2012 to Be Most Awesome Ozone Season Ever
Sunday marked the official start of the 2012 ozone season. Unofficially, it began the week before on March 24th, when both the Frisco and “Dallas North” ozone monitors operated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recorded violations of the new federal standard of 75 ppb, and then on March 25th, when the Keller, Grapevine, and Eagle Mountain Lake monitors also all recorded violations of the 75 standard. Frisco came within less than a single ppb of being in violation of the old 85 ppb and set the record for the highest March ozone reading TCEQ’s ever recorded. It’s this old 85 ppb standard that DFW is still trying to meet even as the regulatory goalposts have been moved back to account for new science linking smog to heart attacks and strokes at lower levels of exposure. In submitting its new clean air plan to EPA to finally get below 85 ppb, you might remember that TCEQ predicted that in 2012, DFW would see the lowest ozone averages ever recorded – primarily because so many people are replacing their older more polluting cars with newer, cleaner ones. This prediction even came two months after the end of the 2011 ozone season showed DFW had worse smog than Houston. No, state leaders were not deterred by naysayers in taking a strong, optimistic stand for clean air when it came time to turn-in its compliance plan for EPA. Theirs is a faith-based initiative. According to Austin, all 18 DFW air quality monitors will be registering lower levels of smog in 2012 than any of them have ever recorded in the decade since monitoring began in DFW. At some monitors, TCEQ predicts summer maximums will drop by 40 parts per billion or more, an annual decrease no monitor in DFW has ever registered. Given the high readings from March already, it’s hard to believe that this prediction could possibly come true, but hey, they’re the experts,right? So put away those gas masks and get out and breathe that fresh North Texas air. Haze? No, that’s just steam.
Weekly Tuesday Evening Dallas Drilling Planning Meetings Begin Tomorrow at 7pm
SRO at the Dallas Drilling Meeting
They came from North Dallas, and South Dallas. They came From East Dallas and West Dallas. They were veterans of past fights and they were brand new to the scene. In all, over 100 people attended the citywide organizing meeting on drilling in Dallas Tuesday night. As good as the turnout was, the quality of the audience was just as impressive. There were lots of community leaders present. League Of Women Voters and Dallas Homeowners League officers, neighborhood associations from Mountain Creek and La Bajada. Young South Dallas leaders. Representatives from the Oak Cliff and First Unitarian – Universalist Churches, Move On, and Occupy Dallas. They heard from city council members, citizen activists, lawyers, and organizers about how important it is to get this right. They signed-up to speak at Dallas City Council meetings and wrote postcards to specific council members. It was a very good start to a new chapter in the fracking fight in Dallas. Whether its a pivotal moment is really what we do from here on out. Thanks to everyone who came. Thanks to Councilman Scott Griggs, Jim Bradbury, Cherelle Blaze and Terry Welch for telling it like it is. Special thanks needs to go to Zac Trahan of the Texas Campaign for the Environment, and Claudia and Ed Meyers of the Mountain Creek Neighborhood Alliance for making this such a successful event. Dallas Morning News coverage is behind the paywall here. Over the next few days we’ll be posting the materials handed out at the meeting here at the Downwinders web site, as well as the slide shows that were presented – Fracking 101, and maps of the 13 specific Dallas drilling sites currently seeking approval. Dallas Residents at Risk will continue to meet EVERY TUESDAY EVENING @7 pm at the Texas Campaign of the Environment office at 3303 Lee Pkwy #402 for the duration of this campaign. Everyone is invited to these meetings. You do not need to be a representative of a group. You just need to be interested. Last night saw the blooming of a 1000 good ideas on how to follow up on the positive energy generated by the meeting. Now we need help in implementing them. We’ve got to hit the streets, go door-to-door, schedule PowerPoint shows for our groups, and make appointments with council members. Last night marked the beginning of something new and exciting, but to have something to celebrate at the end, we have to put in a lot of hard work in-between.
DFW Posted the Highest March Ozone Pollution on Record Saturday
Beginning at noon on Saturday and continuing until 7pm, the air monitor in Frisco recorded a 75 parts per billion or higher level of ozone, a violation of the new smog standard just adopted by EPA. By evening it had come within less than 1 part per billion of violating the obsolete 85 ppb standard. It was the single highest ozone reading on a day in March since air monitoring for the pollutant began in DFW in the late 1990’s. A violation of the 85 ppb standard this early in the year would also have been an historic first because according to the government, “ozone season” doesn’t even officially start until April 1. What made it even more spectacular was that it was on a Saturday – traditionally not a high-ozone day of the week in DFW. Not an auspicious start to a year when we’re supposed to have the very lowest levels of ozone ever monitored, according to your Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. At least that’s what they told the EPA when they had to submit a plan for cleaning-up DFW ozone way back in December. It’s the miraculous new “free market new car pollution control measure” TCEQ has been touting for two years now that says so many more local residents will buy newer, cleaner cars that the air will reach almost Alpine purity by September. Unfortunately for Austin, all it took was some unseasonably warm weather in March (just an anomaly we’re sure) to consign that prediction to the ash heap of previous TCEQ predictions about improving air quality in DFW. To achieve TCEQ’s prediction for better 2012 ozone levels, Frisco’s air monitor can’t record anything higher than a 58 ppb 8-hour average this year. Yesterday, it was at 84.24 at the end of the worst eight hours that saw readings go as high as 96 ppb. Given the weather forecast for the rest of the week, it’s not unthinkable that we’ll have our first violation of that old 85 standard before April begins. We would say we told you so, but really, how smart do you have to be to know that another TCEQ optimistic prediction about DFW air quality would fail miserably right out of the gate?
Fracking Makes Our Bad Air Worse
A lot of people may think that the largest public health problems linked to horizontal gas drilling,or fracking, are all water-related. They are not, at least not yet. It’s the huge amounts of air pollution fracking generates and its consequences for nearby residents, downwind dwellers, and the planet as a whole that are really pose the paramount risks to the most people. Take smog. Saturday’s record-setting ozone levels remind us again that DFW is a 21-year old chronic violator of the Clean Air Act. Fracking generates both kinds of smog-forming pollutants identified by the EPA and the state – Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) from combustion sources, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the leakage and “upsets” of chemicals in tanks, pipelines, and other facilities and pieces of equipment. In 2006, NOx pollution from the gas industry was estimated to be over 68 tons per day by the state. That was more than all three cement plants in Midlothian combined, plus every other large stationary source of NOx pollution in the region. By this year that number is expected to drop by 2/3rds because of new rules by the state requiring more modern diesel engines and less drilling in the Barnett Shale in general. TCEQ believes NOx pollution has more of an impact on DFW ozone levels than VOCs, and so it got more serious about regulating the NOx pollution from fracking. But that theory is being seriously tested. This year, again according to the state, all the cars and trucks in DFW will produce 80 tons per day of VOC air pollution. Oil and gas production in DFW will produce 114 tons per day of the same kinds of pollutants – 34 more tons a day than all cars and trucks combined, and the largest emissions by far from any one industry in North Texas. TCEQ says not to worry about the smog impact of these gas VOC emissions because they’re aren’t as reactive or volatile as the kind vehicles emit and are less likely to form ozone. Independent scientists and regulators disagree, especially given the volume of the pollution. Denver officials believe that when already dirty air – from other urban areas, or coal plants or cement plants – combines with the VOCs from the gas industry, it actually makes the gas VOCs more volatile, and more likely to form ozone. This phenomenon has never been incorporated into the computer modeling TCEQ uses to predict ozone formation in DFW. In 2011, DFW had its worst smog season in five years, even as the state refused to significantly cut VOC emissions from the gas industry. You don’t have to live near a gas well to feel the effects of the drilling going on in North Texas. All you have to do is breathe. The same VOCs that cause smog are also the most responsible for making near-by residents ill with their toxic fumes. Benzene, formaldehyde, and other VOCs are routinely released or escape from gas facilities. A recent Colorado School of Public Health study found a resident’s cancer risks increased 66% when they lived within a half mile, or over 2000 feet from a fracking operation. Many of the chemical exposures recorded residents near wells by way of state-issued hand held canisters are exactly the same ones Midlothian residents found when they used the same canisters to test their bad air downwind of the cement plants when they were burning hazardous wastes. And the official response is the same as well. Despite the fact that the resident is testing the air when he or she is feeling the health effects of air pollution, the levels of poisons never seem to reach above mandated levels of concern that would trigger action. But of course those levels are based on theory and never put to the test in any epidemiological way – except when residents’ experience contradict the theory – and then its the residents who must be mistaken, not the theory. If you live next to a fracking well operation, you live next door to a hazardous facility that’s capable of generating toxic air pollution just like a hazardous waste incinerator, a chemical plant, or refinery. Finally, the same air pollution from gas operations that causes smog and sick people also contributes to climate change. Fracking, along with gas processing, and especially compressors to generate pressure instead of wells and pipelines produce very large volumes of Greenhouse Gases. A recent EPA survey of GHG from all Texas facilities shows compressor stations spewing anywhere from 10,000 to over 90.000 tons of GHG pollution. Industry spokespeople say not to worry because most of this is methane that is relatively short-lived compared to other kinds of Greenhouse Gases like CO2. The problem with that argument is that while it might have a shorter life span, methane is many times more potent in its greenhouse effect. So much so that a recent groups of climate change experts recently said that the best thing we could do in the short term for negating climate change would be to concentrate on reducing methane and particulate matter pollution. This is most relevant to Dallas because of all North Texas cities, it’s the one that has officially pledged to cut its GHG pollution along a specific timetable. Just one compressor station within its city limits and any hope of meeting those goals is lost. So one kind of air pollution from the gas industry is responsible for all three impacts – local, regional and global. That’s why the Dallas Residents at Risk alliance has endorsed off-setting, or balancing any increases in GHG emissions caused by the gas industry with industry-sponosored reductions in Dallas that keep our total air pollution burden from skyrocketing. It’s the first time this strategy has been advocated and it is the only brand new idea to be included in the Dallas Gas drilling Task Force as a “suggestion” in its cover letter to the City Council. Even its members saw the collision of City of Dallas promises to clean the air with opening the door to fracking. Gas isn’t cleaner than coal in DFW. It’s just as bad or worse.
Public Overwhelmingly Approves of New Clean Air Initiatives
At the bottom of that same Politico articleon the suspension of new rule-making at EPA are the results of a national poll on clean air regulations done by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Researched, paid for by the American Lung Association, conducted February 27th to March 4th with a margin of error of 3.5 points either way. The results are not a surprise if you've been following polling on this subject for a while – there are always overwhelming majorities in support of additional efforts to clean up air pollution. But if you live some place like Texas, and/or you've been closely following the GOP presidential nominating contest, you might get the feeling that most people think the air they're breathing is hunky-dory and want the EPA to permanently close-up shop. Nope. 66% of those polled strongly favor or somewhat favor the EPA's updating of air pollution standards with stricter limits vs. 28% who strongly or somewhat opposed that effort. 37% didn't think EPA was strict enough in its regulation of air pollution vs 11% who thought the agency was too strict (14% unsure and 38% "about right"). 78% favored stricter limits on Mercury, 72% favored stricter limits on smog, 70% favored stricter limits on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and even 60% favored new tailpipe emissions and gasoline standards – knowing that these new rules could directly affect them. 73% think new limits on greenhouse gas emissions will have a positive effect on public health and air quality and even a plurality of 44% believe these standards will have a positive impact on the economy. No, you're not crazy. You're not the anomaly – your elected officials are.
Closed Until The 2nd Tuesday in November
There are at least four major EPA rules in line to be finalized in 2012 but don’t look for that to happen until after the elections. That’s the consensus of opinion from this Politico article, which says new regulations for lower sulfur gasoline, coal ash disposal, Greenhouse Gas limits on power plants and refineries and a new federal particulate matter standards are all on hold while the Obama Administration becomes full engaged in the 2012 Presidential campaign. ““If there’s one thing we’ve learned in a presidential election year, Democrats and Republicans behave similarly in that they are loath to propose or finalize a rule that could be construed as being controversial or having a significant impact on the economy,” said Bill Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, which represents state regulators. While some groups will be filing lawsuits, it’s not clear if the glacial pace of such efforts will be any quicker in getting the new rules than waiting until after the election.
USDA Choice: Agency Does a 180 on Gas Lease Loan Reviews
No sooner had we posted the summary of a Monday New York TImes article on a new policy by the Department of Agriculture to require extensive environmental reviews of those property owners holding gas leases seeking federal loans than the Administration turned tail and ran away from that decision as fast as it could. News came today that USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack decided to reverse his own staff, saying that he’ll specifically authorize an “Administrative Notice” that rural loans are categorically excluded from the National Environmental Policy Act. In the Times article, USDA lawyers argued that not subjecting the loans to the review could be illegal and subject the Agency to lawsuits, so it’s not clear if such a move will prevent that fate. Meanwhile, “Gasland” filmmaker Josh Fox sent out an SOS to try and save the review policy: “In a move that has angered hydrofracking opponents, the USDA did an about face and reneged on earlier statements hat its popular rural housing loans on properties with gas drilling leases would have to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and today authorized an Administrative Notice stating that rural housing loans would be excluded from NEPA. On Monday, The New York Times had reported the USDA was planning on issuing an Administrative Notice to the opposite effect, telling staff that loans on properties with gas leases must undergo a full environmental review as required by NEPA before mortgage loans are made or guaranteed by the agency. Excluding NEPA review of fracking’s environmental impacts is a significant move. It means that environmental review of rural housing loans would be limited to the EPA’s far less comprehensive national study of fracking, which is focused exclusively on drinking water and does not admit public comment. Doing a NEPA analysis would have ensured that federal agencies issuing loans are complying with the law. In fact, officials expressed concern the agency would be vulnerable to lawsuits if they didn’t conduct the NEPA reviews thoroughly enough. But exempting rural housing loans from NEPA means that gas drilling leases will also be exempt from legal recourse and other basic public interest protections the law was meant to provide. It also means that when property values drop precipitously due to contamination from gas drilling, sometimes to as low as 10% of their original value as we’ve seen in Pennsylvania, the American Taxpayer is going to be left holding the bag. Not only is this is unlawful, it’s just not right. Call President Obama and tell him: “Please do not allow the USDA to exempt housing loans from a full NEPA review. White House Phone numbers: 202-456-1111 and 202-456-1414.”
“There are no safe doses for endocrine disruptors”
That’s the conclusion of a new report that was three years in the making. Dr. Laura Vandenburg of Tufts University led 12 other scientists in an effort that examined hundreds of recent studies on the effects to people and animals of hormone-changing chemicals that are widely used in industry, including cosmetics, pesticides and plastics. They found that even tiny doses of these chemicals, called “endocrine disruptors,” can cause harmful health effects such as infertility, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer. Writing in a separate editorial about the report, Vandenburg stated that “After reviewing hundreds of studies, my colleagues and I have concluded that there truly are no safe doses for these hormone-altering chemicals. We found overwhelming evidence that these hormone-altering chemicals have effects at low levels, and that these effects are often completely different than effects at high levels. For example, a large amount of dioxin would kill you, but a very small dose, similar to what people are exposed to from eating contaminated foods, increases women’s risk of reproductive abnormalities.” In North Texas, we’re not only surrounded by endocrine disruptors in products we buy, but also in the air we breath. Lead from Exide’s Frisco smelter is an endocrine disruptor. Many of the pollutants released by the Midlothian cement plants – TXI, Holcim and Ash Grove – are endocrine disruptors, as are a good percentage of the chemicals emitted by the gas industry when its fracking a well. Like so many other kinds of human-made pollutants, endocrine disrupters were allowed in commerce without full understanding of their possible public health effects. That’s why the report also recommends that the way the government tests for a chemical’s toxicity be modernized. Currently, there’s no evaluation of health effects from endocrine disruptors at the low level of exposure encountered by most people. These chemicals actually can harm you more in smaller doses over a long period of time than really high short term exposures. It’s called a “non-linear” response because it doesn’t follow the old “the dose is the poison” rule that makes the amount of poison the driver of any possible toxic effects. “Current testing paradigms are missing important, sensitive endpoints” for human health, Vandenburg and Co. said.“The effects of low doses cannot be predicted by the effects observed at high doses. Thus, fundamental changes in chemical testing and safety determination are needed to protect human health.” In other words, we need a system that catches these chemicals before they’re widely marketed in consumer products, or released as pollution into the environment; before we become unwitting lab rats.
Show Your Support for A Stronger Dallas Gas Drilling Ordinance
Eagle-eyed readers will have already noticed that, starting today, along with a flier for the March 27th citywide organizing meeting on gas drilling in Dallas, this front page also gives you the opportunity to download a resolution that states your group’s support for the Five Basic Protections the Dallas Residents at Risk alliance is advocating to add to the City’s new drilling ordinance. We’re asking that you download this resolution, fill in your organization’s name, pass it at your next meeting, and let us know so we can add you to the group of supporters. What are these Five Basic Protections? 1) Larger Buffer Zones. 1000-foot buffer zones between a gas well and homes, schools, hospitals and other “protected uses,” along with restoration of a ban on any drilling on city park and or in the Trinity River floodplain. Right now, the city is recommending they be allowed as close as 500 feet. 2) Dallas Water for Dallas Drinking. Charge more for water that can never be used again. Ban the taking of Dallas water for frack jjobs in other cities, and ban water for fracking at Stage III drought conditions. 3) Don’t Make Bad Air Worse. Dallas has promised to help led the effort to clean the air in DFW. It can’t do that without making sure the increases in air pollution from drilling are off-set by reductions in air pollution someplace else in Dallas. We must make sure that new pollution caused by heavy industry is balanced by industry-funded measures to cut this same kind of pollution. 4) Full Disclosure of ALL Chemicals to First Responders BEFORE an Accident. Even under a new state law that supposedly makes this information public, companies are still allowed to keep “trade secrets” from first responders until after an accident. This isn’t fair or safe. Our front line defenders must have all the knowledge they need to handle an emergency situation at a gas well, including knowing how much of what potentially dangerous chemicals are on site. 5) Industry-funded city oversight that is well-staffed and well-equiped. Neither the state nor EPA can be relied upon to timely answer a Dallas resident’s call for help when something goes wrong at a gas well – and it will. the city must have its own response team and full-time oversight to ensure compliance with the law and public safety. Look, there are lots of reasons to be skeptical of fracking. Lots. Some we know about. Some we’re still learning about. These are the five things that citizens following the process for almost two years have decided to spotlight based on their ability to prevent harm before it happens. You may think there are stronger measures to be taken. And you’d be right. Feel free to add those as an addendum to the resolution we offer. But please take this opportunity to show the Council there’s a strong grassroots desire to strengthen the safeguards surrounding how drilling is done in Dallas. And then join us at the March 27th organizing meeting.