Now that the election is behind us and we have regained common sense to our town, another hurdle is approaching.
Tomorrow night, the Oil and Gas Review board for the town of Flower Mound, will meet to discuss variances for drilling on a large piece of property known as "The Hilliard Airfield". This time its Titan/Cherokee Horn and associates that have purchased Mr Hilliard's mineral rights. As you know The Hilliard Airfield is right there on 2499 before you get to 3040, as you enter our town from the south. Mr Hilliard and his family have owned that land for a long, long time and could be considered some of the most prime real estate in our town. In a letter that Mr Hilliard sent out to his neighbors recently urging them to write in his favor to the Oil and Gas board, he stated, "this radical group of "anti-drillers" want to take away his "right" to claim his minerals, after all, we live in the United States of America and not Communist China". his letter in its entirety is posted here.
Which brings me to my point of his rights versus mine.
I too have the right as a citizen of the United States, to live in a safe environment.
I too have the right as a citizen of the United States, to breath clean air and drink clean water.
I too have the right as a citizen of the United States, to protest the fact that Mr Hilliard is threatening my rights by exercising his own.
Who is right? Who takes the priority here?
A few weeks ago at the town council meeting, the gas leasers all wore stickers saying "Common Sense".
Erecting a drilling platform within 1000 feet of two schools? Is that Common Sense?
Having an eyesore of a drilling platform surrounded by a 40 foot tall "blast Fence" as prospective home buyers or first time guest are greeted as they enter our town? Where is that common sense?
In a town that doesn't allow billboards or business signs to exceed a certain height to allow this monolithic monstrosity to greet everyone that drives that road every day that Mr Hilliard has "his" rights? this is just senseless.
This group of radical "anti-drillers" as we have been called, are being unfairly labeled as Un-American? When in all honesty, most of us feel it is important to harvest the Barnett Shale in a responsible manor and NOT smack dab in the middle of an suburban environment. That can be nothing but common sense.
Seven decades ago when the Hilliard family bought that 96 acres of land in the middle of nowhere and probably for a very small amount of money. Did they know that all us city folk were eventually going to wander out to the country and develop and live and make a community of responsible citizens? Had they known that then maybe they would have settled further north. They had no earthly idea or premonition that a town would develop around them, I'm sure they settled there just to survive with a few crops and some live stock. Did they know they were sitting on a vast empire called the Barnett Shale? Hell, Barnett didn't even know that.
So now, 70 years later, Hilliard wants to cash in 10 thousand fold on his original investment and blight his new neighbors for his prospect of wealth?
Please plan to attend the Oil and Gas board meeting tomorrow at town hall at 6:30 and voice your displeasure, if you can't attend, send an email to environmentalservices@flower-mound.com to be entered on public record.
We do not want even a slightly remote chance of a catastrophe such as what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico to occur "in our back yards".
*title of thread courtesy of A.C. Newman of the New Pornographers. ( its a band)
Our only 'Rights' are those which are listed in the Bill of Rights. No where in this document does it state that a mineral right owner is dominant over a property owner. Not one word about it. Just because Texas law says this is a 'right' doesn't also mean that it follows any definition of ethic or moral standing.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think if you own the property, you own the entire property. The greedy old man who owns the mineral rights under my property excluded 50 acres around his home from drilling, pipelines and compressor stations. 300 feet for the rest of us. He also is the personal property owner of over 100 acres. That's 10 times greater than what my wife and I own.
As much as I am criticized for being so incredibly stupid so as to not know that gas well drilling was a great liklihood - "You knew you didn't own the mineral rights when you bought the place, right?" doesn't chnage the fact that gas well drilling near anyone's home also brings great risk.
On our property, Aruba Petroluem has spilled over 9,000 gallons of produced water, hundreds upon hundreds of gallons of condensate and spread contaminated drilling mud all over the place, bathed our home in noxious diesel exhaustand as you read this, contaminate our air with raw gas and emissions from the burned gas that is now running through an incinerator.
The Aruba Supervisor also owns 10 acres AND owns the mineral rights. Why doesn't he have a drill rig on his property? Because he doesn't want his small children exposed to the dangers. He's perfectly okay with exposing my child to them, though. Not one of the Aruba execs have drill rigs, condensate tanks or pipelines running through their property. Why not? If gas welld rilling is such a good thing, why are they not signed up for it as well? Could it be that they do know the dangers associated with drilling? I think so. How can they not, this is what they do for a living.
There is a growing army of people that are tired of being run over by Big Gas, and we're simply not going to put up with the bullshit anymore. We are going to stay and fight, and we're going to demand change, or we will force change to protect everyone around us. There are more property owners than mineral right owners, and this number grows by the day. I see more and more people getting involved, attending meetings, and speaking out at city council meetings. There's a reason for this- we're fed up.
The irony is, the majority of us are not opposed to drilling. All of us are opposed to being poisoned. If you are reading this, then you are involved. You need to get more involved, and stand up for yourself, your family and your neighbors. This is a long, hard fight, but we are winning. You have doubts about that? ONE single homeowner in Corinth mobilized hundreds of her neighbors and forced by majority opinion, their city council to say NO to drilling to XTO. Not only did XTO not get any of the variances requested, they were also denied their permits to drill. It can be done, but you have to stick with it. It will take more than a few emails and attending a few meetings. If you;re too busy to get involved, then you should accept the fact that some gas company will get you involved against your will at some point. Please don't wait for the bulldozers to show up to then decide to get involved.