Commission Shift hosted a briefing for legislative staff on Tuesday, January 28th at the Capitol. More than 40 attendees learned about the role this session could and should play in eliminating orphaned wells across the state of Texas.
At the event, Commission Shift Policy Manager Julie Range gave an overview of problem wells in the state, and the difference between the several different classifications of wells. Learn more about the difference between orphaned, inactive, abandoned, and so-called “P-13” wells here. Policy failures have created the buildup of 150,000 inactive unplugged wells and 8,500 orphaned wells in Texas.
Our first guest speaker was Dr. Ron Green, a groundwater hydrologist with over 40 years of experience in water resource evaluation and environmental geophysics. During his presentation, he gave context on what makes these wells so problematic. Inactive and orphaned wells risk leaking fluids into aquifers or at the surface and may emit gases like methane or hydrogen sulfide. Additionally, 3-7 barrels of produced water are generated for every 1 barrel of oil, with no clear disposal process in place, and the industry-proposed solutions currently available are problematic in several ways. Produced water is primarily disposed of via underground injection — shallow injection can cause water to leak back to the surface, and deep injection can cause earthquakes.
Next up, attendees heard from landowner Schuyler Wight. Schuyler has proudly ranched the same property near Odessa, Texas that his family has owned since 1883 and also runs cattle on several ranches in Pecos, Andrews, and Winkler counties. His presentation included first-person accounts of how abandoned wells have affected his property.
Schuyler also told the story of a time when the Railroad Commission called the sheriff on him and threatened legal action against him — all for inspecting abandoned wells on and around his own property.
Attorney Cole Ruiz, with Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C., counsels governmental and business leadership on natural resource-related legal and policy matters. During his presentation, he provided context of how groundwater districts must find the balance between what is environmentally possible and legally feasible when dealing with abandoned wells.
After a Q&A session with our panelists, Julie closed out the event by introducing Commission Shift’s legislative proposals for what needs to be done this Legislative Session to address the increasing number of orphaned wells in the state. Policy failures need to be corrected to ensure the multi-billion dollar bill to plug these 150,000 inactive wells is paid for by the operators that profited from them — not by taxpayers. During her closing remarks, Julie explained two of Commission Shift’s proposed solutions that only the legislature can realize: limiting inactive well plugging extensions and replacing bonding requirements with sinking trust funds that include supplemental bonding.
Thank you to all of our panelists and attendees. Keep up with Commission Shift’s work at the 89th Legislative Session by signing up for email updates here.
