By now, at least some of you have been made aware of the gas well that will be located at 3100 Panola.  In case you happen to think that Panola begins at Collard and runs east, think again.  

In an out of sight, out of mind scenario, Panola continues across Collard (between the large metal buildings that house a heavy industry site and has been there for decades), then wanders down slope, around the west end of the TWC soccer field, takes two more turns and ends at Ben Street.  And just where is Ben Street? It runs south from E. Lancaster, right beside the Competition Music business (Used to house Harley-Davidson Motorcycles).  It's a steep slope until you get down to the bottom where you make a left turn onto Panola.

This has got to be one of the worst places you could possibly find to put a well site.  For starters, if you ever have an "incident" at that well, you have a major highway, multiple businesses, a railroad track and a soccer field populated with college students, all within 1200 feet or so.  The exact distance to any given spot will depend on exactly where they put the bore hole.

However, that ain't the worst of it.  Turn off of E. Lancaster onto Ben Street, then onto Panola and drive past the well site and on uphill to where it turns to go between the industrial buildings and several things become evident very quickly.

One:  The road (if you want to call it that) is in very poor shape.  I've seen older asphalt driveways in better condition.  

Two:  It's barely wide enough for two cars or SUVs to pass (one in each direction).  And depending on the size of the SUVs, it'll be a very tight squeeze.

Three:  There are three sharp turns from the time you turn off of E. Lancaster til you pass the well site.  And there's another turn immediately after you pass the well site.

Four:  All of which leads to an interesting and important question.  Or actually two or three.  How are you going to get 18 wheelers down there in the first place without doing some major road construction or rerouting?  Will the road surface, such as it is, survive the heavy truck traffic for very long?  What effect will the increased truck traffic have on east bound traffic on E. Lancaster in the Ben Street area?

Five:  If they opt to access Panola off of Collard, things won't be any better.  Collard won't be able to handle all that truck traffic either.  At least not for long.

 Six:  Their permit application is for a well depth of 7700 feet.  Hey, folks, that's a mile and a half straight down.  Then it goes horizontal for at least another 3000 feet.  Add'em together and you've got two miles of pipe being shoved underground.  It's gonna take a lot more than three or four truckloads of pipe to handle that much pipe.  And let's not forget the drilling rig itself, the fracing trucks, the disposal of contaminated water when the gas starts flowing, possible flaring of surplus gas, etc., etc.

I could go on, but I think I've already created enough nightmares to keep you awake for awhile.  Just one final thought.  This well site is just the tip of the iceberg compared to what's being planned for West Meadowbrook between E. Lancaster and the railroad tracks.  Things are gonna get real interesting before it's all said and done.