![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Greg-Brown-of-BreitBurn-in-front-of-disguised-fracking-wellseriously.jpg\" "\\"Greg")
They disguised fracking wells in Los Angeles. Perhaps if they disguised the rig behind Sunshine Elementary as a cypress,\u00a0environmentalists would switch sides<\/a>.<\/p>\n On 7-15-2014, there was a crew there in the morning. When I went by the next day at 4:30 p.m., there was no one around.<\/p>\n A\u00a07\/15\/2014 article released late at night indicated it<\/a>\u00a0was just \u201croutine maintenance\u201d involving \u201cone of its pumps.\u201d However, the use of only Breitburn and the DEP as sources left me uneasy with the article\u2019s conclusions.<\/p>\n Since I\u2019ve heard from two sources, one quoting the DEP\u2019s Ed Garrett and also\u00a0via an oil company owner<\/a>, that acidizing always occurs at Southwest Florida wells, some forms of which can definitely be described as \u201cacid fracking\u201d, one is forced to wonder if that sort of thing that is being planned here.<\/p>\n What is clear is that it\u2019s not just routine maintenance, unless that routine involves sinking over 1000 feet of pipe. Here\u2019s a picture from 2 days before the top picture that shows the pipe involved.<\/p>\n Recently, the\u00a0DEP stated it would sue Dan A. Hughes<\/a>\u00a0over its failure to comply with demands with a July 15th deadline. An\u00a0article today pointed out<\/a>, as I have, that the DEP previously failed to inform the public about a couple of acid frackings done by that company. It took the DEP from\u00a0December 31,2013 until April 18,2014<\/a>\u00a0to tell the public that acid frackings had occurred, three days after rejecting advice to stop permitting a well on a residential street in Golden Gate Estates.<\/p>\n One of the problems with the permitting the Golden Gate Estates well was the lack of a safety plan where so many residents could be impacted.<\/p>\n As it turn out,\u00a0this same problem exists\u00a0 at Sunshine Elementary<\/a>. A News-Press article by Steve Doane pointed out, on May 11, 2014, that no safety plans exists. The well was, at that time, referred to as Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. Well No. 26-2. It also noted that there have been 8 \u201cminor infractions\u201d since Sunshine Elementary was constructed.<\/p>\n The new well might bring new sorts of infractions. One source says the tilt of the rig indicates directional drilling is planned, another red flag.<\/p>\n An\u00a0NBC-2 article points out<\/a>\u00a0that the well has been \u201coperational since the 1970s\u201d but not that this could be a whole new idea on that well. In fact, new operations often are positioned around old ones, or failed test wells. Breitburn just took it over. Youngquist Brothers,\u00a0who provide acidizing and fracking services<\/a>, have their trademark green equipment on site.<\/p>\n The article also says they\u2019ve \u201cnever used any kind of fracking techniques\u201d here. That doesn\u2019t mean that they won\u2019t now that they\u2019ve got the new equipment in place.<\/p>\n If the lack of safety plans was enough to sway experts and\u00a0promote legal action<\/a>\u00a0at the Golden Gate Estates well, shouldn\u2019t it be more than enough to sway more concern than a tiny buried article on the NBC-2 website?<\/p>\n Especially when an elementary school is right next door?<\/p>\n I\u2019m sounding code yellow for caution: this needs another look.<\/p>\n Are you a parent of a Sunshine Elementary student? Watch\u00a0Gasland\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Fractured Country<\/a>. This will give you an idea of how these sorts of companies operate, and what values they bring into a community.<\/p>\n Parents are so concerned about school safety that some people want to arm teachers. When two companies involved in fracking start a new operation in a school\u2019s backyard should it be treated as\u00a0non-news<\/strong>?<\/p>\n Consolidated-Tomoka, for whom the well is named, indicated the extent of oil and gas leasing\u00a0in this SEC filing<\/a>.\u00a0 UNDER ITEM 7:<\/p>\n \u201cDuring 2011, an eight-year oil exploration lease covering approximately\u00a0136,000 net mineral acres primarily located in Lee County and Hendry County, Florida<\/strong>\u00a0was executed and a $913,657 first year rental payment was received. An additional $922,114, representing the guaranteed payment for the second year\u2019s delay rent, was received in September 2012. The two payments totaling approximately $1.83 million have been recognized ratably into income through September 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n