The cost and frequency of plugging leaking oil and gas wells has prompted the Texas Railroad Commission to request an additional $100 million in funding to address the issue, according to the Houston Chronicle. If granted, that would increase the RRC’s state-funded budget by about 75% for the current fiscal year.
The cost to plug wells gushing with contaminated water has risen dramatically. The commission spent about $13 million on two plugging projects last September, according to the Chronicle. Fees and fines paid by the oil and gas industry have in the past covered the costs of plugging wells, but the increased costs and complexity of plugging wells has largely outgrown the revenue being received.
“The 89th Legislature will thoroughly evaluate the commission’s funding request and work with industry experts to better understand this compounding problem,” Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, said in a statement.
The RRC should do more to hold operators accountable for plugging their own wells, according to the director of one watchdog organization.
“We have a robust oil and gas industry, the biggest in the country,” Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift, said. “There’s no reason why such a profitable industry shouldn’t be able to pay for its own cleanup.”
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