Illegal Dumping of Texas Frack Waste Caught on Video

A trucker in Texas was caught by an alert citizen on video illegally dumping fracking waste on a desolate road in Texas, The waste which includes undisclosed and dangerous chemicals, oil, metals shavings and naturally occurring radioactive materials coated an 8 mile stretch along Farm-to-Market Road 81, a rural, two-lane stretch of blacktop just west of Hobson.

The video allowed investigators to determine who the trucker was and the company he worked for but is not filing charges because they cant prove he did it intentionally.

He said sometimes the valve leaks and he cant remember whether he checked it on this particular night. The tanker was carrying 20 to 30 barrels (840-1,260 gallons) of contaminated drilling fluid and was empty when it arrived to the site.

I don't believe that if you already know you have a valve that is prone to leaks you would not check it every time you transport hazardous waste.

The problem is there is so much of this stuff they don't have anywhere put it, so I think the trucking companies are telling drivers to just dump it some place desolate if they get a chance.

eta
As other posters have stated the video is from a spill on an earlier date sry for the confusion

Under the cover of early-morning darkness in South Texas last March, a tanker truck ferrying fluids from an oil and gas drilling site rumbled down a country road spewing its toxic load all over the place.

The concoction of drilling fluid, which typically includes undisclosed and dangerous chemicals, oil, metals shavings and naturally occurring radioactive materials, coated eight miles of roadway, according to a Karnes County Sheriff's Department report obtained by InsideClimate News.

The spill has prompted an investigation by the sheriff's department, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the state Railroad Commission.

If not for surveillance video given to the sheriff's department, the trucker responsible for the dumping may have disappeared into the night. But the video caught the distinctive flash from the reflective stripes on the tanker. It was the telltale clue detectives needed.

Although sheriff's investigators couldn't determine whether the illegal dumping was intentional, it highlights the growing problem of how to dispose of billions of gallons of contaminated fluids left over from both the drilling and production phases of oil and gas development using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking

insideclimatenews.org...

It kinda looks more like it may be from the shower on that camper. You can separate the grey water on many campers so it doesn't clog the septic tank. If the camper wasn't there I probably still wouldn't believe them....I doubt if they would dump it that close to their business. It could have been a Cement truck cleaning it's shoots that day. They do that all the time. They would probably go outside of the business to do that.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

I'd vote a "SPILL" ... ( NOT a "DUMP").

If it were a "DUMP", I would expect somewhere closer to 8,000 to 10,000 gallons.

The SUN is an amazing thing ... Over time, the SUN will evaporate OIL ... ( and disinfect the soil ).

I also agree with RickyMouse's statement: "I doubt if they would dump it that close to their business.".

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OPINION: This "SPILL" wasn't intentional.
.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Surely the company is liable even if it was an "accident"? The driver reported that the valve sometimes leaked. After that leaky valve statement, the company turns around and says that the driver isn't competent.

If it was an accident, the company failed to maintain the tank and they also continued to employ a person they deemed incompetent to transport very hazardous materials.

I don't believe it was an accident though. It is expensive to dispose of those materials and companies will risk getting caught. Some companies take the risk of getting caught rather than pay the fees. The fine is cheaper than the fees that add up if you follow the law.

As for the video, the lady did say that it was a "tanker truck". I'm doubting she would confuse that with a cement truck or the camper in the background. It is possible but I think most of us can easily spot the difference.

I sometime see streaks along the roads (main the gravel/dirt roads) out here where liquid has leaked out of the trucks. Usually it isn't much so it's probably a minor valve issue. The trucks take the water to injection wells.

a reply to: roadgravel

I sometime see steaks along the roads

Mmm I'll bring the A1 sauce.

First of all thats an active drilling site no fracking going on there its a well in progress, idiots need to learn the difference between the drilling process and the fracking process.

They would no be dumping frac water as it hasn't started yet

There might have been a tanker truck bring water to mix with drilling mud. and dumping a few gallons before it went over the cattle guard before going on location.

originally posted by: FarleyWayne
a reply to: alienjuggalo

I'd vote a "SPILL" ... ( NOT a "DUMP").

If it were a "DUMP", I would expect somewhere closer to 8,000 to 10,000 gallons.

The SUN is an amazing thing ... Over time, the SUN will evaporate OIL ... ( and disinfect the soil ).

I also agree with RickyMouse's statement: "I doubt if they would dump it that close to their business.".

-
OPINION: This "SPILL" wasn't intentional.
.

From the source:

coated eight miles of roadway, according to a Karnes County Sheriff's Department report obtained by InsideClimate News.

The spill has prompted an investigation by the sheriff's department, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the state Railroad Commission.

When the On Point Services tanker left the Marathon drilling site, it contained 20 to 30 barrels (840-1,260 gallons) of contaminated drilling fluid, according to the report. Records show the tank was empty when it arrived at facility where tankers are cleaned out.

The driver told sheriff's investigators the valve of the back of his tanker sometimes leaked, though he said he couldn't remember whether he checked on that particular load to see if the valve was closed, according to the report.

Unfortunately, this video was apparently not publicly released as it's not linked at all but the Sheriff's department appears to be confirming that the entire contents of the tanker were spilled out and "coated" an 8-mile stretch of road. Here's their investigation report.

The embedded video is actually from a similar incident nearby:

The Karnes County incident comes on the heels of a similar episode in neighboring Wilson County. In that incident, Amber Lyssy, who runs an organic farm with her husband, came upon a tanker truck stopped in the middle of the dirt road near her home outside of Poth, Texas, last January.

IMHO.... it's nothing Moar than an intentional hit piece against the fracking/oil industry...

where in the video does it show a or any sort of reflection of or from the placards on the back of A truck, any truck.

????

me?

they're so obvious, it's no different from the folks who try to provoke border checkpoints, traffic stop cops and the like.




not to say it didn't or doesn't happen...


just sayin' this one is a load of hype type shyte, imho.

???

The article seemed to state it was waste from a well being drilled that was on the way to disposal.

The video is for the spill mentioned in Wilson county, not the road coating incident in Karnes county.

originally posted by: roadgravel
The video is for the spill mentioned in Wilson county, not the road coating incident in Karnes county.

Good Catch.

The STORY associated with the Original-Poster's Video seems to be:

Eye Witness Video: Drilling waste dumped illegally in Eagle Ford Shale

HOWEVER

The STORY leading the confusion ( and probable climate change agenda ) is:
Illegal Dumping of Texas Frack Waste Caught on Video

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OPINIONS:

1. As one can see in the investigation in the "The STORY leading the confusion" incident ... "DUMPS" are ... Seriously-Investigated.

2. No one in their right mind will allow the environment they live in to be ... Damaged NOR Ruined.

3. My Original "OPINION" hasn't changed: This "SPILL" wasn't intentional.
.

Here in PA, it was legal until 2010,
to dump fracking wastewater into rivers,
spray it on dusty dirt roads in the summer,
or icy roads in the winter!!!
Now they ship most of it out of state.
Our sewage treatment plant had looked into
making money by disposing of it.
Until they found out that there was no way
that they could treat it to make it safe!

Plus what a lot of people don't stop to consider is...
it take millions of gallons of water to frack one well.
Water that is taken out of the water cycle, contaminated,
& then injected into wells deep underground, never to be seen again.

Fresh water is not an infinite resource,
as too many parts of California already know.
How many billions of gallons of water
have already been taken from our grandchildren???
Will fresh water soon be a traded commodity on the stock market?
It wouldn't surprise me at all the way things are going!

My grandparents used to joke that someday,
people will probably have to pay for air & water!
It was a joke because it was unthinkable!
Little did they know how soon it would happen!
No wonder why T. Boone Pickens is reported
to be buying up land over Texas' largest fresh water aquifer!!!

We now have 'Franken' food, there's a shortage of helium,
the birds & bees & bats are dying, the air is polluted,
the ocean is becoming radioactive, fish have high levels of mercury,
meat is full of antibiotics, & we are toying with our fresh water supply.
We're basically screwed!!!
WOQ

originally posted by: wasobservingquietly

No wonder why T. Boone Pickens is reported to be buying up land over Texas' largest fresh water aquifer!!!

It's one thing to pump AND use the water on the surface from which it is pumped.

It's another ... to pump AND pipe it off ... ( to who knows where? ).

AND

Yes!, TEXAS is Very Alert to Mr. T. Boone Pickens' ... Intent and Operation(s).
.

The eagle Ford Shale is a really big deal. One company built a big gas plant east of there to process gas and 2 pipelines to feed it and carry product toward the Houston area. I am glad I am not in the middle of it.

Link to some info on Eagle Ford