Sitemap

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

     

Please note that some of these pages may take a while to download due to photos, which I've compressed into file sizes as small as possible. Unless you see a tiny white box with a red "X" in the upper left hand corner, the photos are downloading , it just may take a bit - thanks for your patience....

 

   
         
    Home

 


A Warrior's Prayer
  [This struggle is truly epic as it relates to a human being in the face of such intense and heavy industrial development. 
  Because I believe we are gifted immeasurable access to spiritual guidance and influence, this is an ethereal
  endeavor as much as it is physical. Learn more about Blackcloud here, and how he plays a vital role in the development
  of this issue.]
 



Updates
  [find out what is happening on a weekly basis (when I can keep up with it), and sign up to get e-mail reminders. For     quick summaries of the weeks happenings, visit the Updates page]

    Week 1 - The rig goes up as the first new well gets underway
    Week 2
    Week 3
    Week 4 - Deer near industry operations  /  Divide Creek seep backgrounder - new bubbling noted
    Week 5 - Fracing conversation yields concerns  /  Walkabout
    Week 6
    Week 7
    Week 8
    Week 9
    Week 10 - Our position on recent sampling results
    Week 11
    Week 12 - Elk move in from high country  /  Spill
    Week 13 - Spill
    Week 14
    Week 15
    Week 16 - Stakeholder meetings in Denver on proposed rule changes
    Week 17 - Rule changes, round two
    Week 18
    Week 19 - Lawmakers oppose new rules
    Week 20 - Walkabout
    Week 21 - Garfield Creek Wildlife area goes on the BLM chopping block - DOW defends wildlife
    Week 22 - Elk shut out of historic calving grounds
    Week 23 - Letter to the editor revealing the truth about industry's rule ratings
    Week 24 - EnCana sets up a man camp
    Week 25 - County takes on man camp vs. private property debate
    Week 26
    Week 27
    Week 28 - Here's what happens to deer, who are often more comfortable around industrial operations than elk
                      Walkabout  /  8-minutes of streaming gas in the pond  /  EnCana wants us to sign a mineral lease
    Week 29 - Garfield County approves man camps on private property
    Week 30 - Elk leave for the high country - no calves....  /  We sign a lease - EnCana keeps their grubby mitts off the  
                      land  /  Discovery of gas venting holes and biofilm  /  We raise questions about man camp decision
    Week 31 - Tour of "main seep" site and an opportunity to lean about remediation of on-going contamination
    Week 32 - Pipeline "issue"
    Week 33
    Week 34 - Garfield County Commissioners slam wildlife  /  Join me on a fly-over of the gas patch
    Week 35 - More slamming of wildlife
    Week 36 - Focus on brown cloud health effects and "Gunky Eye"
    Week 37 - EnCana's 15-month plan  /  Funky emissions
    Week 38 - Demotions and final rulemaking comments to COGCC
    Week 39 - More demotions and a promotion  /  standing up for wildlife
    Week 40 - Newly discovered Divide Creek Seep  /  Walkabout / Walkabout part two
    Week 41 - COGCC visits site - COGCC defends prior sampling efforts  /  News item: man drinks benzene / Seep
                      2008 update
    Week 42 - DOW fish count  /  EnCana expose' from up in the territory  / Seep 2008 update
    Week 43 - "What the hell is wrong with this industry? 101"  - chemical disclosure  /  Focus on air quality - or lack
                      thereof  / COGCC volley as I try to find answers.... Seep 2008 update
    Week 44 - Seep 2008 Update - Analytical results from sampling effort raises more questions than it answers; a map
                      adds perspective and demonstrates relativity of our physical observations to date
    Week 45 - Seep 2008 Update - Consensus from the scientific community; Letter to officials requesting ground water
                      sampling - Pronounced tree die-off for which I am grieving and will write no more until I find meaning for it
                      in my heart.... illumination from shadow and a message to share; tree die-off observations in detail; thank
                      you's to everyone....
    Week 46 - We wait....
    Week 47 - We wait some more, but not without loudly shifting in our seats
    Week 48  - Ambushed by two of the County Commissioners - but the truth will out.... 180 turnaround by COGCC 
                       as sampling effort is finally scheduled.
    Week 49 - COGCC refuses to look at impaired frog found at seep site and walks off sampling project - conversation 
                      taped.... the rescue and recovery of Spots the paralyzed frog.... discover evidence of broader impacts on
                      our property and all along a neighbor's - much more expansive than previously thought....
    Week 50 - a prayer for this land
    Week 51 - More delays; Disappearing COGCC documents; Existing rules ignored; Dying vegetation assessment;
                      Useless air monitoring results....
    Week 52 - Happy anniversary buggers from hell. Pretty pictures of a harvest untouched by wildlife - because they are
                      gone.
    Week 53 - Some sampling has finally occurred; In the News: Corruption at the Denver Interior Dept.; Rules Watered
                       Down; Gov. Ritter stands up; Health Warnings against Toxic Emissions; permits on the rise....

    There is a 13-week break in weekly updates (got behind again!), but the highlights are summarized in a single 
    block.

    Week 67 - COGCC defends its position on 'science' and continues to refuse to sample the ground water, gas
                      accumulating in the creek bed or soils around the Schwartz well that appear to be leaking thermogenic
                      methane to the surface environment. Dr. Thyne's long-awaited report on Phase II Hydrogeologic study is
                      released by Garfield County! It's a Must See!!
   
Week 68    (no link)
    Week 69 - COGCC sampling results are finally in. We discover thermogenic (produced formation) gas has been
                      communicating with the shallow ground water - a clear indicator that the seep effects we are seeing are due
                      to drilling activities.
  
Week 70 -  Our hopes for America's new era of leadership; the revealing truth about toxic air emissions and EnCana's
                     "Green Completions"; Smart or Stupid? A running two-cent commentary on President Obama's leadership.
   Week 71 - Trying to learn the truth behind neighborhood rumors that EnCana has jacked-up an aquifer while drilling;
                     Launching of Consortium of the Frac'd; Bird Brained vs. Hare Brained approach to the nation's economic
                     stimulus; defending a Champion - Tresi Houpt from an ignoramus.
   Week 72 - Letter from the EPA promising better agency coordination; frightening tales from the frac'd; Demotions of
                     former champions; How Grandmas can teach Democrats and Republicans a thing or two about economics.
   Week 73 - EnCana's rig harasses nesting Eagles; Elk with nowhere to go; Air Quality holes; Health Study Resources;
                     In the News - EnCana and others stomping people in their own stomping grounds.
   Week 74 - Prayers for a fellow-forsaken; Eagles are screwed; New health and citizen advocacy resources; Frac
                    Attack - The Board Game!; What You Need to Know - A Practical Guide to Covering Your Ass
  
Week 75 - New Heroes; In the News: Health study linking oil and gas activities with smog in Austin, TX.
   Week 76 - Ethane and propane found in our groundwater.
   Week 77 - DC lobby trip - shared info, brought back clarity. (no link yet)
   Week 78 - Finally, we manage to inspire the Garfield County Commissioners to ask the COGCC to reinstate the
                     moratorium. It only took over a year, at least three incidents of gas and groundwater mixing and threat of a
                     lawsuit to get their attention. Texas Cattle caught on video drinking drilling pit waste.
   Week 79 - COGCC and EnCana silent on drilling impacts - I begin to suspect collusion and a broader cover-up.
   Week 80 - A neighbor shares documents that raise serious questions about data tampering and whether EnCana has
                     frac'd into the aquifer.
   Week 81 - Bill Barret submits a permit to install an waste disposal (injection) well in the area.
   Week 82 - EnCana accelerates hydraulic fracturing operations ahead of Garfield County's environmental -engineering 
                     review.
   Week 83 - EnCana Does Earth Day, with a Frac-1, Frac-2 Nine-Well Frac You!
   Week 84 - (No link)I received a call this week from the Director of the COGCC informing me that the COGCC 
                     Commissioners have decided to hold a 2-day hearing on the West Divide Creek issues.
This turned out to
                      be a joke when the COGCC arranged for several industry heavies to dog-pile Dr. Thyne's proposal that
                     drilling-related methane appears to be potentially migrating into private water wells. Listen to the hearing
                     audio file, and find links to articles reporting major fall-out between the COGCC and Garfield County a
                     year later in June, 2010

   Week 85 - (No link). Sent a letter to the COGCC Director asking that Bill Barrett Corp.'s application for a waste 
                     injection well within the hydrogeologic/engineering review and former moratorium area (here) be included in
                     the hearing scheduled for July. (Barrett's application was later unanimously approved by GarCo
                     Commissioners)
  Week 86 - EnCana wraps up frac operations on the F11E pad and dozes frac sludge under in an unlined pit over a
                    shallow aquifer already impacted from drilling operations on the same pad.

Update added June 21, 2010
Week 86 was the last page of updates I made. As EnCana's pace accelerates, environmental impacts worsen and I strive to muster county, state and federal regulators standing down, the demands of this site must take a backseat to constant letter writing, innumerable official appearances before unmoved agency representatives and candid consultations with a few agency folks willing to assist but officially hindered. We are pushed along on a tide of devastation, and it is all I can do to keep up. I am flat-out exhausted but hope to try and preserve something of our health and home beneath the unrelenting assault of this industry.


Hydraulic Fracturing or Fracing Primer

Learn why the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing imperils the planet's fresh water supply. A fun primer (with graphics) for the uninitiated.

Technical Weaknesses in Hydraulic Fracture Modeling and Execution

Informative News Articles Relative to Hydraulic Fracturing
 


Mean Energy - A dispatch from the bull's eye of development
 
 
[Hand delivered to a dozen or so of DC's congressional folk in March 2009]

There has been a lot of ballyhoo from folks touting natural gas as they beat down the door on the ground floor of what amounts to the new oil. It is a tempest that sounds something like this... "AMERICA'S NEW CLEAN ENERGY!!! TONS OF IT!!! GREAT FOR THE ECONOMY!!!! WHOO HOOO - WE NEVER HAVE TO THINK ABOUT ANYTHING BUT OURSELVES EVER AGAIN!!! MAGIC BULLET!!!" and all that sort of B.S.

But if you tune your ear beyond the roar of empty shouting, you can hear the real truth - the whispers of social, economic and environmental upset. The remnant cry from the totality of destruction rising off every pad where this industry has left its ugly mark.

When I went to DC to talk to a few congressional folk, I followed in the footsteps of a fracing company which had been there just before me. They left their literature and I left mine. Their literature was a multi-page association-sponsored document outlining all the cases of water contamination suspected of being caused by or associated with hydraulic fracturing. Of course, every claim was vehemently refuted, the pristine reputation of the industry defended. The notorious  story of West Divide Creek was conspicuously left out.

I handed every soul who would listen a packet containing "FRAC ATTACK - the board game" (in an effort to capture their attention, much like a colorful balloon captures the attention of a child) a business card (thinking they might slip it into their wallet, purse or pocket to glance at before they pick their teeth with it over lunch), and a report titled "MEAN ENERGY - a dispatch from the bull's eye of development" (hoping maybe someone would read at least part of it).

Of the dozen or so folks I visited, three seemed to listen - one even intently. None of the three were congressional representatives, but they were in an influential position. None of them understood the reality - including our congressional representative who seemed quite concerned for industry's interests and content to hedge real issues while looking for a way to pacify his constituency while protecting industry's pursuit of profit. This type of response was quite common among all offices. It's no wonder our country is lost in its own quagmire.

If some politician you hope to educate quickly needs a reality check (good friggin' luck), you may want to give them this report. It counters many of the myths associated with what is perceived to be "clean" natural gas.
 



Consortium of the Frac'd
 
[This feature was launched in an effort to help connect communities adversely affected by drilling activities - particularly hydraulic fracturing practices. For too long, industry has profited from their highly perfected technique of "Divide and Conquer", successfully insulating individuals (and perspectives of truth) from one another. This is, unfortunately, a work in progress with new communities added regularly.

     Fort Morgan "Field", Colorado
     Huerfano County, Colorado
     Parachute, Colorado
     Silt, Colorado (linked only through the main Consortium Page)
     Rifle, Colorado
     Trinidad, Colorado
     Aztec, New Mexico
     Eunice, New Mexico
     Bainbridge, Ohio
     Dimock, Pennsylvania
     Tioga Junction, Pennsylvania
     Grandview, Texas
     Arvada, Wyoming
     Pavillion, Wyoming
     Clark, Wyoming
     Rosebud, Alberta
     Vulcan, Alberta

Hearing Documents

      Schwartz: View All 3 Hearing Documents:

           Schwartz Well / Divide Creek Seep 2004 / Resulting Moratorium - COGCC Order: 1V-276             

           Bill Barrett Seeks to Drill Within Moratorium -  CGCCC Order  191-12

           COGCC Lifts the Moratorium - COGCC Order  #9 191 23   

      Dietrich: COGCC Order 1V-297

      Amos: COGCC Order 1V-298

What You Need to Know - A Practical Guide to Covering Your Ass

 



FRAC ATTACK The Outrageous and Exciting board game for Landowners, Industry and Everyone in the Gas Patch!
 



Timeline of Events 01-07-04 forward
  [view a photo chronology of events which have led up to and include the latest drilling activities in our area. Included are reference maps of the West Divide Creek Seep area, and a map depicting proposed drilling activities; as well as a link to referenced documents relative to the seep maintained by the COGCC and available on their website, which includes: maps, photos, reports, letters and articles.]
  Map - Dipicting West Divide Creek Seep area
  Map - Drilling Area for 40 proposed wells
  East Mamm Creek Notice to area Operators [including map]
    [this Notice became active February 09, 2007 and refers to stipulations for new drilling activity in the East Mamm Creek area.]
  List of 817 (as of 11-30-07) documents maintained on-line by the COGCC relative to the West Divide Creek Seep
 


Divide Creek Seep 2004 - Main Page

  Page 2
 
Page 3


 


Divide Creek Seep 2008 - Main Page
  Page 2
  Page 3
  Page 4
  Page 5
  Page 6
  Page 7

  Page 8
  Page 9
  Page 10
  Page 11
  Page 12
  Page 13
  Page 14
 
Page 15

  [Comprehensive update pages dedicated to tracking the progress of a new seep discovered on June 28, 2008. Visit this page for photos, video, perspective maps and other links relative to this event]
  COGCC Order and Exhibit
  [COGCC Order from 2004 Divide Creek Seep event / and important graphic exhibit showing fault structures and predictions of pressurized fluid flow]
  Larger image of Exhibit
  Larger image of Exhibit - including additional information not readily discernable depicting certain critical sites relative to  seep.
  Zoomable image of orange gunky seep
  Zoomable image of black seep

Divide Creek Then
  [2004 seep event]
Divide creek Now
  [at the beginning of the blog and prior to the 2008 seep event]

Why we're nervous
  [as if we needed any more reasons - this demonstrates some of the air emissions in recent years....]

Division of Wildlife 'Electrofishing Survey' - July 10, 2008
  [Division of Wildlife conducts a fish and invertebrate count near the new seep area and extending for some distance downstream. View photos and details of the event here.]

Please watch this space or Garfield County's website for Dr. Geoffrey Thyne's (of Science Based Solutions) presentation to Garfield County Re: "Sumary of PI and PII Hydrogeologic Characterization Studies - Mamm Creek Area, Garfield County, CO"  This key PowerPoint presentation provides an outstanding perspective of the dynamics at play between the hydrology and the geology of this area in particular as it specifically relates to drilling operations and risks to water supplies. Please look for this link at the following address: http://garfield-county.com/Index.aspx?page=570. The presentation (given to Garfield County Commissioners and landowners) or report isn't up yet (as of 12-12-08) but I'll post it as soon as it comes up.



Canary Watch
  [My mother's eyes are periodically troubled by what we've long attributed to drilling operations. We have, thus-far been unable to isolate what type of drilling activity is involved, however. Health effects of drilling operations so near residential areas is unknown, but finally - after citizen complaints, recorded and alleged maladies related to this industry, and recent congressional testimony, finally - nearly five years after intense operations moved into the region, a study is apparently being undertaken. We are tracking her reaction to drilling activities through "Canary Watch" and reporting them to the COGCC when they occur, so that we may better define a pattern and isolate the offending cause. Canary Watch began since resumed drilling the area, with the first 3-day event occurring on 11-17-07.]

 



Stand Tall - links to resources for those wishing to learn more about this industry and help educate their communities.
 

Citizen-Generated Complaint/Report Form - Put it in writing.... (for your benefit and theirs too)
  [Fed up with the tedious process of calling every Tom Dick and Harry to complaint about an industry 'event'? Well, you can make your life simpler by copying this form. Submit a complaint/report to COGCC, Garfield County Oil and Gas Liaison, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment - whomever. This is a form I created to standardize the process of a citizen-generated complaint, since different divisions may have different data collection protocol - and some have no form at all. This way, you can copy or print the form, pop it into you re-mail or enter the appropriate information and send it as an attachment saving you and perhaps those who review it time and effort. It's what I use, and you're welcome to use it too.]


  [get vital information on citizen concerns regarding oil and gas development. From books and documentary films to emergency call numbers and citizen advocacy groups, this page has everything you need to stand tall.]
     "Citizen's Resource Guide to Oil and Gas Development in Western Colorado and the Greater Rocky Mountain Region"

 
[visual aid to understanding federal units]
     Federal Unit - Visual Aid

  [view letters to officials]
     Letter Asking Division of Wildlife and EnCana for Intervening Aid for Migrating Elk Herd

  [worried who to call if you have a spill on your property? Find contact information on agencies here]
     Emergency Contact Numbers

  [a couple of excerpts from COGCC's rules regarding spills and flares. Also, find instructions for how to find the full set on the COGCC website]
    COGCC Rule Excerpts

  [Colorado's Governor won a rare opportunity to review and comment on the BLM's Roan Plateau drilling plan. I sent a letter to Gov. Ritter, asking that he support best practices and the preservation of this unique habitat.]
    Letter sent to Governor Bill Ritter regarding drilling on the Roan Plateau

 


 

2007 - 2008 COGCC RULE-MAKING PROCESS


  [through the summer of 2008, citizens and other stakeholders have an opportunity to comment on proposed rule changes in accordance with House Bill 1298 and House Bill 1341. We submitted  comments outlining many of our primary concerns.]
   Comments sent to Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Regarding Rule-Making Proposal
 

  [After the COGCC Draft Rules were shared, stakeholders had an opportunity to submit any additional comments relative tot he proposed draft rules. Here is our 16 page "Good / Bad and the Ugly"]
   Additional Comments sent to Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Regarding Rule-Making Proposal


   Final Rule-Making Comments sent to COGCC via e-mail (Week 38)

 



LETTERS TO EDITORS


Following are various letters to the editor in response to on-going issues of conflict surrounding this industry and its impacts on people and the environment we are depend on.
 

Man Camps and use by right on private property


   Letter to Editor re: Garfield County Commissioner's proposed allowance-by-right of man-camps on private property

   Additional E-mailed comments to Garfield County Commissioners regarding man-camps

   Letter to Editor re: Garfield County Commissioners decision to move forward with man camp allowance by right
(This issue has since been pitched to county attorney, Don DeFord, where I suspect it will fall away and be forgotten. What was once a good attempt by the county has apparently gotten too hot to handle and my guess is that folks will forget about it and it will continue to be one of those things that industry pushes for an gets by default. We'll see if the issue resurfaces.)
 

Wildlife Protections and COGCC proposed rules
 

   Letter to Editor re: Industry's grumblings about axclusions from the Rule-Makign process (Week 23)

   Letter to Editor re: Garfield County Commissioners egregious stance on proposed wildlife protections

   Letter to Editor re: Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis' opinion that natural gas pads are beneficial to wildlife

 


ADDRESS GIVEN TO ATTENDEES  OF 2008 WATER WORKSHOP AND IMPACTS OF INDUSTRY

  [address to Western State College - Water Workshop: "Mining Energy and Water in the West", 2008 attendees / please scroll about 1/3 down the page on the link below to locate the address]

  Address based on my review of film "Rural Impacts!" and our experiences with the natural gas industry



 



Image Gallery
  [Divide Creek Then - 2004]
  [Divide Creek Now - 2007] [but, prior to June 28, 2008 seep event]
  [photos of past emission 'events']
  [Summerhawk in the Colors of Autumn]
  [view a panorama of Summerhawk Valley and learn a little about our belonging to it]
  [Want to send a Salute to America's Military? Click here, copy the image and send it on!]
  [Bald Eagle Surrounded by Black Emissions]
  [Summerhawk in Winter's Rest]
  [Summerhawk Awakens in Spring]
  [Gunnison Road Trip - May 2008]
  [May, 2008 Summerhawk Walkabout]
  [Summerhawk in Summer Splendor 2008 - Part One (Divide Creek) / Part Two (Forest)]
  [Newly Discovered Seep - June 28, 2008]  [Page 2] [Page 3]  [Page 4]  [Page 5]  [Page 6] [Page 7]  [Page 8]            
         [Full-on high resolution orange gunky grossness]
         [Full-on high resolution black gunky grossnesss]
  [July 03 Walkabout Suprise!]                        
  [July 4th American Flag image to share - Earth Flag and Prayer Feathers]  Scroll toward the bottom - oh, and there's a goofy caveman picture there too!
  [Like a friggin' ant fruitlessly shoving skyward, we await word with shaky legs and strained feelers]
  [Rifle's new Smog Detector inspires the Beijing Sling toon]
  [COGCC investigates West Divide Creek]
  [America hedges the Perfect Spin]
  [Hydraulic Fracturing] - What it is. Why it endangers fresh water supplies....
 
[Walkabout October 2008]
  [Walkabout November 2008]



Video Clips
  [Please note: The following videos are categorized relative to their event and further appear in a generally intuitive chronological sequence. Video particularly useful in comparing the 2004 seep with the 2008 seep are noted as such. All videos are posted on YouTube. All are best viewed with a Quicktime player which can be downloaded free online at  www.apple.com/quicktime/]
 

Video Relative to 2004 West Divide Creek Seep
 

Title: Post-Kick Arbaney Well Flare - The event that started it all
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z9IyJccekY
EnCana had been drilling this well [the Magic or (Majic) 10-2] when it encountered a massive "kick" or gas pocket. The resulting underground disturbance shook the ground nearly a mile away and even knocked one home off its foundation. My mother was on her way into the house when the earth moved -- like an earthquake.

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- Seep in grassy bank area
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdcQDcps5Oo
This video shows gas expressing among dried winter stubble on a bank of West Divide Creek. This was among the very first video taken immediately after the seep was discovered. forgive my poor Eliza Thornberry impression as I attempt to narrate through seasonal allergies.

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- characteristics of seep in wetlands
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWqRZiDc3xk
In this clip from April 02, 2004, you'll see characteristics of the seep as gas vigorously expresses to the surface. Also, Blackcloud demonstrates combustibility of the gas and shows an area of wetland seeping near the "main seep" area.
KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 - characteristics of gas expression
YouTube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDxATqshZX4
This video shows some of the characteristics of gas expressing into divide creek and along the banks at the "Main Seep" area in May of 2004.

KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008 

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- Combustion of tiny vents on bank
YouTube Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W42_DVcwllM
The seep you see on this video continues to this day - though much of these types of expressions are diminished presumably due to remediation of the offending "Schwartz well" and at least some effort applied to isolated areas of mitigation (underground sparging).
KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008 

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 - "Mother Vent" bubbling
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LatpZi1b5CA
In this video, you can see the "Mother Vent" blowing bubbles. This single vent was the only one that anyone discovered that expressed gas to this degree, though there were some others that came close.

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- Blackcloud demonstrates combustion
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY0jHACJCTc
In this video, Blackcloud demonstrates combustion of what he called the "Mother Vent".

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 - Spring with bacteria and biofilm
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTU4T0lWRYE
In this video, you can see a spring from the "Main Seep" area running with orange gunk. At the time (May, 16, 2004) we didn't know what this stuff was. We later learned it was iron-reducing bacteria.

KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008 

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- Gas expressing in beaver pond
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np-gAyDN8CA
In this video, you can see how our beaver pond bubbled during the height of the Divide Creek Seep in 2004. The COGCC tested this pond and found only "Near Surface Microbial Activity". I bet there was near surface microbial activity, given the amount of hydrocarbons that were likely present underground

KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008 

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- Gas saturation in beaver pond
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdPl5o7AP8
Blackcloud demonstrates the saturation of bubbles in our beaver pond in June of 2004. This pond had never bubbled before the seep and it stopped after the Schwartz well was remediated. The bubbles were flammable -- demonstrated in another short clip on YouTube.
KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- Blackcloud burns gas in beaver pond
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKLNFU6wo8k
In this short video clip, Blackcloud demonstrates the combustion of accumulated gas in our beaver pond only six weeks or so after the seep was first discovered. This video is part of another: [YouTube Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- gas saturation in beaver pond].

KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 200

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 – Remediation
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAysFesApJw
In this video, you can see the "sparge" system (since removed) and booms (since removed) set up to volatilize the hydrocarbons from the surface waters.

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 - Algae cages in Divide Creek
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U4vfv9QGN0
In this video, you can see algae cages placed in Divide Creek. You can also see the iron-reducing bacteria on the banks of the creek and associated bluish, iridescent sheen of biofilm. The algae cages were a part of an aquatic study commissioned by EnCana. The results of that study were never released.

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 - Oak canopy die-off
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k38ABNdg4VE
This film shows the kind of die-off our oak forest experienced during the natural gas seep in 2004. The leaves had these burnt looking spots on them and overall a lot of leaf die-off occurred. Overall, about 30 percent of the canopy never recovered. Many cedars were impacted then also and so were many pine trees.
KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008 

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 - Gas in beaver pond diminishing
YouTube Link: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yREQQiIsyNc

This film shows the diminishing of gas in our beaver pond after the Schwartz well as remediated. By the time this clip was filmed, the gas expressing to the surface had reduced by probably 50 or 60%. It continued reducing until it finally stopped altogether - which took a while because the silty bottom of the pond has absorbed like a sponge a lot of gas. By the next Spring, though, run off cleared out the area and everything appeared to have returned to normal.

KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2004 -- view "Main Seep" bank 07-03-2008 (this is an update!)
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUPcqdT4TW8
This video shows the "main seep" area now covered with orange-colored iron-reducing bacteria and blue biofilm. This bank was clear prior to the 2004 seep, then the Schwartz well (see below) was remediated, and the bank began to clear up.

KEY VIDEO TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIVITY OF NEW SEEP DISCOVERED JUNE 28, 2008

 

Video Relative to 2008 West Divide Creek Seep

 

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2008 - Black seep early after discovery
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1ey-9a6ec
This film shows the characteristics of the black seep which expressed along a depression just in front of and at the base of the North face cliff (immediately behind which EnCana continues to drill and frac).

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2008 - Black Seep
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIrJMLkx56U
This is what we're calling a black seep. We first discovered it June 28, 2008, near West Divide Creek. It smells like rotten eggs. Around this area we have also noted a profusion of orange-colored iron-reducing bacteria run amok bankside.

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2008 -- Biofilm and bacteria in ponded area
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSQIuZMMP7E
This footage shows the nasty biofilm and some iron-reducing (orange) microbial growth associated with the seep discovered in 2008. There are much better pictures of the orange gunk online at the site given below. As you can see, it bears many of the same visual characteristics of the seep in 2004 (which continues).

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2008 - Frequent bubbling in pond
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoCUIbfXeMI
This video shows general bubbling in our beaver pond which has been increasing since last year when EnCana re-entered the Schwartz site to shut in the old well and drill a bunch of new ones. This clip shows frequent expressions of gas (just prior to another related clip loaded separately in which gas expressed continually for 8 minutes).

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2008 -- 8-minute expression in beaver pond
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzdgIqJslGU

This video shows a continuous 8-minute expression of gas into the beaver pond in April of 2008. The expression had been going for some time (judging by the trail of bubbles on the surface) and it continued on after I ran out of film.

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2008 - Gas bubbling in Turkey Point beaver pond
YouTube Link  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-_e7djYF1s
This is a short clip of gas bubbling we observed at Turkey Point beaver pond. The little flickers you see on the surface to the middle-ground, right hand side are tiny bubbles bursting on the surface. Larger periodic disruptions are also evident - particularly nearer the bank.

Title: Spots the Super Frog (parts 1 - 5a and 5b)
On August 28th, 2008 a West Divide Creek leopard frog goes from rescue to release as he overcomes what appears to be neurological impairment as a result of exposure to a seep impact area....
Spots the Super Frog - Part 1 - The Rescue
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPHlg9L1ycM
Spots the Super Frog - Part 2 - A New Environment
YouTube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ7onOEZ8dQ
Spots the Super Frog Part 3 - Detoxification
YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpfhnLNKB88
Spots the Super Frog - Part 4 -
Revived and Ready to Rock n' Roll!

YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fT2nlwQZIw

Spots the Super Frog - Part 5-A and 5-B - Seizing Freedom!
YouTube Link 5-A (out of the house!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEC-yk8za7w
(sorry for the poor quality - our camcorder pooped out and these two video clips were camera captured....)
YouTube Link 5-B (into the creek!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-c1HYxYdCs

Title: Divide Creek Seep 2008 - Gas Bubbling in West Divide Creek
Gas expresses into West Divide Creek from underground in the same area where a Spots (the partially paralyzed frog - video immediately above) was found only minutes earlier.
This video shows another, larger and apparently unimpaired frog near the same area.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayhBZWaXXBI

 

 

For Fun
 

Title: Divide Creek Run-off May 2008 1 of 3
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIRR_OpLGgk
West Divide Creek roars through Summerhawk Valley. As the water courses along, upstream debris collects in eddies, islands are born from peninsulas, and the landscape is forever changed as silt banks are deposited on mud flats, new channels are cut across the lowlands and banks erode and cave in.

Title: Turkey Point Runoff on Divide Creek 2008 Part 2 of 3
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGECTmjCppE
Spring runoff in Divide Creek 2008

Title: Divide Creek Runoff May 2008 Part 3 of 3
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5tDExMOFl8
Stand at the water's edge as a log floats by....

Title: Beaver folk enjoy an evening at Turkey Point
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvFZ8hTaPTQ
Watch the beaver folk do their thing as a warm July afternoon draws to a close. An adult and two juveniles enjoy their evening meal before retiring for the night, but watch as one youngster skillfully wrangles its snack out of a snack pile and, later, wrestles it through the reeds.

Title: Sandpiper goes shopping at Turkey Point beaver pond
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJrIQpQTCnU
Sandpiper takes a stroll through the supermarket at Turkey Point beaver pond and snags a snack or two from either side of the aisle.

 

Other General Stuff Pertaining to Drilling Weirdness,
 with more of these to come - you know, nasty pits and stuff like that....

 

Title: Night lights from EnCana's natural gas production pad
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWQN3PhRfVY
This video was taken at around 9:15 the evening of June 06, 2008, about an hour after the emission video. It was taken on EnCana's pad at the Schwartz site. We came to see if we could see if the emissions were continuing, but couldn't tell. We decided though to film the lights anyway.

Title: EnCana Frac Tank Emission June 06 2008
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QbDNKz6x60
Some kind of funky emission from the EnCana frac tank battery set up on the natural gas pad at the Schwartz site. We observed this event for approx. 20 minutes beginning around 8:15pm.

Title: Suspected Oil and Gas Pipeline Event April 29 2008
YouTube Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSCAUBxog8o
We found this going on this morning when we walked outside (April 29, 2008). At first we thought it was a gas well that had blown, so we immediately called 911.

 


TOONS!
 
[Every now and then I go on a tear and this time it's satire. Who couldn't use a laugh - especially when it's to keep you from putting your head in an oven? See the "best of Bracken" here....

  [P.S. if you want to copy and paste any of the toons from his segment and share with friends - I'm definitely okay with that - just don't use them for commercial purposes. If you'd like to run one of these in your commercial blog, newsletter, big-time newspaper, whatever - in most cases, I'll be happy to let you use it for free, but send me a quick e-mail at projectforsaken@earthlink.net asking permission to reprint, and please let me know what publication it will appear in. Chances are, I probably won't have an issue, but just in case - let's be on the same page. At that point, I'll e-mail you a print-quality version. Of course, all rights are reserved by the author - me!

  Ant vs. Industry  08-04-08
  Beijing Sling  08-07-08
  COGCC Investigates West Divide Creek  08-11-08
  The Perfect Spin  08-11-08
  Rocky Mountain Lab Rats - Rocky Mountain Pad Rats 08-07-08
 


Something Smart, Something Stupid

  [A new feature added Week 70, upon President Obama's inauguration]

..."Obama said he wanted to keep his Blackberry so, if he was doing something stupid, he could get messages from "someone" telling him that he was doing the "stupid thing"... Well. Here is someone telling him....


Media Resources
  [Members of the media, you may find this page a helpful resource]
 


   
         
         

 

 

Updates      Canary Watch       Stand Tall       Image Gallery

Divide Creek Seep 2008      Timeline of Events       Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracing) Primer

Consortium of the Frac'd      Site Map  (recommended)      Home


 

 

 

All contents of this site, unless otherwise noted are copyrighted by Lisa Bracken, 2007-2012. All rights are reserved.
 Visit links outside the scope of this website at your own risk. Information is subject to change without notice.