This picture was taken about 1:30 PM on 4-09-09 from Old Weatherford Hwy near Chapel Creek subdivision west of Loop 820. This is a typical Chesapeake drilling pad. The truck is collecting condensate from the tanks in the background. On the right is the lift compressor for this pad. It is powered by raw gas produced by the wells. The tan vertical wall is an acoustic blanket that is supposed to decrease the sound level coming from the compressor. The dark object showing above the acoustic blanket is the exhaust muffler for the compressor. The sound level was loudest at the low frequencies--you know, the ones that vibrate your body when a kid drives by in a car with a loud booming sound system going full blast. The idea that such a compressor will be needed on every drilling pad in Fort Worth and that many will be within 600 ft of homes is alarming.
The truck comes daily. The hose is about 6 inches in diameter and removes liquid from the bottom of the big tanks. It is an accordion-style hose. You can see it snaking over the spill barrier in front of the tanks and bending upward to the level of the truck's tank. There must be a pump somewhere to pump the liquid up into the truck.
Can you imagine this sort of thing happening daily at your neighborhood drill pad? Did they tell you about all this when they asked you to sign that lease?
