Arkansas Blog: Green = dollars only

Count me unshocked. Environmental groups weren't consulted before the Game and Fish Commission entered an agreement to lease wildlife management areas for gas drilling.

Where's the water to come from to "frac" these wells -- something like 3 million gallons for each of dozens of wells? Where's the waste to go? Who'll be watching for pollution from drilling chemicals? Does it matter as long as the money rolls in?

Questions for another day.

Just remember, when a gas company like Chesapeake pays $29 million to get gas, it expects to get the gas. Even if it means condemning somebody's front yard.

UPDATE: Gov. Beebe is quoted in the linked article as saying he thought the public had adequate input into the deal. His spokesman tells me that’s a reference to discussions of gas leasing at Game and Fish Commission meetings. Wildlife Federation must have been absent from those sessions, I guess. Spokesman Matt DeCample also said Beebe had not been involved in the negotiations, but became aware of them close to the end. He said the governor remained hopeful that some of the money would go to state agencies that regulate gas exploration and that he took assurance of good operations from the best management agreement struck between Game and Fish and Chesapeake.

Does the governor’s acquiescence mean he signs off on the notion that Game and Fish is exempt from the statute that requires the state land commissioner to oversee mineral leasing of public lands and deposit revenues into the general fund? DeCample said he'd defer an opinion on that to the attorney general, who mealy-mouthed the other day that Game and Fish appears to be a power unto itself in the Arkansas firmament. Since the lawyer-governor did NOT object to Game and Fish annexing all the loot, you can draw your own conclusions, of course.

Comments

I sure hope they get the gas. I sure like running my air conditioning.

Posted by: Severus | July 31, 2008 12:54 PM

Severus, the gas that is being produced from the Fayetteville Shale is headed to the Northeast to take care of the Yankees. Guess you really haven't been paying attention to the issue. Just your ordinary troll, uh?

http://www.boardwalkpipelines.com/ExpansionProjects.aspx?id=777

Posted by: Roger | July 31, 2008 01:43 PM

If I was Governor, we would have an emergency session and I would raise all kinds of hell about this. I want to know how many Arkansas Legislators are against drilling in Anwar but aren't saying anything about something worse going on in our back yard. When you're just drilling for oil you don't need all the fresh water to push it out. You also don't have to dig massive pits for the water before it begins the 15 year leach back to whence it came. Mike Beebe is building his legacy as the Man Who Sold the World. Hell at this rate Arkansas might look like the moon by the time he "aw shucks" his way to another term.
Anybody who knows anything about this man knows that he has FULL KNOWLEDGE of what the commissioners are doing. If he didn't he wouldn't be able to rubberstamp whatever the hell they want before they fully realize the thought. He holds an office where he could be a shining light for Arkansas but he has corporate tunnel vision. When good corporations (there are a few) want to locate in Arkansas and they see that the government is risking the health of it's land and water to line a few pockets, they look to greener pastures. This is the difference between Leaders and Lawyers. Leaders don't have to look at the goddamn manual to know if something is right or wrong. They know it in their heart.

Posted by: Roderick A. Bryan | July 31, 2008 02:19 PM

Thanks for that Rod..
The Game and fish commission has no BUSSINESS owning Land.
Those pricks brought land but it was only so the hunters of Arkansas would always have a place to hunt. The land they have belongs to the hunters of Arkansas and that is that.
If not then the agfc should be done away and the legislature set dates and rules for hunting.

Posted by: chasv | July 31, 2008 02:34 PM

Like "Civil Confiscation", the Gov. is gonna do as the Gov. is gonna do! We are only following the rules they set so that we can led astray with the lies and half truths of the politician's words. When was "caring about your constituants wants and needs" a part of the plan? Oh, wait, that was back then when Ol' George Washington was in office. After him, they all just saw dollar signs when they thought about running for, and running a, political office. Dem., Rep., it don't matter! They all just want to set it up so they and theirs get the glory and the gold. Politics is only good for the politicians!

Posted by: JNYJ | July 31, 2008 02:34 PM

New name:

Benzine Beebe.. the next birth defect ward in AR need be named precisely that. All we need to do is contract the construction of it through the chamber of commerce minions and they will never question it.

Posted by: Eureka Springs, AR | July 31, 2008 02:37 PM

Ooh - ooh my turn. So a twenty percent royalty was negotiated when it came to the AGFC Commissioners enriching their little junta there, but when it was time for the people of Arkansas to get their cut from gas exploration the figure was 5%, hasn't begun yet, inlcudes a three year exemption on wells?

We were told that 5% was the maximum we could squeeze out of them without breaking the deal, as if the whole shebang wasn't insider trading all along.

I would love to reiterate how we should be extremely cautious when it comes to destruction of land and water, especially in areas set aside for preservation, but for those less inclined to let up on the holiness of "pure capitalism", let's just look at the "business deals" that are going on here by public agencies and officials.

Posted by: newamerica | July 31, 2008 04:20 PM

Light up Beebe.

Posted by: JD | July 31, 2008 07:15 PM

Arkansas Blog

Green = dollars only

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