Even as Donald Trump’s incoming administration is promising to reverse costly regulations on the energy sector imposed by the Biden-Harris administration, the Texas Railroad Commission is set to adopt a proposal tomorrow that would add substantial burdens to the oil and gas producers and the state’s economy.
Despite its name, the agency does not regulate railroads but does oversee the oil and gas industry. Three commissioners, elected statewide to staggered, six-year terms, oversee the agency.
Leading up to and since the November election, President Donald Trump has promised to roll back rules and regulations seen as impeding the “drill, baby, drill” ethos of his domestic energy program.
Yet, in GOP-dominated Texas, a new environmental rule is set to be adopted on Tuesday under the pretense of addressing pollution and safety issues. Advocates and opponents both see the proposal as making it more difficult for oil and gas producers in Texas.
Drafted when a second Biden term was considered all but certain, industry observers say the measure—benignly known as “Waste Management Procedures”—ignores “physical, economic and operational differences” in the oil and gas business to the apparent benefit of firms specializing in environmental paperwork management.
None of the three commissioners—Republicans Wayne Christian, Christi Craddick, and Jim Wright—responded to inquiries from Texas Scorecard about the proposed rule.
Comments submitted from various oil and gas operators expressed surprise that the commission would consider such a rule. The owners of Momentum Operating, based in Albany, Texas, wrote that the proposal ignores “significant regional geographic, geologic and ecologic differences in Texas” as well as the “physical, economic and operational differences” in the industry
According to Jimmy Carlile of Fasken Oil and Ranch, the industry “must protect surface and groundwater,” but the proposal would add “substantial costs and paperwork to the oil and gas industry that provide no benefit to freshwater protection.”
The chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas was more blunt. Nate Dunning wrote that “the Railroad Commission [should] reject the demands of left-wing special interests.”
“Texas has long been a leader in energy production, and it has done so by allowing innovation and free enterprise to flourish without the weight of overbearing regulations,” Dunning continued. “These regulations would not only hamper job creation and economic growth but will also jeopardize the affordable energy Texans rely on. It is clear that special interest groups are pushing for these changes under the guise of environmental protection, but their true goal is to keep oil and gas in the ground and transition to expensive, less reliable forms of energy. This will hurt families, businesses, and communities that depend on the industry for jobs, stability, and energy security.”
Those left-wing groups—the Sierra Club and Commission Shift—submitted highly favorable comments supporting the new changes the RRC will be considering.
Not everyone pushing for the left-wing changes sits on the political left. Republican John Mabee of Midland is one of the region’s largest landowners, operating a ranch purchased with his father’s oil money. He, though, has told commissioners in public comments that he is disappointed the rules are not even more strict and burdensome.
The commissioners are set to vote on the rule when they meet on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 9:30 a.m.