Fort Worth Business Press
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has installed a new, 24-hour air monitor in Everman that will allow the community access to near real-time air quality readings.
Sen. Wendy Davis and Rep. Marc Veasey requested the air monitor, which is near natural gas drilling sites in Southeast Fort Worth, Forest Hill and Everman, after test results in December 2009 showed elevated levels of Benzene from sites in that part of Tarrant County.
“We needed a permanent air monitor so that our region’s air quality could be under constant observation, and ensure that the health of our citizens was not being sacrificed for the benefit of oil and gas company profits, ”Veasey said in a statement.
The TCEQ, which toured several possible sites for the monitor, selected the location in Everman because of its proximity to several drill sites, and because it is free from interference from other environmental pollutants that might skew the data, agency officials said. Monitors of this type cost more than $250,000, and $100,000 a year to operate. Data from the new monitor in Everman can be found at: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/airquality/monops/agc/agc_barnett.html
