Jeers to the "Sellout Five" and the Gas Industry's Mendacity

The Arlington City Council met yesterday evening to vote on Chesapeake's permit request for the Rocking Horse drill site referenced here on RRC in the "Ton of Revenue . . . " post of February 1.

You can read the backstory @ FISHCREEK MONITOR - THE ORDINANCE and IMMORAL for a clearer understanding of the issue and what took place at the January 22 meeting of the council.

A big shout-out here to that fractivist-blogger who has worked so diligently on this particular issue.

Beyond the fact that the drill site in question is only slightly over 300 feet from a daycare facility and in violation of city ordinances, beyond the fact that drilling and fracking operations pose a myriad of potential health and safety risks to the general populace, beyond the fact that some well-informed speakers made excellent points before the council . . . is the FACT that Chesapeake is currently in violation of the city ordinance, not only on that drill site, but multiple other sites around the area, and has been in violation per (at least) the past four quarterly inspection reports. It seems that if an operator has even one violation, ethics would dictate they should not be granted approval for any permit requests until they become fully compliant.

At the hearing, Chesapeake rep Lynda Gearheart was asked about the installation of the security camera and other violations, and surprisingly, it was Charlie Parker who posed the question and said before one drill bit goes through the gate, Chesapeake will be in compliance . . . to which Gearheart would not commit to camera installation compliance and had the sheer gall to state that Chesapeake denies being in violation.

But Parker FAILED, (as did other council members), to effectively and authoritatively follow-through by asking Gearheart how she, as a rep for Chesapeake Energy who undeniably knew they were in violation, had the pomposity to stand before the council and not only attempt to create some sort of individual set of rules for Chesapeake's compliance of installation of the camera, but to also deny what is documented truth.

Mendacity.

Just as the industry's drilling and fracking operations permeate the entire Barnett Shale and the lives of all citizens, so does the industry's pure and willful mendacity.

The permit was approved in a 5-4 vote.

Parker voted against, but only because, according to his blog, Chesapeake was in violation, not because of residents' and fractivists' genuine and personal concerns about drilling.

Jeers to Commander Cluck and the Arlington City Council members for allowing the industry to so blatantly remain in non-compliance for an extended period and for continuing to give them free reign to drill, frack, and potentially harm untold numbers of people and pillage the land and our planet.

Copy of 4th quarter inspection report:

There is your signature, Mayor Cluck . . .

May the citizens of Arlington rightly assume that Chesapeake Energy, and all operators who have been cited for non-compliance of the city ordinance, have also been found guilty of a misdemeanor and have been, and are being, fined monetary amounts per day, per violation/offense until the violations are remedied?