Response to the Staff Report for the Sunset Review of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Submitted by the

Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance (WCGPCA): A community group affiliated with the Westchester Association of Homeowners, Grand Prairie, Texas. (December 19, 2012)

Issue 1: Item 1:
We DO NOT SUPPORT the recommended name change to the Texas Energy Resources Commission (TERC). This name change will NOT reflect the main focal point of this agency ~ regulation of the oil and gas industry. It will also be easily confused with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). We believe it is way past time to have total TRANSPARENCY for the work of this agency without confusion.

RECOMMENDATION:

Oil and Gas Commission of Texas

Explanation: Even though we understand that wind energy and other renewable energies are now being included in the regulatory work of this agency, we DO NOT believe the MAIN FOCUS of this group is renewable or sustainable energy now or for the next 10 years. There has been too much build-out of the new unconventional drilling practices in our communities in the past 10 years. For now, we believe a name change that continues to confuse the citizens of Texas (who may find themselves dealing with shale gas and oil extraction and production at their back doors)The Citizens

of Texas deserve complete transparency for the immediate future.

The Oil and Gas Commission of Texas will need to continue to oversee issues that will only multiply with unconventional oil and gas development in our state.
WCGPCA Written Response to the Staff Report (RRC Sunset Review) Page 1

Response to the Staff Report for the Sunset Review of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Submitted by the Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance (WCGPCA): A community group affiliated with the Westchester Association of Homeowners, Grand Prairie, Texas. (December 19, 2012)

Issue 1: Item 2:
We agree with this recommendation.

Issue 1: Item 3: Please strike knowingly from the language for this recommended change. It is an URGENT matter. Issue 1: Item 4:
We agree with this recommendation.

Issue 1: Item 5:
We agree with this recommendation. **************

Issue 2:
We agree with this recommendation.

Issue 3:
We agree with this recommendation. It is an URGENT matter. Issue 4: We agree with this recommendation. It is an URGENT matter.
WCGPCA Written Response to the Staff Report (RRC Sunset Review) Page 2

Response to the Staff Report for the Sunset Review of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Submitted by the Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance (WCGPCA): A community group affiliated with the Westchester Association of Homeowners, Grand Prairie, Texas. (December 19, 2012)

Issue 5: We agree with this recommendation. Issue 6: We agree with this recommendation. It is an URGENT matter. Issue 7: We ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED and Troubled by the Staff Recommendations for this Issue. We are appalled that there is no mention of the Statewide Rule 37 Spacing Exception in the recommendation. This is NOT Forced Pooling. In fact, there have been VERY FEW cases of Forced Pooling with regard to the property takings in North Texas and the so-called Barnett Shale area(s). The impacts of the Rule 37 Spacing Exception have been immense in terms of the Railroad Commissions authorizing shale gas operators to simply take homeowners mineral property without compensation. Even when a Protest is filed, the process is confusing for the uninformed and daunting for the fairly informed. We know of only one (1) case that has been won by a property owner in the so-called Barnett Shale. Our STATE has framed this as the focal point of the MISSION of not wasting minerals. We believe this issue DESERVES new legislation. It is simply wrong for so many reasons. Issue 8: We agree with this recommendation.
WCGPCA Written Response to the Staff Report (RRC Sunset Review) Page 3

Response to the Staff Report for the Sunset Review of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Submitted by the Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance (WCGPCA): A community group affiliated with the Westchester Association of Homeowners, Grand Prairie, Texas. (December 19, 2012)

Our Overall Response to this Staff Report for the Sunset Review:
We are dismayed by the lack of transparency for what has happened in the Barnett Shale over the past 7+ years. The Railroad Commission of Texas has been around for a very long time. Urban/suburban shale gas drilling has not. And yet, our Texas State Legislature has FAILED to provide the most basic protections for our communities or to even come to our communities when we have issues. There is no mention of

urban/suburban drilling in this Staff Report.

Our group (the Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance) formed in the summer of 2010 when we realized that we were literally being invaded. In 2007, our Homeowners Association (2,295 homes) had declined to support gas drilling primarily due to our deed restrictions that strictly prohibit oil and gas exploration. But that did not stop the invasion of the Thumper Trucks and seismic testing in May and June 2010. Nor did it keep Chesapeake from getting an administrative approval from our city for a drilling site on the southern entryway to our communities ~ only 850 feet from the Joe Pool Lake Dam and only 500 feet from homeowners. A monster FRAC pond was rammed up against the fence line in August 2010. All of this was above and beyond anything we had ever seen before.

Also, we only learned about this Sunset Review Staff Report a few days
ago ~ even though we were told we were on a Special E-Mail List for Important Issues.

WCGPCA Written Response to the Staff Report (RRC Sunset Review)

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Response to the Staff Report for the Sunset Review of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Submitted by the Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance (WCGPCA): A community group affiliated with the Westchester Association of Homeowners, Grand Prairie, Texas. (December 19, 2012)

IMPORTANT:

We are persistent and dedicated. Therefore, in the

past 2.5 years, we learned how to navigate the VERY Difficult Railroad Commission Web site. We see no mention of this issue in the Staff Recommendations. We urge legislation to REQUIRE funding for an update to the 1970s-Era Web site.

In Conclusion:
Please visit our website that was launched in September 2010: The Westchester Gasette: http://westchestergasette.blogspot.com.

It is our story. We pray it will have a happy ending. AMEN.

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WCGPCA Written Response to the Staff Report (RRC Sunset Review)

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