AUSTIN – On Tuesday, May 13, Members of the Texas CCS Community Advocacy Coalition held a press conference outside the Railroad Commission of Texas in Austin about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advancing the Railroad Commission’s application for Class VI primacy. Obtaining “primacy” from EPA would allow the Railroad Commission total oversight and permitting power over Class VI carbon dioxide storage wells. Advocates say the Railroad Commission has shown poor remediation timelines with their current liabilities; has effectively failed at implementation of current monitoring and enforcement programs; and lacks the agency capacity or resources to manage larger, more consequential underground injection control and groundwater protection programs. During the April Railroad Commission open meeting, commissioners signed a Memorandum of Agreement with visiting EPA Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason, advancing the Railroad Commission’s primacy application.
Watch the press conference here.
Erandi Trevino | Executive Director, The Raices Collab Project | Houston, TX
“The Railroad Commission of Texas has consistently failed as an enforcement agency and in ensuring Texans’ safety. Now, it’s trying to take on more than it can handle by seeking to expand its jurisdiction and Texans will be left to pay the price.”
Eli Hilbert | Texas Permian Future Generations | Midland, TX
“The Railroad Commission of Texas has a regulatory history filled with disasters and horror stories of their own making. Why would we give them primacy over Class VI wells when they have already done such a poor job regulating Class II wells? There have been many well blowouts in the Permian in the last several years, and the Railroad Commission has no plan on how to prevent these in the future, or better monitor them when they happen again. Additionally, West Texas has a severe water shortage, again, with no plans for how to fix this very pressing, very important problem. If carbon injection ruins our main source of water, what is the plan? People cannot live here without water. Until the Railroad Commission shows competency at controlling what is under their jurisdiction, it is foolish to give them more responsibility. Especially with such new technology that we know so little about, and what massive harms can occur when it is improperly controlled.”
Rhiannon Scott | Executive Director, Coastal Watch Association | Ingleside, TX
“Granting the Railroad Commission primacy over Class VI injection wells would be a dangerous mistake. This agency has repeatedly failed to protect Texans from the risks associated with Class II wells—allowing groundwater contamination, sinkholes, and earthquakes to go unchecked. Transferring authority for carbon storage wells, which pose short term risks and even greater long-term risks, would only compound these failures.
Our community is under threat of multiple polluting projects that rely on carbon capture technology to be profitable. One project in our backyard at McCampbell airport would put our community at risk due to faulting and unplugged wells in the area. We also have the threat of a blue ammonia plant next to a primary school with a 66 mile pipeline travelling through our Coastal Bend communities. Primacy will speed these projects up and overwhelm our community with dangerous and polluting facilities. The EPA must reject this proposal and place public safety and environmental integrity above industry convenience.”
Jennifer Hadayia | Executive Director, Air Alliance Houston | Houston, TX
“Removing carbon from the air is beyond critical as we continue to see record warming from the continued burning of fossil fuels. However, sequestering carbon in a well or through a pipeline is not the solution, and we have seen these projects fail in other communities resulting in dangerous leaks to residents and harms to first responders. These risks would be exacerbated in Texas without effective regulatory oversight. Sadly, the RRC has already proven it is not an effective regulator in regards to Class II injection wells.
Today, we join our partners to call on the EPA to reject primacy for the RRC over Class VI injection wells. We need the EPA, now more than ever, to make good decisions that protect Texans from the dangers of pollution including carbon.”
Virginia Palacios | Executive Director, Commission Shift | Laredo, TX
“South Texas is experiencing its second extreme drought in 15 years. Both surface water and groundwater are becoming much more scarce. Carbon dioxide injection puts our groundwater at risk of acidification. A Class VI well planned in Kleberg County is in a part of the state that has a 22% poverty level and is increasingly facing a loss of surface water supplies. We need decision-making that is focused on keeping our scarce fresh groundwater safe and affordable.
The Railroad Commission has operated as a rubber-stamp agency. The commissioners receive campaign contributions and have personal financial interests in the same companies they make decisions about. The EPA should not hand over more authority to an agency with an inherently biased decision-making structure.”
Dominic Chacon | Texas Campaign for the Environment | Austin, TX
“Throughout the state of Texas, we are seeing billions of public tax dollars being given to oil, gas, and petrochemical companies. Today the carbon capture industry is hoping to dip into the funds of public tax dollars to finance unproven, highly risky, and expensive projects throughout the state that threaten the public interests of all Texans. While the idea is being sold to the public that carbon capture is ‘green technology’ that will help reduce carbon emissions, the reality is that CCS is an attempt to extend the life of the fossil fuel industries which will increase emissions, not reduce them. We stand with our coalition partners and Texans across the state to demand that the EPA not grant Primacy to the Railroad Commission of Texas.”
Becky Smith | Texas Director, Clean Water Action | Houston, TX
“The Safe Drinking Water Act directly addresses underground injections such as these Class VI carbon dioxide storage wells for one reason: they can pollute drinking water supplies and future sources of drinking water to the point that they may no longer be used for human consumption. Out of the 13 largest carbon capture projects worldwide, seven have underperformed, two have failed, and one has been completely mothballed. The “price” of capturing a non-guaranteed amount of CO2 is too high when we see evidence of technical failure as well as the history of enforcement failure on the part of the Railroad Commission of Texas.
We join our colleagues in urging EPA to not grant primacy over Class VI injection wells to the Railroad Commission of Texas.”
Kamil Cook | Climate and Clean Energy Associate, Public Citizen | Austin, TX
“There is a reason why fossil fuel corporations embrace carbon capture: It’s a greenwashing scam. That the notoriously industry-friendly Railroad Commission of Texas wants oversight of something the polluting fossil fuel industry wants is no surprise. Given the Railroad Commission’s history of promoting corporate interests, Texans should worry that if the agency gets regulatory control of these carbon-injection wells, it could end poorly, compromising the water supply, exacerbating the earthquakes caused by those wells, and more. The Railroad Commission should instead focus on meeting its past-due commitments, including plugging the thousands of orphaned and unplugged oil wells across the state, and fixing its poor record of holding industry accountable for violating the law, before taking on anything else.”
