In May 2025, a pipeline owned by Energy Transfer ruptured just north of Lake Arlington, releasing more than 6,600 barrels of crude oil — over 285,000 gallons. But the company originally reported recovering just 2,600 barrels. Weeks later, the EPA confirmed that nearly 6,800 barrels had been cleaned up. That means the company understated the size of the spill by more than 4,000 barrels. This wasn’t a minor reporting error — it was a massive undercount that delayed public understanding of the disaster.

The oil made its way into Fort Worth’s sewer system and contaminated the Village Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant. While officials now claim all the oil was recovered, the ripple effects remain. One of the most beloved public spaces in the area — the Village Creek Drying Beds — has been closed off ever since. For months, birdwatchers, families, and nature lovers have been locked out of a place that has offered peace, joy, and connection to nature for decades.

Euless resident Colby Ayers, who has birded at the drying beds daily for years, shared that he used to visit the site with his father and now feels cut off from a place full of personal memories. That loss matters — and it’s one that shouldn’t be dismissed as a side effect of a cleanup.

Energy Transfer has yet to publicly explain the underreporting. The company has stayed silent, even as the community is left to absorb both environmental damage and emotional loss. Meanwhile, there is no clear timeline for when public access to the drying beds will return, and little information about long-term environmental safety or independent oversight.

This isn’t just about a pipeline failure. It’s about whether a community deserves honesty, restoration, and access to the public spaces it loves. People in Arlington are still waiting for answers — and they’re still waiting to get their land back.

Sign this petition if you believe communities deserve the truth, full transparency, and the right to reclaim the places that belong to them.