CPANA Announces Funding for Community Projects

Photo by Sarah Marcus, LISD

Central Park Area Neighbors Association announces that it has recently funded $74,565 worth of projects in Southern Lewisville, using proceeds from its Community Fund. The money was raised when members of the group signed gas leases in mid-2009. The group was awarded $79,400 for use in a community project, paid by Cherokee Horn Production, LP, which was leasing mineral rights in the area. Under an agreement with CPANA's board, who negotiated a gas lease for the neighborhoods, Cherokee Horn donated $100 for every mineral lease signed in 75067 for a period of time. CPANA has previously used some of the fund to provide baseline air quality studies for Lewisville in anticipation of natural gas drilling and production activities.

 With grants to the City of Lewisville and the Lewisville Educational Foundation, which supports Lewisville ISD, the group will fund the following projects, all in Southern Lewisville:

• An expansion of an elementary school playground to accommodate kindergartners 
• School gardens at 5 schools 
• Equipment for an Early Childhood Center 
• A full-featured community-accessible WeatherBug weather station with HD camera and monitor
• All-weather furniture for an outdoor teaching environment 
• New electronic equipment and technology for a middle-school band hall. 
• An outdoor science lab. 
• Test preparation software for first-generation college-bound students to help them achieve higher ACT/SAT/PSAT scores 
• A dozen park benches for Central Park 

 Schools receiving grants are: 

• Lillie J. Jackson Early Childhood Development Center 
• Marshall Durham Middle School
• Creekside Elementary School 
• Lakeland Elementary School 
• Hedrick Middle School 
• Lewisville Elementary School 
• Lewisville Learning Center 
• Parkway Elementary School 
• Lewisville High School 

 The CPANA Board thanks all of the grant applicants for their time in providing us the opportunity to review their needs. CPANA received over $124,000 worth of requests through LISD alone, in addition to more than $500,000 worth of projects the City of Lewisville had previously pitched. Ultimately, the board had to choose the projects that it felt spread the benefit over our entire neighborhood area, were permanent and tangible, did the most good, and fit with the spirit of our organization.

CPANA Releases Results of Year-Long Lewisville Air Quality Benchmark

In the Fall of 2010, the Central Park Area Neighbors Association (CPANA) Board of Directors responded to citizen concerns about the air quality effects of proposed gas drilling in Southern Lewisville by approving a study that would undertake some baseline readings of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) over the course of a full year. The study, which would hopefully (at the time) be concluded prior to the commencement of gas drilling activity would give an estimate of the amount of VOCs in the air before gas activity, in order to provide a basis for comparison after gas activity.

Results Summary
Most of the volatile organic compounds detected in this study were picked up in quantities less than 0.1 parts per billion (ppb). The highest maximum concentration of any substance was only 0.49 ppb. The highest concentration for benzene in any given month was 0.27 ppb, well below the 1.4 ppb long-term effects screening level (LTESL) established by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The highest monthly VOC load for any given sample was 1.81 ppb for all substances detected, and averaged only 0.82 ppb. Although the levels detected were very low, the data suggest a difference between the two general areas being surveyed, with one area showing about twice the VOC load. In any case, no compounds came close to any air monitoring comparison values (AMCVs).


CPANA Baseline VOC Study Final

Air Monitoring Results for May

As we've written previously, the Central Park Area Neighbors Association is undergoing a year-long study of air quality in Southern Lewisville in anticipation of natural gas well development in the area. The group hopes to get a good benchmark of where the air quality is before drilling, so that any changes after drilling can be noted. The tests attached are for volatile organic compounds.

Nothing in the results appeared to exceed any air monitoring comparison values. More commentary will be provided at the end of the study, or if something comes up abnormal.

CPANA monitored two locations in these results:

May 10 - June 10 - Box 210 (Near future Ingram well site) and Box 99 (Near future B&H well site)

Benzene levels for both boxes came in well below TCEQ long-term effects screening levels (ESLs).

Total levels of VOCs showed to be about twice as high at the B&H site (Box 99 - 1.19 ppb) than the Ingram site (Box 210 - .55 ppb), which is expected since the B&H site is closer to a fuel station, and busy S.H. 121 Business. This variance in background levels is part of the reason CPANA is conducting baseline air monitoring.

CPANA has increased the testing to encompass more testing locations, and will soon begin testing for reduced sulfur compounds in the air.

CPANA is looking for another location near the proposed B&H well site off Southwest Parkway between Misty Ln. and S.H. 121 Business. Contact ses@whosplayin.com if you can volunteer your property.

CPANA Releases Air Monitoring Results for March

CPANA is releasing the March air monitoring results. The tests attached are for volatile organic compounds.

Nothing in the results appeared to exceed any air monitoring comparison values. More commentary will be provided at the end of the study, or if something comes up abnormal.

Beginning March 5, 2011, CPANA monitored two locations:

March 5 - April 7 - Box 210 (Near future Ingram well site)
March 5 - April 7 - Box 99 (Near future B&H well site)

Benzene levels for both boxes came in well below TCEQ long-term effects screening levels (ESLs).

Total levels of VOCs showed to be about twice as high at the B&H site (Box 99 - 1.81 ppb) than the Ingram site (Box 210 - .93 ppb), which is expected since the B&H site is closer to a fuel station, and busy S.H. 121 Business. This variance in background levels is part of the reason CPANA is conducting baseline air monitoring.

CPANA Releases More Air Monitoring Results

As we've written previously, the Central Park Area Neighbors Association is undergoing a year-long study of air quality in Southern Lewisville in anticipation of natural gas well development in the area. The group hopes to get a good benchmark of where the air quality is before drilling, so that any changes after drilling can be noted. The tests attached are for volatile organic compounds.

Nothing in the results appeared to exceed any air monitoring comparison values. More commentary will be provided at the end of the study, or if something comes up abnormal.

January 3 - February 5, 2011
February 5 - March 5, 2011


CPANA has increased the testing to encompass more testing locations, and will soon begin testing for reduced sulfur compounds in the air.

CPANA Board to Increase Air Quality Efforts in Lewisville

As you know, for the past 6 months, CPANA has been doing some baseline air quality testing in one of our neighborhoods in Lewisville near what will be the Ingram drill site.  The purpose of testing before the drilling begins is so that we can gain an understanding of what our air quality is currently like, so that we can tell whether gas drilling affects it later.  It's our goal to provide the neighborhoods with some reassurance that the air quality is not going to go bad without us finding out very quickly and taking action.  The drillers know we're doing this, and we hope that gives them incentive to do things in the cleanest, safest manner possible.  (We post the results on CPANA.org, and a fresh set will be there shortly)

We've recently had two developments that affect our CPANA neighborhoods:  Titan has filed for a permit for the B&H well site, which is near S.H. 121 and Southwest Parkway.  Williams has been approved for 16 wells and a wastewater collection facility South of F.M. 3040.  Predominant wind patterns here are from the South, so if there is any pollution from those wells, we would want to be able to detect it, and be able to distinguish it from any that would come from the Titan wells in our neighborhoods.

So, tonight, our CPANA board unanimously approved extending our testing in order to cover these areas.  If you own property that abuts F.M. 3040 or near the B&H site on Southwest Parkway, we'd like to hear from you if you would allow us to put a testing box on your property.

Further, following the lead of neighboring Flower Mound, which is dealing with some air quality issues in some neighborhoods, we are going to begin doing some testing for sulfur compounds just to be on the safe side.

In all of this, we're trying to use the most cost-effective methods of testing that would reasonably give us useful data.  So far we have only spent about $500 for testing out of $1,000 authorized this summer, and we have authorized about $2,000 more, which we hope to be able to pay for with interest earnings from the community fund.  

Lastly, we are considering adding new board members to CPANA to bring our number back up, since we currently only have 6.  If any of our members are interested in joining the CPANA board, let us hear from you.  In fact, we want to hear from you about whatever concerns you may have over the gas drilling, one way or the other.

On behalf of the CPANA board,

CPANA Releases Air Monitoring Data

CPANA continues its year-long study of air quality in a Lewisville neighborhood prior to the entrance of natural gas drilling.

Although CPANA has not released any narrative yet for months 4 - 6, it is releasing the data now in the interest of maintaining openness, and will follow up with some explanation at a later time. Benzene, toluene, and xylene have all been found in quantities well below long-term effects screening levels. Samples are taken using passive diffusion tubes which soak up a sample of air over the course of a month, and when analyzed give a rough average of contamination levels. CPANA looks for benzene levels and the top nine other VOCs found in the sample tube.

Month 4: 9/19/2010 - 10/18/2010 
Month 5: 10/18/2010 - 11/16/2010
Month 6: 11/16/2010 - 12/18/2010

CPANA Board members will meet tonight to discuss possible expansion of its monitoring program to include additional locations and analytes.