“There’s a couple of things we need to bear in mind regarding energy needs of our country,” said Congressman Michael Burgess (26th District) during a recent interview at The News Connection office. “This country needs an energy source in order to run its economy, even though we may not agree on what the source is. From a local perspective, there are questions as to whether or not drilling in the Barnett Shale can be done safely. There are serious concerns about emissions, about water and about some other ancillary things as well. Right now, the general feeling I get, not only in Flower Mound, but in places from Fort Worth to North of Denton, is that the public safety is not being assured by whatever agency, group, or governmental body that is supposed to assure them. The public feels unprotected and that’s a serious problem. Until that trust can be reestablished, the industry is going to have significant difficulty, to be sure in Flower Mound, maybe in Argyle, maybe in Corinth, but they’re going to have those same problems in Fort Worth and other places where this type of activity has been established over a longer period of time.”

Dr. Burgess went on to say that, because of that lack of assurance, there will be more ordinances passed that restrict their activities. As a result, according to Burgess, the industry will have a much more difficult time because they’re not paying attention to the fact that people are concerned about whether gas drilling is safe. “Years ago, when this activity took place in West Texas and it was far removed from civilization, people didn’t give it much thought. And, whether it’s the energy companies encroaching on civilization, or civilization encroaching on the energy companies, there is that interface between the two that is, from time to time, extremely uncomfortable, for both. For the public, because they feel they’re unprotected, and from the energy companies because they feel they are doing the things they’ve always done.” The four-term congressman, running this year for his fifth term, said he recently felt that he was misled by the Texas Commission on Environment Quality (TCEQ). “TCEQ damaged their credibility at a time when their credibility needs to be above reproach. Saying they were technically correct, but weren’t accurate in the way they reported it, doesn’t matter,” Burgess said.

“They came into my office last April and I said I was concerned about some of the things I’m hearing and I wanted to know if there were any red flags. They said, no, there are no red flags. Unfortunately, they knew at the time that the information they were reporting to me was, in fact, inaccurate. And, it wasn’t just in Flower Mound; it was in Fort Worth and other areas that are part of my congressional district.” When asked if TCEQ is now providing the correct information on environmental issues regarding gas drilling, Burgess said, “I don’t know that anyone knows the answer to that. What I do know is that several companies are retesting air samples on their own. I think the city of Fort Worth is doing the right thing by going to an outside lab. They’re saying that they don’t want TCEQ, although they may run concurrent samples for comparison purposes.” Burgess said if the shale gas industry expects to continue its work, they are responsible for making the public feel safe about it. “Which is why, my charge to the folks who actually do the drilling is that they have to, the industry has to, establish its own standards, irrespective of what the state does, irrespective of what the federal government does. They have to police themselves, if they want to have the ability to continue to do business. They must answer the question as to whether it’s possible for them to reduce their emissions down to a level where it’s an acceptable practice in an urban environment; yes or no!”

Dr. Burgess, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and three of its subcommittees: Health, Energy & Environment, and Oversight and Investigations, spoke about the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. “We had 5 CEOs from 5 oil drilling companies in front of our committee in the first part of June. None of the 5 said they would have drilled a well the way BP did. BP bragged about the fact that their cost for exploration and production was the lowest in the industry. It cost them $1.40 a barrel. I asked Tony Hayward (CEO of BP) if he had spent $1.46, could he have done it safely. That is a marginal cost when you consider the overall cost of production and sale of oil. So, the question is; where were the federal regulators who approved this exploration plan that BP put forward, which was woefully inadequate?” When asked about the $20 billion being put up by BP to compensate for losses in the Gulf Coast, Burgess said he’s okay with that. “What I’m not okay with is for it to be run out of the West Wing of the White House. It’s never been handled that way before. Even when Mr. Fineman, who’s administering this fund, administered the 911 fund, that was an act of congressional authorization and there was an accountability level there.”

On the question of whether President Obama’s healthcare plan, signed about 3 months ago, can be stopped if Republicans take over the House in November, Burgess said it could because a GOP majority could keep it from being funded. “The bill that was signed into law has missed some very important deadlines. There are other deadlines that are being accelerated and clearly the intent of this administration is that they want to get some stuff out there which will make it difficult to walk it back.” As the highest ranking Republican on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Burgess said, if the GOP takes the House, he would be the Chair. “I assure you that those hearings (regarding deadlines, etc.) will be taking place in the next year.”


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