Operator Error Caused 400,000-Gallon Crude Oil Spill Outside Midland, Texas Inside Climate News
As interest grows in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) as a way to reduce carbon pollution in the atmosphere, Commission Shift is dubious about the possibility of the Railroad Commission, the state oil and gas agency, regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines or injection wells in Texas. The Railroad Commission has sought approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate Class VI CO2 injection wells, which are a key part of the CCUS process, and are supposed to ensure the greenhouse gas emissions remain permanently sequestered underground. Based on the commission’s poor track record of protecting air, water and land, we are opposing the Railroad Commission’s request for “primacy” to be the sole permitting and regulatory authority in Texas for Class VI wells.
Many Texas communities along the Gulf Coast, the Eagle Ford Shale, and the Permian Basin are predominantly people of color, low income, and/or are already overburdened by pollution from heavy industrial activity and poor state oversight. Environmental justice communities in Texas will continue to be disproportionately affected by CCUS approaches, and our communities’ concerns and proposals deserve serious consideration.
Texas CCUS Map (vApr2021)
Map Source: Baker Institute
Operator Error Caused 400,000-Gallon Crude Oil Spill Outside Midland, Texas Inside Climate News
Plugging Pump Jacks: Dealing with abandoned oil wells across East Texas NBC Tyler
Public Input of Virginia Palacios Before the Railroad Commission Open Meeting
Why federal red tape could get in the way of plugging dangerous abandoned oil wells in Texas Corpus Christi Caller Times
Texas Oilfield Waste Company Contributed $53,750 to Regulators Overseeing a Controversial Permit Application Beaumont EnterpriseHouston ChronicleInside Climate NewsSan Antonio Express-NewsThe Texas Tribune
West Texas rancher worried about livelihood as well blowouts increase CBS 7 Midland
Texas Oil and Gas Agency Investigating 5.4 Magnitude Earthquake in West Texas, the Largest in Three Decades Inside Climate News
Abandoned “dry Hole” Oil Wells Are Polluting Texas Farms, Ranches and Groundwater. The State Won’t Fix Them The Texas Tribune
Abandoned “dry hole” oil wells are polluting Texas farms, ranches and groundwater. The state won’t fix them. GristInside Climate NewsThe Texas Tribune
Texas Aims To Take Charge Of Carbon Capture Projects Law 360
Congress wants to fix Texas’s abandoned oil wells. But the problem is much larger Houston Chronicle
Occidental Seeks Texas Property Tax Abatements to Help Finance its Long-Shot Plan for Removing Carbon Dioxide From the Atmosphere Inside Climate News
Railroad Commission of Texas Should Not Be in Charge of Overseeing Carbon Sequestration
An Oil Well Off Padre Island Leaked for Months Before It Was Plugged Texas Monthly
Commission Shift Statement on the End of the 2021 Regular Legislative Session
