly report on all the newly active rigs in the 24-county area -- usually there are several dozen new rigs put up each week. In a three-day span three months ago, the newspaper and TV news reported on the city school district's ongoing gas lease negotiations, city council's long-debated air quality study, lawsuits over polluted water wells, and an early morning gas leak (and resulting vapor cloud) at an XTO Energy well site north of Fort Worth.
Some in Fort Worth object to urban drilling notionally, concerned about long-term water quality and health effects. But others object to the way they've been treated by the industry and its "landmen" -- the free-agent real estate negotiators who gather signatures on behalf of drillers, bundling them and then selling the waivers, titles and leases to energy companies.
The process sometimes pits neighbors against one another.
"I would describe myself as very pro-drilling, pro-oil, pro-gas," said Laura Reeves, a Fort Worth resident who lives in an impeccably decorated townhome and can't remember the last Democrat she voted for.
"I have friends who work for Chesapeake. I know people who need their jobs. I don't disagree with drilling for gas. I disagree with drilling for gas in the middle of a (populated area)."
Chesapeake Energy wants to drill on a vacant tract of land to the immediate south of her new, gated townhome community. Her complex, and that empty tract --being called "Westridge" by Chesapeake -- are just a few hundred yards west of Como, a historically black neighborhood. Mrs. Reeves says the industry has tried to take advantage of the poverty levels in Como.
The landmen wanted Mrs. Reeves and neighbors to sign waiver agreements, allowing Chesapeake to drill within Fort Worth's prescribed setback radius if city council subsequently approves the variance request. The "setback" is the minimum distance that a well must be from the nearest home; in order to drill inside the city's 600-foot setback radius, an energy company has to get enough neighbors to sign waiver agreements, and it often sweetens the pot with waiver bonuses.
The waiver payments are thank-you notes written in cash, because the people who sign the waivers -- townhome residents, renters, business owners -- often won't see any other money from the drilling. They won't get royalties, because most don't own any mineral rights, and they won't receive a surface lease payment, because the drilling isn't happening on their property.
The first offer that Mrs. Reeves received from the landman that knocked on her door in autumn 2009? Sign the waiver and she gets $74.
Small potatoes to her -- but more attractive to those living in poverty, she said. Waiver bonuses can increase dramatically if you live closer to a drilling site, or if you live in a more well-to-do neighborhood, but generally landmen want to get the best lease and waiver terms, at the lowest price, for the companies they represent.
"You may as well sign," the landman told her, because "78 percent of your neighbors have signed." Turns out only three of her 70 fellow townhome owners had signed waivers, she said.
But because landmen aren't employed by the energy companies, and because there is no state board that licenses or regulates these middlemen, punishing them for misrepresentations is difficult, according to foes.
"I realized some of them had signed the waiver and didn't have a clue what they signed," said Mrs. Reeves. "They felt stupid because they just believed what the landmen told them."
When Mrs. Reeves and others tried to fight off the Chesapeake project -- organizing community meetings, attending city council hearings, going door-to-door in Como -- she says she was caricatured by some in the energy industry as a bored, blonde housewife.
"I was insulted," she said. "They were counting on me, the white blonde, not [setting] foot in a black neighborhood."
But she did, and for a time, it appeared that the drilling project near Como would be rebuffed; Chesapeake withdrew its drilling request last August. In February, though, landmen made headway with one of the neighbors to the west of the Westridge site, a prominent businessman, and Chesapeake now intends to drill a few hundred feet to the west of its original location.
Ms. Knowles, the master's student -- whose boss, state Rep. Lon Burnam, called for a moratorium on new Texas drilling permits -- said the landmen are often accused of misrepresenting the degree of neighborhood unanimity as well as the scope of the drilling projects. They say that the rigs will be up for only a few months, which is often true.
What they don't say is that the rigs can return again and again to drill new wells, as long as they have an active lease. Or that a "few months" of disruption can turn into a few years, or that your home value could decline.
"Nothing can be done if they lie, cheat or steal," she said.
Gas lines another issue
Another thing that landmen may or may not bring up is the issue of gas lines. To get the raw gas to market, the energy companies or subcontractors will also eventually have to build "gathering" lines from the pads to the nearest processing plant.
In Texas, energy companies and private pipeline owners are treated more or less like public utilities, and they have the ability to condemn pieces of private property, if need be, in order to lay the gathering lines.
"That creates a whole new issue," said Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis, a former Fort Worth city councilwoman.
"You get lines crisscrossing all over your city ... and once you've laid a line that's carrying natural gas, you can't develop it" or put other utilities beneath it, like electric or sewage. "The most you can do is put a surface parking lot on it."
And that's just the lines they know about. Pipeline maps and surveys have proven unreliable, and records from the Texas Railroad Commission, which issues the operating permits for the raw gas lines, are often incomplete, critics say.
"There are lines all over the place that really no one at the city levels were ever told," Ms. Davis said. "And we may find that it inhibits" future development -- or, worse, could cause an accident when someone tries to dig a backyard swimming pool and finds that the gathering line is not where the pipeline company thinks it is.
Add the 360,000 miles of gathering line in Texas to the 20,000 Barnett gas wells, all of it being monitored by just a handful of state inspectors, and people have good reason to worry. "Who can feel safe [when] that's the way it's functioning?" Ms. Davis said. "You can't trust these companies to self-police."
Read more article part 2: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11066/1130239-84.stm#ixzz1Fw5uh7LH
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Texas Legislature 2011 Senate Committee Appointments - Contacts
By Martha Estes - 2011 Texas Senate Committees
Committee of the Whole Senate (600)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C600 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C600 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C600
Clerk: Patsy Spaw Phone: (512) 463-0100 Office: CAP 2E.22
Administration (C500)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C500 & Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C500 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C500
Clerk: Kara Crawford Phone: (512) 463-0350 Office: EXT E1.714
Agriculture & Rural Affairs (C505)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C505 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C505 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C505
Clerk: Ashley Patton Phone: (512) 463-0340 Office: SHB 455
Business & Commerce (C510)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C510 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C510 &
Meetings Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C510
Clerk: Kimberly Selinger Phone: (512) 463-0365 Office: SHB 370
Criminal Justice (C590))
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C590 &
Bills Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C590 &
Meetings Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C590
Clerk: Michaela Bernacchio Phone: (512) 463-0345 Office: SHB 470
Economic Development (525)
Cmte. Link: c
Bills Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C525 &
Meetings Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C525
Clerk: Colby Karhan Phone: (512) 463-1171 Office: SHB 340
Education (C530)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C530 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C530 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C530
Clerk: Holly Mabry Phone: (512) 463-0355 Office: SHB 440
Finance (540) (Sub-Committees: Medicaid C542 & Public Education Funding C543)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C540 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C540 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C540
Clerk: Stephanie Hoover Phone: (512) 463-0370 Office: EXT E1.038
Government Organization (565)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C565 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C565 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C565
Clerk: Jessica Schleifer Phone: (512) 463-1818 Office: SHB 630
Health & Human Services (610)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C610 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C610 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C610
Clerk: Mason Moses Phone: (512) 463-0360 Office: SHB 420
Higher Education (560)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C560 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C560 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C560
Clerk: Gonzalo Serrano Phone: (512) 463-4788 Office: SHB 320
Intergovernmental Relations (C520) (Subcommittee C523 on Flooding & Evacuations)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C520 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C520 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C520
Clerk: Tiffany White Phone: (512) 463-2527 Office: SHB 475
International Relations & Trade (545)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C545 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C545 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C545
Clerk: Natalie Fontenot Phone: (512) 463-0385 Office: SHB 335
Jurisprudence (C550)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C550 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C550 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C550
Clerk: Katie Qualls Phone: (512) 463-0395 Office: SHB 350
Natural Resources (580)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C580 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C580 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C580
Clerk: Tatum Reagan Phone: (512) 463-0390 Office: SHB 325
Nominations (C572)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C572 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C572 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C572
Clerk: Bogan Durr Phone: (512) 463-2084 Office: EXT E1.716
Open Government, Select (585)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C585 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C585 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C585
Clerk: Phone: Office: Not yet available.
Redistricting, Select (C625)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C625 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C625 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C625
Clerk: Stephanie R Hoover Phone: (512) 463-8802 Office: SHB 460
State Affairs (570)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C570 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C570 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C570
Clerk: Erin Fry Phone: (512) 463-0380 Office: SHB 380
Transportation & Homeland Security (C640)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C640 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C640 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C640
Clerk: Tulsi Reddy Phone: (512) 463-0067 Office: SHB 450
Veteran Affairs & Military Installations (C650)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C650 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C650 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C650
Clerk: Felicia Wright Phone: (512) 463-2211 Office: SHB 345
Committee of the Whole Senate (600)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C600 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C600 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C600
Clerk: Patsy Spaw Phone: (512) 463-0100 Office: CAP 2E.22
Administration (C500)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C500 & Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C500 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C500
Clerk: Kara Crawford Phone: (512) 463-0350 Office: EXT E1.714
Agriculture & Rural Affairs (C505)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C505 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C505 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C505
Clerk: Ashley Patton Phone: (512) 463-0340 Office: SHB 455
Business & Commerce (C510)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C510 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C510 &
Meetings Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C510
Clerk: Kimberly Selinger Phone: (512) 463-0365 Office: SHB 370
Criminal Justice (C590))
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C590 &
Bills Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C590 &
Meetings Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C590
Clerk: Michaela Bernacchio Phone: (512) 463-0345 Office: SHB 470
Economic Development (525)
Cmte. Link: c
Bills Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C525 &
Meetings Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C525
Clerk: Colby Karhan Phone: (512) 463-1171 Office: SHB 340
Education (C530)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C530 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C530 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C530
Clerk: Holly Mabry Phone: (512) 463-0355 Office: SHB 440
Finance (540) (Sub-Committees: Medicaid C542 & Public Education Funding C543)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C540 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C540 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C540
Clerk: Stephanie Hoover Phone: (512) 463-0370 Office: EXT E1.038
Government Organization (565)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C565 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C565 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C565
Clerk: Jessica Schleifer Phone: (512) 463-1818 Office: SHB 630
Health & Human Services (610)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C610 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C610 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C610
Clerk: Mason Moses Phone: (512) 463-0360 Office: SHB 420
Higher Education (560)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C560 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C560 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C560
Clerk: Gonzalo Serrano Phone: (512) 463-4788 Office: SHB 320
Intergovernmental Relations (C520) (Subcommittee C523 on Flooding & Evacuations)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C520 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C520 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C520
Clerk: Tiffany White Phone: (512) 463-2527 Office: SHB 475
International Relations & Trade (545)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C545 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C545 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C545
Clerk: Natalie Fontenot Phone: (512) 463-0385 Office: SHB 335
Jurisprudence (C550)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C550 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C550 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C550
Clerk: Katie Qualls Phone: (512) 463-0395 Office: SHB 350
Natural Resources (580)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C580 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C580 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C580
Clerk: Tatum Reagan Phone: (512) 463-0390 Office: SHB 325
Nominations (C572)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C572 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C572 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C572
Clerk: Bogan Durr Phone: (512) 463-2084 Office: EXT E1.716
Open Government, Select (585)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C585 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C585 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C585
Clerk: Phone: Office: Not yet available.
Redistricting, Select (C625)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C625 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C625 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C625
Clerk: Stephanie R Hoover Phone: (512) 463-8802 Office: SHB 460
State Affairs (570)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C570 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C570 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C570
Clerk: Erin Fry Phone: (512) 463-0380 Office: SHB 380
Transportation & Homeland Security (C640)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C640 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C640 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C640
Clerk: Tulsi Reddy Phone: (512) 463-0067 Office: SHB 450
Veteran Affairs & Military Installations (C650)
Cmte. Link: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=82R&CmteCode=C650 &
Bills: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=committee&LegSess=82R&Code=C650 &
Meetings: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=82&Chamber=S&CmteCode=C650
Clerk: Felicia Wright Phone: (512) 463-2211 Office: SHB 345
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Texas' electric deregulation cost is tallied in study
By Jack Z. Smith - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A report released Monday concludes that electric deregulation has cost Texas residential consumers more than $11 billion in higher rates and that the operator of the state's major power grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, has been poorly managed and industry-dominated.
The 101-page report, "The Story of ERCOT," is the result of a research project of the Steering Committee of Cities Served by Oncor and the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, which works with 158 cities and other governmental entities to buy electricity in bulk.
Deregulation, it said, has resulted in higher rates for Texas power consumers rather than the lower rates forecast by lawmakers who passed the state law in 1999.
Before deregulation, Texas had cheaper rates than most states. Between 1999 and the first six months of 2010, however, Texas residential consumers "suffered greater increases [in electric rates] than residents in all but six other states," the report said.
"Had electric prices remained at the national average -- not below it, just at it -- Texas residential consumers would have saved more than $11 billion since the implementation of deregulation," the report said, citing data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The entire deregulated Texas market, commercial, industrial and residential, "would have saved $15.5 billion had prices remained at the national average," the report said.
However, the latest EIA data, for November, shows that Texas' average residential electric rate was 11.37 cents per kilowatt-hour, below the national average of 11.7 cents.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
Read more:
A report released Monday concludes that electric deregulation has cost Texas residential consumers more than $11 billion in higher rates and that the operator of the state's major power grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, has been poorly managed and industry-dominated.
The 101-page report, "The Story of ERCOT," is the result of a research project of the Steering Committee of Cities Served by Oncor and the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, which works with 158 cities and other governmental entities to buy electricity in bulk.
Deregulation, it said, has resulted in higher rates for Texas power consumers rather than the lower rates forecast by lawmakers who passed the state law in 1999.
Before deregulation, Texas had cheaper rates than most states. Between 1999 and the first six months of 2010, however, Texas residential consumers "suffered greater increases [in electric rates] than residents in all but six other states," the report said.
"Had electric prices remained at the national average -- not below it, just at it -- Texas residential consumers would have saved more than $11 billion since the implementation of deregulation," the report said, citing data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The entire deregulated Texas market, commercial, industrial and residential, "would have saved $15.5 billion had prices remained at the national average," the report said.
However, the latest EIA data, for November, shows that Texas' average residential electric rate was 11.37 cents per kilowatt-hour, below the national average of 11.7 cents.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
Read more:
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Texas AG asks U.S. House to block regulation of greenhouse gas emissions
By DAVE MICHAELS Washington Bureau The Dallas Morning News - Feb. 9, 2011
WASHINGTON — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked Congress on Wednesday to block the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, saying legislation would allow him to drop his lawsuits over the rules.
Abbott testified at a congressional hearing where Republican lawmakers grilled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson over her agency’s move to regulate climate-altering gases emitted by industrial facilities.
A Republican bill would overturn the EPA’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and would prevent the agency from using the Clean Air Act to address climate change.
Texas’ fossil fuel producers, utilities and other businesses stand to benefit if Republicans succeed in blocking regulation, although President Barack Obama would almost certainly veto the bill. Texas Republicans have been at the forefront of efforts to stymie the EPA.
Abbott has filed six legal challenges of EPA regulations that address climate change. One of the lawsuits challenges the decision to invalidate parts of Texas’ clean-air program over its refusal to award permits for greenhouse gas emissions.
“I am here to tell you that if your legislation passes, that will mean that Texas will be dismissing those six lawsuits against the EPA,” Abbott told the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Jackson said the EPA was forced to take over parts of Texas’ clean-air program because the state failed to carry out its responsibilities. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA sets thresholds for regulated pollutants, which states must enforce.
Texas’ refusal
While other states have challenged EPA regulation of greenhouse gases, Texas is the only state that refused to include greenhouse gases in its clean-air program. Jackson said businesses that wanted to build in Texas would have been unable to get permits without the EPA’s intervention.
“The Nucor steel facility just got a permit in the state of Louisiana,” Jackson told the committee. “If they wanted to build the exact same facility in Texas, they would need a permit for greenhouse gases — and they cannot get one because Texas refuses to consider those permits.”
Jackson also clashed with Texas Republicans on the committee over dozens of pollution permits that were invalidated when the EPA rejected three Texas permitting programs in September 2009. The EPA said the Texas programs failed to meet the standards set by the Clean Air Act.
Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, complained to Jackson that Texas was singled out for disapproval, while other states with similar programs weren’t challenged.
“This appears to be Texas-specific,” Burgess said. “And if it is, that is wrong.”
But Jackson said EPA’s concerns with the quality of Texas’ clean-air programs went back to the Bush administration.
“When I became administrator, I found a situation where businesses in Texas have no certainty that the permits protect them from lawsuits for excessive pollution,” Jackson said. “The answer certainly could not have been to look the other way.”
Jackson testified on the same day that House Republicans unveiled their proposals for spending cuts, including a $1.6 billion budget cut for EPA in 2011. Such cuts could hurt the EPA’s ability to carry out its regulatory agenda.
‘Highhanded’ EPA
The agency has become a prime target for House Republicans who question the science of global warming and assert that EPA regulations create uncertainty for business.
“The EPA has been highhanded in Texas,” said Rep. Joe Barton , R-Arlington. “I don’t think the EPA had the authority to revoke these existing permits, and I think their [carbon dioxide] regulations are extremely onerous if implemented.”
Barton said the committee would probably approve the legislation, called the Energy Tax Prevention Act, in the next two months. Sen. James Inhofe , R-Okla., has sponsored the legislation in the Senate, where its path to passage is much less certain.
Some House Democrats, including Rep. Gene Green of Houston, said they disapproved of EPA regulation of greenhouse gases and preferred Congress to set standards. But it’s not clear that Green and other Democrats would vote for the GOP bill.
Much of Wednesday’s hearing revolved around Republicans and Democrats arguing about whether man-made activities are to blame for climate change.
Republicans faulted Democrats for ignoring the regulations’ impact on jobs and energy costs. Democrats blasted Republicans for trying to legislatively overturn the EPA’s finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health.
“Politicians overruling scientists on a scientific question — that would become part of this committee’s legacy,” Jackson said.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked Congress on Wednesday to block the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, saying legislation would allow him to drop his lawsuits over the rules.
Abbott testified at a congressional hearing where Republican lawmakers grilled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson over her agency’s move to regulate climate-altering gases emitted by industrial facilities.
A Republican bill would overturn the EPA’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and would prevent the agency from using the Clean Air Act to address climate change.
Texas’ fossil fuel producers, utilities and other businesses stand to benefit if Republicans succeed in blocking regulation, although President Barack Obama would almost certainly veto the bill. Texas Republicans have been at the forefront of efforts to stymie the EPA.
Abbott has filed six legal challenges of EPA regulations that address climate change. One of the lawsuits challenges the decision to invalidate parts of Texas’ clean-air program over its refusal to award permits for greenhouse gas emissions.
“I am here to tell you that if your legislation passes, that will mean that Texas will be dismissing those six lawsuits against the EPA,” Abbott told the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Jackson said the EPA was forced to take over parts of Texas’ clean-air program because the state failed to carry out its responsibilities. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA sets thresholds for regulated pollutants, which states must enforce.
Texas’ refusal
While other states have challenged EPA regulation of greenhouse gases, Texas is the only state that refused to include greenhouse gases in its clean-air program. Jackson said businesses that wanted to build in Texas would have been unable to get permits without the EPA’s intervention.
“The Nucor steel facility just got a permit in the state of Louisiana,” Jackson told the committee. “If they wanted to build the exact same facility in Texas, they would need a permit for greenhouse gases — and they cannot get one because Texas refuses to consider those permits.”
Jackson also clashed with Texas Republicans on the committee over dozens of pollution permits that were invalidated when the EPA rejected three Texas permitting programs in September 2009. The EPA said the Texas programs failed to meet the standards set by the Clean Air Act.
Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, complained to Jackson that Texas was singled out for disapproval, while other states with similar programs weren’t challenged.
“This appears to be Texas-specific,” Burgess said. “And if it is, that is wrong.”
But Jackson said EPA’s concerns with the quality of Texas’ clean-air programs went back to the Bush administration.
“When I became administrator, I found a situation where businesses in Texas have no certainty that the permits protect them from lawsuits for excessive pollution,” Jackson said. “The answer certainly could not have been to look the other way.”
Jackson testified on the same day that House Republicans unveiled their proposals for spending cuts, including a $1.6 billion budget cut for EPA in 2011. Such cuts could hurt the EPA’s ability to carry out its regulatory agenda.
‘Highhanded’ EPA
The agency has become a prime target for House Republicans who question the science of global warming and assert that EPA regulations create uncertainty for business.
“The EPA has been highhanded in Texas,” said Rep. Joe Barton , R-Arlington. “I don’t think the EPA had the authority to revoke these existing permits, and I think their [carbon dioxide] regulations are extremely onerous if implemented.”
Barton said the committee would probably approve the legislation, called the Energy Tax Prevention Act, in the next two months. Sen. James Inhofe , R-Okla., has sponsored the legislation in the Senate, where its path to passage is much less certain.
Some House Democrats, including Rep. Gene Green of Houston, said they disapproved of EPA regulation of greenhouse gases and preferred Congress to set standards. But it’s not clear that Green and other Democrats would vote for the GOP bill.
Much of Wednesday’s hearing revolved around Republicans and Democrats arguing about whether man-made activities are to blame for climate change.
Republicans faulted Democrats for ignoring the regulations’ impact on jobs and energy costs. Democrats blasted Republicans for trying to legislatively overturn the EPA’s finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health.
“Politicians overruling scientists on a scientific question — that would become part of this committee’s legacy,” Jackson said.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
EPA Office of Public Engagement Notice: EPA Submits Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan to Independent Scientists for Review
From Larmett.John@epamail.epa.gov
Dear Friend:
The draft plan is open to public comment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its Draft Study
Plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the agency’s Science Advisory
Board (SAB), a group of independent scientists. EPA scientists, under
this administration and at the direction of Congress, are undertaking a
study of this practice to better understand any potential impacts it may
have, including on groundwater. EPA has held a series of public
meetings, with thousands in attendance, across the country and developed
a sound draft plan for moving forward with the study.
EPA is planning to host webinars on Tuesday, February 15th and
Wednesday, February 16th to walk interested stakeholders through the
content of the draft study plan. We will be e-mailing details on how to
participate in these webinars later this week.
Best wishes,
John Larmett
Senior Public Liaison Specialist
Office of Public Engagement
Office of External Affairs & Environmental Education
Office of the Administrator
(202) 564-7842 - Office
(202) 280-8246 - Blackberry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2011
EPA Submits Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan to Independent
Scientists for Review
The draft plan is open to public comment
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today
submitted its draft study plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the
agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB), a group of independent
scientists. Natural gas plays a key role in our nation’s clean energy
future and the process known as hydraulic fracturing is one way of
accessing that vital resource. EPA scientists, under this administration
and at the direction of Congress, are undertaking a study of this
practice to better understand any potential impacts it may have,
including on groundwater. EPA announced its intention to conduct the
study in March 2010 and use the best available science, independent
sources of information, a transparent, peer-reviewed process and with
consultation from others. Since then, EPA has held a series of public
meetings across the country with thousands attending and the agency has
developed a sound draft plan for moving forward with the study.
The scope of the proposed research includes the full lifespan of water
in hydraulic fracturing, from acquisition of the water, through the
mixing of chemicals and actual fracturing, to the post-fracturing stage,
including the management of flowback and produced or used water and its
ultimate treatment and disposal.
The SAB plans to review the draft plan March 7-8, 2011. Consistent with
the operating procedures of the SAB, stakeholders and the public will
have an opportunity to provide comments to the SAB during their review.
The agency will revise the study plan in response to the SAB’s comments
and promptly begin the study. Initial research results and study
findings are expected to be made public by the end of 2012, with the
goal of an additional report following further research in 2014.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which large volumes of water, sand
and chemicals are injected at high pressures to extract oil and natural
gas from underground rock formations. The process creates fractures in
formations such as shale rock, allowing natural gas or oil to escape
into the well and be recovered. Over the past few years, the use of
hydraulic fracturing for gas extraction has increased and has expanded
over a wider diversity of geographic regions and geologic formations.
For a copy of the draft study plan and additional information:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/d3483ab445ae61418525775900603e79!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.1#2
More information on hydraulic fracturing:
www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing
Dear Friend:
The draft plan is open to public comment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its Draft Study
Plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the agency’s Science Advisory
Board (SAB), a group of independent scientists. EPA scientists, under
this administration and at the direction of Congress, are undertaking a
study of this practice to better understand any potential impacts it may
have, including on groundwater. EPA has held a series of public
meetings, with thousands in attendance, across the country and developed
a sound draft plan for moving forward with the study.
EPA is planning to host webinars on Tuesday, February 15th and
Wednesday, February 16th to walk interested stakeholders through the
content of the draft study plan. We will be e-mailing details on how to
participate in these webinars later this week.
Best wishes,
John Larmett
Senior Public Liaison Specialist
Office of Public Engagement
Office of External Affairs & Environmental Education
Office of the Administrator
(202) 564-7842 - Office
(202) 280-8246 - Blackberry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2011
EPA Submits Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan to Independent
Scientists for Review
The draft plan is open to public comment
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today
submitted its draft study plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the
agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB), a group of independent
scientists. Natural gas plays a key role in our nation’s clean energy
future and the process known as hydraulic fracturing is one way of
accessing that vital resource. EPA scientists, under this administration
and at the direction of Congress, are undertaking a study of this
practice to better understand any potential impacts it may have,
including on groundwater. EPA announced its intention to conduct the
study in March 2010 and use the best available science, independent
sources of information, a transparent, peer-reviewed process and with
consultation from others. Since then, EPA has held a series of public
meetings across the country with thousands attending and the agency has
developed a sound draft plan for moving forward with the study.
The scope of the proposed research includes the full lifespan of water
in hydraulic fracturing, from acquisition of the water, through the
mixing of chemicals and actual fracturing, to the post-fracturing stage,
including the management of flowback and produced or used water and its
ultimate treatment and disposal.
The SAB plans to review the draft plan March 7-8, 2011. Consistent with
the operating procedures of the SAB, stakeholders and the public will
have an opportunity to provide comments to the SAB during their review.
The agency will revise the study plan in response to the SAB’s comments
and promptly begin the study. Initial research results and study
findings are expected to be made public by the end of 2012, with the
goal of an additional report following further research in 2014.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which large volumes of water, sand
and chemicals are injected at high pressures to extract oil and natural
gas from underground rock formations. The process creates fractures in
formations such as shale rock, allowing natural gas or oil to escape
into the well and be recovered. Over the past few years, the use of
hydraulic fracturing for gas extraction has increased and has expanded
over a wider diversity of geographic regions and geologic formations.
For a copy of the draft study plan and additional information:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/d3483ab445ae61418525775900603e79!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.1#2
More information on hydraulic fracturing:
www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
