Dust

I was out feeding the horses on a beautiful Sunday morning. Then 3 tank trucks drove by, at close the 5mph speed and a cloud of dust rose probably 15 feet in the air and came down on me, the horses, the barn, the back yard to the point of not being able to breath. I was about 50 yards from the back fence. My neighbors on the ridge are much closer to the road than I am, like 10-20 yards and I can only imagine what they are going through. So, as we have done over the last 2 years, I contacted Encana, told them the dust was bad and hopefully they will water the road down. Reacting instead of proacting. Wait until we complain before they do anything. So much for managing the location.

Encana Relationship with the Neighbors

When all this started, Encana called a neighborhood meeting to explain to us what was going to happen on the Beggs Ranch. We spoke with Encana's Community Relations and a supervisor in charge of the gas field. He explained that the plan was to put 40 some wells behind our houses with wells located on the north fence shooting south and wells at the south end shooting north to get maximum production out of the gas field. That would mean a well behind every 2-3 houses on the ridge. The trucks would enter through our neighborhood to service all the wells. We told them that would bring crime, noise, dust, traffic, transients to our neighborhood and basically turn it in to an industrial zone. They were going to have a meeting between the Beggs, Encana and said they would invite us to discuss the road placement. The trucks had already created a crater, yes a crater, at the entrance to our neighborhood that a small car could get stuck in. I should have known we were in trouble when the Community Relations person said she hadn't noticed any crater when she drove in. Huh?

We didn't hear anything for a few weeks and then she contacted each of us to let us know they had the meeting, without us, and decided to run the traffic through our neighborhood. My first thought, "What a bunch of liars; telling us they would invite us, and then making the decision without us. " An opportunity for Encana to build trust and cooperation with the community squandered.

Then came all the calls about the truck traffic and the dust and the noise. See Noise post. They could have brought the noise abatement with the drilling rig, but nope, we had to beg for it. React instead of proact. An opportunity for Encana to build trust and cooperation with the community squandered.

At 4:00am, the truck came to drain the tanks; sounded like someone started a chainsaw outside my window. Encana community relations received a call at 4:15am. This time they put out an edict that the tank was only to be drained during daylight hours. Why did we even have to ask? React rather than proact. Don't do anything unless someone complains. But in fairness, we have had no more problems with nighttime tank draining.

Then came all the problems with the truck traffic. See that post. So they added a video surveillance camera to regulate the speed. See that post. Encana Community Relations said the camera would only be pointed at the road, that the camera could not swivel. For 3 weekends in a row, that camera was pointed at my house filming everything that went on in my yard on a server somewhere in internet land. Each Saturday morning for 3 weeks I spent calling everyone including the landowner to turn that camera away from my house. I also wanted any film taken of my house destroyed. So they lied about the camera, they invaded my privacy and they still posess film of my home and family. So the surveillance camera that was to be used to control the truck traffic was instead used to intimidate the people that were complaining. Another opportunity for trust and cooperation squandered.

Everytime Encana felt we complained too much, there was suddenly a plan in place to move the road. Now remember, to put the road in initially took a single meeting and the road was built in less than a week. But to move the road is a very, very complicated undertaking. We have been told on at least 2 separate occasions prior to the 4 day gas leak that the road would be moved within weeks. Nothing ever happened. Another opportunity for trust and cooperation squandered.

Many times we have complained about specific issues. Some of the neighbors complain more than others. But most of us have made calls and not had them returned. Encana Community Relations told me on one occasion that she is under no obligation to return phone calls. Not returning phone calls in my mind means she is irrelevant and I won't do business with her anymore. Another opportunity squandered.

So after the gas leak, suddenly the road was going to be moved again, really. We would hear from them by the end of the 2nd week of January, 2009. No phone call. Then the irrelevant one calls and says they are moving the road, but don't call us, we'll call you because we can't discuss details. But really, it is moving.

After all we've been through with Encana, would you trust them?