By Kevin Henning
For the “Progressive Views” column, Boerne Star, August 25, 2024
I began working in the East Texas oil fields in 1970. At that time the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) was the leading and most innovative energy regulatory agency in America. The TRC actually regulates the oil and gas industry and related industries like pipelines, not railroads. Many have suggested a name change but TRC remains the name, perhaps to confuse us. It has three commissioners that oversee a bureaucracy of over 1,000 folks and has been around for more than 130 years. This Commission issues permits for drilling, enforces industry regulations, works to prevent waste of natural resources, and plays a key role in environmental protection. Commissioners are elected and each make $140,000 per year. Christi Craddick is Chair and has been in office for eleven years. The other commissioners are Wayne Christian and Jim Wright. Commissioner Craddick is an attorney with an oil and gas industry practice and served nine years as an advisor to her father, Tom Craddick, the former Texas State House Speaker. Christian gained fame in the music industry and Wright was a professional bull rider. The only Commissioner running this year is Craddick, as the six-year terms are staggered.
The issues with the current TRC are many. The Commissioners receive an estimated 60% of their campaign funding from the industry they regulate, according to a study by the nonprofit consumer protection think tank, Commission Shift. TRC is considered an industry-captive agency with current regulations being far too lenient and often written by the industry it regulates. A prime example are the huge number of orphan wells that have not been properly abandoned and are leaking, causing contamination of ground water, land, and air around the well. Orphan wells are non-producing wells where the owner cannot be found. Oil and gas companies do pay a fee meant to cover things like orphan wells but it is totally inadequate. Currently, both State and Federal money is used to plug orphan wells. In 2023, Texas plugged 1,754 wells with state money and 730 wells with federal money. This is outrageous because industry should pay the entire cost, not taxpayers.
The TRC also turns a blind eye to the flaring of natural gas that should be captured and sold. According to Forbes Magazine, “The Texas Railroad Commission has an uninterrupted record of approving every request for flaring from Permian Basin. Currently, more than 300 million cubic feet of natural gas is flared each day, with at least half of this coming from routine flaring.” We continue to see minor earthquakes in and around oil and gas fields as a result of oilfield waste water injection. These operations are usually done by smaller entities that often cut corners. The TRC needs to tighten regulations on these wells and their operators. Texas Congressman Greg Casar had strong words for oil and gas regulation in Texas: “The Texas Railroad Commission has repeatedly catered to the powerful and the polluters over public health and the people. It’s hard to believe the Environmental Protection Agency would even consider giving additional oversight authority to a state agency bought and sold by fossil fuel corporations.”
Texas Monthly reported in 2023 that State Representative Tom Craddick, who sits on the Energy Resources Committee, and Commissioner Christi Chaddick have extensive oil and gas holdings and have made millions of dollars and taken significant campaign donations from the industry they are supposed to regulate.
There is a simple solution: just vote for the Democratic alternatives.
The United States is now producing 13.3 million barrels of oil per day with Texas leading the way, producing 42% of that total. Our refineries are fully supplied and there is no shortage of petroleum, yet we are still seeing higher than necessary gasoline prices. Saudi Arabia and Russia are keeping the price of oil high, and our refining and marketing companies are making obscene profits at our expense. It is critical that Texas again becomes a leader in effective oil and gas regulation. Time for them to protect us, not the industries they regulate.
To find out more about how to get involved with the Kendall County Democratic Party, visit www.kcdems.us.
Kevin Henning is a local Democrat.
