Thank you for your patience.
Morning. This meeting of the Railroad Commission of Texas will
come to order. To consider matters which have been duly
posted with the Secretary of State for February 28,
2023. Under our Public Participation Policy, anyone
desiring to offer public testimony on any items
that are not noticed on today's agenda was required
to register in advance. We had two people register
in advance. The Commission will consider items on the
agenda as posted on the agenda. But, before we get started
we're gonna do some service awards. So Wendy, come
on up. Let's go. Appreciate the people that are really
important in this building.
Good morning Chairman and Commissioners. I'm Wendy
O'Neill in Human Resources. For the first quarter of
fiscal year 2023, we are excited to recognize 12 employees
of 10 employees, actually two couldn't show today.
Uh, celebrating a milestone anniversary. So first up, celebrating
5 years of service is Steven Hilchey in Information
Technology Services Division.
Thank you Commissioner. (inaudible) We're glad to have
you. That's good, getting rid of it too. Thank you.
Thank you. Celebrating 5years of services is Donald Mcgrew in
the Information Technology Services Division. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Also with 5 years of service is Megan Schimcek
from the Hearings Division.
It's been 5 years.
(silence)
Celebrating 5 years of service and I'm not biased.
But I think this is the most important one of the day,
is Kathryn Dolan and Human Resources.
You get to put it all (inaudible)
(laughing)
(inaudible)
Also, celebrating 5 years of service is Ricardo Gamez
in Pipeline Safety.
Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you sir.
Celebrating 5 years of services is Randolph Dillon
in the Information Technology Services Division.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Also, celebrating 5 years of services is Thomas Moore
in the Information Technology Services Division.
Thank you. Good job.
Celebrating 10 years of service is Kiva Harris in the
Oil and Gas Division.
Thank you.
Celebrating 15 years of service is Colleen Forrest in
the Executive Office.
And last but not least, celebrating 15 years of service is
Roy Phillips in the ITS, Information Services Division.
That's (inaudible)
Thank you.
And that concludes the awards for today. Thank you.
(silence)
Thank
you all very much for your work. We appreciate
it. Oh see, you're already ready to go John. All right, Item No.
One. Good morning John. Good morning. Good morning Chairman
and Commissioners. I'm Administrative Law Judge John
Dodson, with the Hearings Division. Agenda Item 1,
OS-22-0576 is a Gas Utility Rate Case that resulted
in a settlement. Onalaska Water & Gas Supply Corporation
seeks a rate increase for the service it provides in
and around the City of Onalaska, Texas. Commission Staff
intervened and the party is ultimately reached a settlement,
resolving all issues. Among the agreed relief under
the settlement is an annual revenue increase for the
utility totaling $184,116. PFD was issued on February
8th and Commission Staff to have timely intervened. I'm
sorry. Timely filed exceptions that address certain
clerical typographical errors within the PFD itself.
But that, but that had no impact on the proposed final
order. We issue those corrected pages on February 15th
and the PFD version provided to you last week reflects
those changes. Consistent with the PFD, the recommendation
is to approve the settlement and today is the last
scheduled conference prior to the deadline for Commission
action. I'm available for questions. Thank you. Are
there any questions? No. I move we approve the Examiner's recommendation.
Is there second? Second. Second by Commissioner Christian. All
in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. Thanks John.
Agenda Item 2 is for a suspension order in OS-23-
12594. Which is a new Gas Utility Rate Case filed by
T&L Gas Company. For this type of proceeding, the
utility's code authorizes the Commission to suspend
operation of the proposed rates for up to 150 days.
From when they otherwise would become effective. Consistent
with this authority, the recommendation here is to
issue 150 day suspension order. Which will allow the
Hearings Divisions sufficient time to evaluate T&L's
request. I'm available for questions. Thank you.
Are there any questions? No. I move we approve the Examiner's
recommendation. Is there second? Second. Second by Commissioner
Wright. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. Thanks John.
Item No. 3. Good morning Chairman, Commissioners.
I am Administrative Law Judge Adam Taylor with Hearing
Division. Item No. 3 is the Application of Marshall
Mine, LLC for acceptance of replacement surety bond
for the Marshall Mine, Permit No. 59A, located
Harrison and Panola Counties. Permit No. 59A is
currently bonded by one surety bond in the amount of
$16,580,170. (inaudible) Also requests acceptance of a replacement
surety bond issued by Travelers Casualty and Surety
Company of America. Which is the same amount as the
existing bond, as well as matches the approved reclamation
cost estimate. Evidence has been presented that all
requirements for acceptance of the bond have been met.
Marshall and Staff allowing parties proceedings. No
exceptions were filed proposed order and parties
waived preparation of a PFD. It is recommended that
the Commission except the profit replacement bond
for this permit. I'm available for questions. Thank you.
Are there any questions? No. I move we approve the Examiner's
recommendation. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner
Christian. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes,
that item's approved. Thanks Adam. Ryan, you got several, don't you?
All right.
I'll be presenting items 4-8 today. Okay, great.
Morning Chairman and Commissioners. For the record,
my name is Ryan Rutledge, Administrative Law Judge
for the Hearings Division. Item No. 4 is an Application
by Dos Republicas Coal Partnership requesting Phase
I release for 118.17 acres with an Eagle Pass Mine,
Permit No. 42B, located in Maverick County.
The approved, approved post mine land use for the area
is recreation. Evidence of the record supports the
DRCP has satisfied all requirements for Phase I
release of the subject area, as required by the act
and the coal mining regulations. After public notice,
no comments or request for a hearing were received.
DRCP and Staff are the only parties to the
proceeding. No exceptions are filed to the proposed
order and no changes to the current bond are requested
in this docket. It is recommended that the request
for Phase I release of reclamation obligations for
the 118.17 acres be approved. And that DRCP and
be eligible to reduce the amount of bond. Available
for questions. Thank you. Are there any questions? I
move we approve the Examiner's recommendation. Is there
second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wright. All in favor, say aye. Aye.
Motion passes, that item's approved. Number 5. Item
No. 5 is an Application by Luminant Mining Company,
LLC requesting Phase I release of 465.8 acres within
Big Brown Mine, Permit No. 3F, located in Freestone,
County. The approved post mine land uses for the area
our fish and wildlife habitat, pasture land and developed
water resources. Evidence in the record supports that
Luminant has satisfied all requirements for Phase
I release of the subject area, as required by the
act and the coal mining regulations. After public notice,
no comments or request for a hearing were received.
Luminant and Staff are the only parties to the proceeding.
No exceptions were filed to the proposed order and
no changes to the current bond are requested in this
docket. It is recommended the request for Phase I
release of reclamation obligations for the 465.8 acres
be approved. And that Luminant be eligible to reduce
the amount of bond. Available for questions. Are there
any questions? I move we approve the Examiner's recommendation.
Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Christian.
All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved.
Number 6. Item No. 6 is an Application by
Jewett LLC for acceptance of riders to existing surety
bonds for Permit No. 32H, Jewett Mine, located
in Freestone, Leon, and Limestone Counties. The permit
is currently bonded by three surety bonds totaling
$62 million. Staffs most recent reclamation cost estimate
is in the amount of $97,528,632. Acceptance of the proffered
riders to the existing surety bonds will result in
an increase of the total bond amount from $62 million
to $98 million. Which will exceed the approved reclamation
costs and is therefore sufficient in amount. Evidence
has been presented that all requirements for acceptance
of the riders have been met. Jewett and Staff are the only
parties to the proceeding and no exceptions were filed
to the proposed order. It is recommended that the Commission
except the proffered riders to the existing surety bonds
for Permit No. 32H. Available for questions. Are there any
questions? No. I move we approve the Examiner's recommendation.
Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wright. All in favor,
say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. Item No. 7
is an Application by Jewett Mine LLC for acceptance
of a rider to an existing surety bond for Permit No.
47B, Jewett Mine, located in Freestone, Leon, and Limestone
Counties. The permit is currently bonded by two surety
bonds totaling $36,654,123. Jewett requests acceptance
of a rider to the existing surety bond issued by Liberty
Mutual Insurance Company. The proffered rider to the
Liberty Mutual bond will decrease that bond amount
from $18 million to $14 million. Jewett also requests
that the second existing surety bond issued by US Fire
Insurance in the amount of $18,654,123, be returned
back to the surety. Staffs most recent reclamation
cost estimate is in the amount of $13,647,243. Acceptance
of the proffered rider to the Liberty Mutual bond. Along
with return of the US Fire Insurance bond back to the
surety. Will result in a total bond amount to $14 million
for Permit No. 47B. Which exceeds the approved
reclamation cost estimate by $352,757. Evidence has
been presented that all requirements for acceptance
of the rider have been met. Jewett and Staff are the
only parties to the proceeding. No exceptions are filed
to the proposed order. It is recommended the Commission
accept the proffered writer to the existing surety
bond from Liberty Mutual. And return the existing
second bond from US Fire Insurance back to the surety.
To provide a total bond amount to $14 million for Permit No. 47B
I'm available for questions. Are there any questions?
I move we approve the Examiner's recommendation. Is there
a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Christian. All in favor,
say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. Number
8. Item No. 8 is an Application by Jewett
Mine LLC for renewal revision of Permit No. 32H,
Jewett Mine, located in Freestone, Leon and Limestone
Counties. Jewett's accepted bonds are three surety bonds
in the amount of $98 million, and with adoption of Jewett's proposed reclamation cost estimate. Exceeds the reclamation cost estimate amount for the Jewett Mine by $471,368.
Additionally, as set forth in Appendix 1 to the order.
A single existing permit provision has been deleted,
as agreed by the parties. With three additional permit
provisions being recommended for adoption by Staff.
Following public notice, comments were received from
various agencies. All of which are addressed in the
proposed order. A hearing was not required for this
application. Jewett and Staff are the only parties
to the proceeding. No exceptions were filed to the
proposed order and the parties waived preparation of
a PFD. It is recommended that the application as supplemented
be approved. With the permit provisions contained in
Appendix 1, and the Soil Testing Plan contained in
Appendix 2. That a renewed and revised permit be
approved and issued for the Jewett Mine. And that the
permit be renumbered as Permit No. 32I. I'm available
for questions. Thank you. Are there any questions? No. I
move we approve the Examiner's recommendation. Is there
a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wright. All in favor say,
aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. Thank you. Thank you Ryan.
All right. Kristi, good morning. Number 9-
17. Yes, ma'am. Good morning Commissioners. Morning. For the record,
Kristi Reeve, Administrative Law Judge with the Hearings
Division. On December 13, 2022, the Commission signed
a final order denying, denying Callon (Permian) LLC's application
for retroactive approval. Of excess flare volumes above
its previously approved exceptions to Statewide Rule
32. Callon filed a timely motion for rehearing. None
of the issues raised in the motion are new. All issues
raised in the motion were already raised by Callon
and considered by the Commission, prior to the Commission
issuing its order in these cases. It is recommended
that the motion be denied. The motion will be overruled
by Operation of Law on March 23, 2023. I'm available
for questions. Thank you. Are there any questions? No. I
move we approve the Examiner's recommendation on Items
9-17. Is there second? Second. Second by Commissioner
Christian. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, those
items are approved. Thank you. Thank you. Number 18-
26.
Good morning Chairman, Commissioners. For the record,
my name is Mandy Patel, Administrative Law Judge in
the Hearings Division. I will be presenting Items No.
18-27. Items 18-26 are a motion for
rehearing. They are presented together with one order
and one vote. On December 8, 2022, the Hearings Division
signed an order of dismissal for the subject dockets.
Progenies Operating LLC intentionally withdrew its
request for hearing. On January 3, 2023, Columbus Energy
LLC filed a motion for rehearing. On January 13, 2023,
Staff filed a reply in opposition. Columbus was not
a party to these dockets. None of the issues raised
in the motion for rehearing are relevant. Columbus
cannot provide a meritorious defense, as it is not the
operator of record for the leases. Nor a party to this
proceeding. A rehearing would result in further delay
and potential injury to the Commission by prolonging
the plugging of these wells. It is recommended that
the Commission deny the motion for rehearing. The
motion will be overturned by Operation of Law on March
20th. I'm available for questions. Thank you. Are there
any questions? No. I move we approve the Examiner's recommendation
on items 18-26. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner
Wright. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, those items
are approved, 27. Item 27 is a motion for rehearing.
On December 8, 2022, the Hearings Division signed
an order of dismissal for the subject docket. A timely
motion for rehearing was received from Progenies.
Staff filed a reply in opposition to the motion. Progenies
potentially withdrew its request for hearing, which
resulted in the dismissal. A rehearing would result
in further delay and potential injury to the Commission
by prolonging the plugging of the wells. It is recommended
that the Commission deny the motion for rehearing.
The motion will be overruled by Operation of Law on
March 20. I'm available for questions. Thank you. Are
there any questions? I move we approve the Examiner's
recommendation. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner
Christian. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that
item's approved. Thank you Mandy. Let's move to the Oil and Gas
Consent Agenda. We have 87 items on the Oil and Gas
Consent Agenda, Items 28-114. Are there any
questions? I move we approve the items 28-
114. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wright.
All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, those items
are approved. Let's go to Master Default Orders. There
are 16 Master Default Orders. I move we approve Items
115 through 130. Are there any questions, before I
go. I'm sorry. Before I make my motion. No. All right. I move
we approve items 115 through 130. Is there a second?
Second. Second by Commissioner Christian. All in favor, say aye. Aye.
Motion passes. Those items are approved. Agreed Enforcement
Orders. There are 188 Agreed Enforcement Orders,
Items 131 through 318. Are there any questions or
comments? No. All right, alright. I move we approve items
131 through 318. Is there a by Commissioner
Wright. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes. Those
items are approved. That concludes the Hearing Section
matters. Thanks. We'll now take up the Administrative
Agenda, Item 319.
Good morning Chairman, Commissioners. I'm Betsy Peticolas,
Staff Attorney with the Office of General Counsel.
Item 319 is the Commission's consideration of the
General Counsel's recommendation. To refer to related
EPA rules to the Office of Attorney General.
On October 1, 2015, EPA revised the National Ambient
Air Quality Standard or the NAAQS, for ground level
ozone. After EPA revises the NAAQS, states are required
to develop and adopt enforceable plans. To achieve and
maintain the NAAQS. And this is done through a collection
of state regulations that are known as the State Implementation
Plan. The Clean Air Act grants states the authority
to make choices regarding the selection of air pollution
control strategies. That it will adopt in its State
Implementation Plan. One of the requirements of the
Clean Air Act is that State Implementation Plans or
SIPs. Um, contain emissions limitations that prevent
emission sources within the state. From significantly
contributing to nonattainment of the NAAQS in downwind
states. This is known as the Good Neighbor Position,
the Good Neighbor Provision or the Interstate Transport
of Emissions. Excuse me, the spring allergies
are hitting me today. Mine too. Me too. On August 17, 2018, Texas through
the Commission on Environmental Quality. Submitted its
Interstate Transport SIP for the 2015 Ozone Standard.
The transport SIP contained a technical demonstration
concluding that emissions from sources within the State
of Texas, including those sources within the oil and
gas industry. Will not contribute significantly to
nonattainment in other states. On February 13, 2023,
EPA published final disapproval of Texas's transport
SIP. EPA's disapproval was based in part on guidance
memoranda that were not available to the states during
the development of their SIPs. EPA did not provide
Texas with comments concerning the approvability
of the transport SIP. And has not otherwise provided
Texas with an opportunity to make changes. To address
the issues on which EPA based its disapproval. Prior
to proposing a federal implementation plan on April
6, 2022. A federal implementation plan or a FIB is
an air quality plan. That federalizes air quality
regulations in the areas in which it applies. EPA
proposed FIB would apply in 26 states including Texas.
The proposed ozone transport FIB would establish nitrogen
oxide emissions budgets for fossil fueled, electric generating
units. And also proposes nitrogen oxide emissions limitations
for other, for several other categories of industrial
stationary sources. Including stationary engines used
in the pipeline transportation of natural gas. Comments
were submitted on both EPA's proposed disapproval
of the transport SIP and the proposed FIB. In general,
the comments cited numerous technical and legal errors
in EPA's analysis of Texas's transport SIP. And expressed
concern about the proposed FIBs impacts on Texas' electric
grid and economy. Some comments also stated that
EPA underestimated the number of affected sources
and the impacts to the pipeline transportation of natural
gas. So considering the rules impacts on the pipeline
transportation of natural gas, the Office of General
Counsel respectfully recommends the Commission approve
referring these two rules to the Office of the Attorney
General to challenge their validity. And thank you,
I'm available for any questions on this. Thank you.
Are there are any questions or comments? Real shocker. Thank y'all for being on
top of it. On we're all, we're gonna see a lot more
lawsuits as we go forward. So, unfortunately. All right.
I move that we approve the Staff's recommendation.
Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Christian. All
in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved.
Thank you. All right, 320.
Morning Clay.
Good morning, Chairman and Commissioners. For the record,
I am Clay Woodul, Assistant Director of the Oil and
Gas Division, Field Operations. Item 320 is a request
for authorization to file a claim against the Oil Spill
Liability Trust Fund, for administrative and contractor
expenses totaling $440,217.22. Related to an emergency
restock response by Staff of the Houston Office. For
an active crude oil release from an orphan well located
in Trinity Bay, Chambers County. That occurred on Saturday,
May 28, 2022. After receiving a call from the Texas
General Land Office at 5:30 pm on the 28th. District
Staff and commissioned contractors were immediately
dispatched to the site, and deployed absorbent booms
to contain the crude oil. Operations to kill the well
and make repairs continued daily, until the well was
secured on June 10. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 established
the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is a fund
available through the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental
Protection Agency. For oil spills that enter or threaten
navigable waters of the U.S. The Commission's delegation
of authority, authorizes the Commissioners to submit
agree and settle claims against the Oil Spill Liability
Trust Fund. Your approval this morning will give the
Executive Director, the authority to sign and submit
this claim. As well as acceptance and release forms
to the U.S. Coast Guard on behalf of the Commission.
May I answer any questions? Are there any questions? No. Thank y'all
for doing the right thing. We appreciate it. Thank you. All right.
I move we approved the Staff's recommendation. Is there
a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wright. All in favor say,
aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. Thanks Clay.
All right. Item 321 is our Public Participation Item.
We have two people registered. Mr. White, if you'll
come up and state your name.
Tell us who you're here on behalf of, please sir.
Good morning. Good morning. I'm Skyler White from Goldsmith.
I'm here representing myself. I paid all my expenses
to come down here. Uh, nobody's writing me any paychecks.
I'm not working for anybody. I pay other people to
work for me. So I'm down here on my own money. Uh, I
want to ask y'all about this well. This is the Magon
29 Well. I've reported this well here a while back,
and uh, your Staff came out and looked this well. And they
said this well is not leaking. Looks to me like it's
leaking. I don't know. I'm just, I'm just a dumb rancher.
I don't, I don't know what criteria y'all have for
for a well to be leaking. Does it have to be running
off the location? Does it have to be running down the
highway. Doesn't have to be running down a stream?
does it? I mean if, if I'm leaking this much, they're
gonna buy me a new set of Depends. Your inspector came
out and said this well is not leaking. So I'm, I'm
just a dumb rancher. Just educate me a little bit and
tell me. What criteria does a well have to, have to
be leaking? This is an orphan well. Uh, I've got 12
of these wells flowing, some of them worse than this
on the ranch. And, and uh I'm just wondering. Why what,
what criteria do y'all have to consider a well to be
leaking? Um,
I'm just puzzled here. What?
And you said this was a Megan, Megan 29 well? Magon,
29. How do you spell the first one? M. A. G.
It's on the ranch. I'm just, I'm puzzled here. What
how bad does the well have to be leaking in order for
y'all to consider it leaking? I mean, it's obviously
puddled up. It's, it's polluting groundwater. It's
I mean. I'm just, I'm puzzled here.
Thank you, Mr. White. If you'll hand your stuff, we'll
make sure we get somebody back out there and check
on it. Thank you for being here today. You bet. Thank you. Thank you. Also,
if any of y'all ever get out to West Texas. I'll be
glad to show you around. If y'all go out and see what
I'm seeing and you'll see that I'm, I'm serious about
this. This is not, I'm not playing games here. This
is serious to me, protecting groundwater is serious.
And if y'all ever get out that way, I'd love to show
you around. And you, you said this this well is on your
ranch? Yeah. Okay, thank you Mr. White. You bet.
Ms. Palacios.
Hi, my name is Virginia Palacios. I'm the Executive
Director of Commission Shift. We're a statewide nonprofit
uh, focused on accountability at the Railroad Commission
of Texas. Um, I just wanted to report back. I went to
a conference last week in Oklahoma City with the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists. Um, and there was
some interesting information there. You know, I'm sure
y'all know that Texas has the top performing state-
managed well plugging program out of any other state.
You know, we've plugged more wells in this state than
any other state has over the past, you know, couple
of decades. Um, and that's great, but it's also clear
that we need to do better, right? And so um, you know,
I would propose a future where there's no orphan wells
sitting on the orphan well queue for more than 2 years.
You know, and how we get there. There's gonna be a
lot of different strategies we have to employ. I think
there's a lot that the State Legislature needs to do
to enable y'all to better enforce well plugging standards
for active operators, right? Because that's where, how
we're getting all these orphan wells. Is we have this
huge queue of hundreds of thousands of inactive unplugged
wells with active operators. And some of those operators
are eventually gonna go bankrupt or not be able to
fulfill their plugging obligations, right? And so we
need to stop the bleeding and deal with those inactive
wells. Um, there was a lot of discussion about the federal
program, DOI was at this conference. It was
DOE there were a lot of federal agencies there. Thinking
about how to document undocumented wells. Um, and how
to make sure that this federal program goes well. Um
there's, there's a real tension between needing to plug
as many well as possible, as quickly as possible. And
needing to make sure that it gets done right. And so
um, I just wanted to raise that. Because I think the
end performance metric for this program or the state
managed well plugging program. Isn't just the number
of wells we plug. Because if, if the state has to go
back out there and plug these wells again, because they
failed. Then we're spending more money and it's not
as efficient. Um and, you know, I just wanted to agree
with your remarks yesterday, Chairman Craddick. That
we can't over rely on that federal program. We have
to keep the state managed program. Um and so, you know,
to set up a good foundation for this work. I think
we gotta pay qualified people to do good work. Part
of that is these Davis-Bacon standards, right. That require
the prevailing wage. I hope that we can find a solution
for that. So that we're hiring really well-qualified
people to go out there and do this work. Um, and you
know, it when it comes to the administrative burden
for all of this. If we set up a good foundation for
doing this, then we'll be setting our state up for
better efficiency in the long run. And so um, so I
just want to support that. Um, there's a lot of new
types of cement, new types of technology is used to
fill gaps in uh well plugging analysts. Uh to, to
make those plugs stronger. So I hope that y'all are
staying on top of that. There's a resource called Top
Corp that offers training for state regulators. Uh, both
on well plugging and all kinds of other ways to manage
environmental incidents. And there's a new mobile field
app with the Department of Interior. For folks to document
undocumented wells and to create a nationwide database
for these undocumented wells. So, some really interesting,
interesting stuff. Um and lastly, you know, I just
want to underscore the importance of ramping up well
plugging. As we consider bringing Class 6 injection
wells into this state. As you know, we're seeing a
lot of breakouts in West Texas. My hunch is that a
lot of that could be related to Class 2 injection
that's going on in the area. Y'all have reported
uh, you know, permitting more than 400 Class 2 injection
wells in the Permian Basin in 2021, out of 600 statewide.
And so there's just an incredible amount of injection
going on in this area. And if we're thinking about
adding more injection with Class 6 wells. We got
to make sure that all the holes in the ground right
now are plugged. And that we have a safe situation that
we're entering there. Thank you so much. I have a question.
Ms. Palacios, you said you were in Oklahoma with the DOI,
was it last week? Yeah, it was the um, American Association of
Petroleum Geologists Conference. Was there anybody that talked
about methane mission? Yeah, there was a lot of discussion
about the whole methane mitigation industry. And you
know, the part of this federal program. The purpose
of the funds right, is to create jobs and reduce methane
emissions. And so, there are a lot of folks learning
about how to, how to study those methane emissions.
How to quantify those flow rates. Um, I think what
we're going to find is that you have these super emitting
wells. That um, count for more methane emissions and than others.
Above all, I think we need to protect groundwater as
a first priority and prevent hazardous blowouts as
a first priority. And then think about the methane
emissions. Was there any talk about carbon credits
for plug oils? There was a a lot of talk about carbon
credits. Um, and I just want to share my perspective on
that. I think if we're going to be offering financial
incentives for folks to plug wells. It shouldn't be
to the people who are already supposed to be cleaning
up after themselves. It should be for maybe these situations.
Where you have an orphan well and there's nobody else
left behind. Nobody else available to be responsible
for that. I appreciate the information, thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
All right, item 322 is our Executive Session, which we
won't be going into today. Are there any duly, other
duly posted matters that were brought before the Commission
at this time? Hearing none. This meeting of the Railroad
Commission of Texas is adjourned. Thank you. Thank you.