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 April 25, 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 and we had
2 people. The Commission will also consider the items
on the Agenda, as posted on the Agenda. But first, we're
going to start with Service Awards. So, the important
people are going to come out. Let's do this.
Thanks.
(inaudible) I think they replaced them,
it looks brighter in here. Good morning, Chairman and Commissioners.
I'm Wendy O'Neill in Human Resources. For the 2nd
Quarter of fiscal year 2023. We are excited to recognize
16 employees celebrating a milestone anniversary.
So first up, celebrating 5 years of service is Cristian
Astorga in the Oil and Gas Division. Congratulations. Thank you very much.
You know, there's two questions at the Commission (inaudible). Thank you.
Celebrating 5 years of service is Johnny Galvan
in Operations.
Congratulations
Thank you. Congratulations.
Also, celebrating 5 years of service is MJ in the
Oil and Gas Division. Thank you. Congratulations.
Celebrating 5 years of service is Megan Neal in
Legal Enforcement. Thank you.
Good job.
Celebrating 5 years of service is Ronald Perez
in the Oversight and Safety Division. Thank you. Appreciate it.
(inaudible)
Celebrating 5 years of service is Juan Guzman in
Facilities and Support Services.
See everybody knows you.
Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Also celebrating 5 years is Paula Swenson in Financial
Services. Thank you. Thank you.
(inaudible)
Uh oh.
(inaudible)
Celebrating five years of service is Whitney Washington
in the ITS division.
Smile (inaudible).
Celebrating 10 years of service is Kathleen Hayden
in Chairman Craddick's office.
Congratulations.
Congrats Ms. Kathleen. Thank you.
I'll tell you nobody works more hours than this
woman right here.
Y'all can cover for me.
Also celebrating 10 years is Miriam Winetroub in the
Oversight and Safety Division.
Thank you. Congratulations.
Thank you very much.
Celebrating 10 years of service is our Executive Director
Wei Wang.
(inaudible)
Thank you. Celebrating 15 years of service is Jennifer
Gilmore in the Oil and Gas. Thank you.
(inaudible)
Also celebrating 15 years of service is John Gonzales
and the Oversight and Safety Division.
Good work, appreciate it. Thank you, John.
(inaudible)
Celebrating 15 years of service is Marquita Horton
in the Oil and Gas Division.
Congratulations. Thank you.
Didn't mean to throw that on the floor. You don't need it.
Also celebrating 15 years of service is Alicia Matos
in the ITS Division.
Thank you. Nice to see you, appreciate it.
And last but not least, celebrating 25 years of service
is Tommy Maldonado in Facilities and Support Services.
No, my mother is not here. Yeah.
Congratulations everyone, thank you.
Oh.
Thank you Wendy, and thank you all. We have a lot of
great people, who make our job look easy. So we appreciate
the work everybody who is Staff does for us.
10 years. Do what? I'm 10 years.
You're 10 years. I'm 10 years. Congratulations. Did you get a pen? I'm not gonna get a pen. Oh, okay. (inaudible)
Okay, I'm glad I did. Yeah, it was sincere.
All right. Hey, I wanna comment about the team that did EarthX
and I appreciate that,
whenever it is appropriate. You wanna do it at the end or now? I can do it now. Okay.
I just want just for a second, to brag on uh Wei
and all the team. That went up to EarthX this weekend
in Dallas. I think they did an excellent job of, of
uh, educating a lot of folks that many times criticize
us. In that the Railroad Commission was green, before
green was cool. I mean back in the '50s and even
earlier than that. Whenever we provided all the energy
to World War II generation back in the, the '40s.
Uh it was Winston Churchill, I've said many times said
that. Uh, it was a sea of oil from East Texas that
helped win World War II. And I remember in Kilgore
as a child, I'd go around and the oil derricks were just
one house after the next. It was muddy roads, it was
just terrible. And it was the Railroad Commission of
Texas that did the original cleanup back in those days,
and even before. And so, I think it's an education that
I think the public has not understood. Is that the probably
the first and most effective regulator of the environment.
In our fossil fuel industry, was indeed the Railroad
Commission of Texas. And uh if they, we were. Again,
and we were green, before green was cool. And all these
folks up in uh, Dallas that were there from the environmental
perspective. I think we're uh, because of the good work
of Wei and the team that went up there. And the good
folks that put it all together. I really appreciate
you, and I think that's very valuable. For that message
to be uh, out there. Of uh the truth, the whole truth.
Of what we, what you have done for years. And this organization
has done for years. So thank you Wei. Thank you for the
team, and I think you're doing a great service in that.
Thank you and thanks. Thank you for the, for going
up and being our representative. And we do have a great
team, we have a good message. So um are you, are
you all ready? Anything else? All right. Item Number 1. Come on
up and good morning.
Good morning, Chairman and Commissioners. Good morning.
For the record, my name is Ryan Rutledge. Administrative
Law Judge for the Hearings Division. Item Number 1
is an application by Jewett Mine LLC. Requesting Phase
I release for 220.4 acres within Jewett E/F Mine.
Permit No. 47B located in Freestone County. The
approved post mine land use for the area is pasture
land. Evidence in the record supports that Jewett has
satisfied all requirements for Phase I release of
the subject area. As required by the act and the coal
mining regulations. Based on the terms of the approved
permit, there is no eligible bond reduction amount
for acreage approved for release of Phase 1 reclamation
requirements. Given that the bonded areas within Permit
No. 47B are bonded based upon the worst case bond
estimation method. Following public notice, no comments
or requests for a hearing were received. Jewett 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 the docket. It is recommended
that the request for Phase I release of reclamation
obligations be approved. And being a worst case bond,
determined that Jewett is not eligible to reduce the
amount of bond attributable to the approved acreage
at this time. 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 by Commissioner
Christian? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that
item's approved. Thank you, Ryan. Item Number 2.
Good morning Chairman, Commissioners. Morning. I am Administrative
Law Judge Adam Taylor with the Hearings Division. Item
Number 2 is the application of Dos Republicas Coal Partnership
for acceptance of a rider to a surety bond. For the Eagle Pass Mine,
Permit No. 42B in Maverick County. Permit No. 42B
is currently bonded by two surety bonds totaling $31,553,785.
DRCP requests acceptance of a rider to the existing
surety bond no. SUR 0031837. Which will reduce
the bond amount to $8,171,147.57. And when combined
with the existing charity bond that is staying in place.
Will be the same amount as the approved reclamation
cost estimate. Evidence has been presented that all
requirements for acceptance of the rider have been
met. DRCP and Staff are the only parties to the proceedings. No exception
were filed to the proposed order. And the party's way of preparation
of PD.
It is recommended that the Commission accept the proffered
rider for this permit. I'm available for questions.
Thank you. Is there any questions? No. I move we approve
the Examiner's recommendation. Is there a second? Second. Second.
What is Wright.
See you've got come over here. Will y'all swap so I can just.
Just kidding. Second by Commissioner Wright. All the favor say,
aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. I do know your
name by the way.
Uh thank you, Adam. Item Number 3. Good morning
Chairman, Commissioners. Morning. Morning. For the record, my name is John
Merculief. Administrative Law Judge with the Hearings Division.
Item Number 3 is the application of Maverick Energy
Group Inc., for unrestricted renewal of its P-5. And
to contest the Staff determination that Maverick P-
5 cannot be renewed due to non-compliance with Statewide
Rule 15. Staff provided evidence that Maverick is the
operator of record of 36 wells that are non-compliant
with the inactive well requirements. Maverick did not
and does not dispute Staff's evidence. It is recommended
the application be denied, exceptions were filed. I'm
available for questions. Thank you. Are there any questions? No.
All right. We have a representative from um, the applicant
Maverick Energy Group. Is there any questions of him?
No. All right. I move we approve the Examiner's recommendation.
Is there a second? Second by Commissioner Christian. All in
favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that item's approved. Thank
you. All right. We're gonna move on to the Oil and
Gas Consent Agenda. There are 31 items on the Oil and
Gas Consent Agenda. Items 4-34. Are there
any questions? All right. I move we approve items 4-
34. Is there a second? Second by Commissioner Wright.
All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, those item's are
approved. Let's go to Master Default Orders. There are
26 Master Default Orders. Items 35-60. I move
we approve items 35-60. Is there a second? Second by
Commissioner Christian. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion
passes, those item's are approved. And Agreed Enforcement
Orders. There's 204 Agreed Enforcement Orders. I move
that we approve Items 61-264. Is there a second?
Second by Commissioner Wright. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion
passes, those item's are approved. And that concludes
the Hearings Division. Thank you. Um, we'll now take
up our Administrative Agenda and General Counsel,
265. Good morning.
Good morning Chairman, Commissioners. Morning. I'm Betsy Peticolas
with the Office of General Counsel. And I have 3
pending litigation matters to provide Commission
with updates on this morning. First, is this um, litigation
concerning the Lesser Prairie Chicken. In November of
2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Lesser
Prairie Chicken as threatened in the Northern Distinct
Population Segment, and Endangered in the Southern Distinct
Population Segment. The Commission approved referring
this listing to the Office of Attorney General on December
13th, 2022. On January 19th, 2023, the State sent a
60 day notice of intent to sue to the Department of
Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That notice
outlined the violations of the Endangered Species Act,
the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as the National
Environmental Policy Act. Subsequently, the State filed
its complaint on March 21. An amended complaint was
filed on April 11. The amended complaint added the
states of Oklahoma and Kansas as parties to the lawsuit.
Um, we're currently awaiting the federal government's
answer to that lawsuit, which is due on Monday, June
11. The next matter is the Ozone Transport State
Implementation Plan/Federal Implementation Plan.
Um on February 28, the Commission approved joining
the challenge of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency's disapproval of Texas's Interstate Transport
State Implementation Plan or SIP. And proposed Federal
Implementation Plan or FIP. For the 2015 Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard. And as you may recall
disapproval of the SIP is a prerequisite to EPA
implementing its Federal Implementation Plan. That would
federalize air quality regulation in 23 states, including
Texas. And in addition to a host of other federal regulations.
That FIP would establish emission limits and additional
regulatory requirements for stationary engines used
in the pipeline transportation of natural gas. The
Railroad Commission joined by the Public Utility Commission.
Filed a petition for review on March 8 of this year
in the 5th Circuit. Um, the Court consolidated that
challenge with the existing state litigation. As well
as, several other petitions filed by industry groups.
Um on March 15, EPA filed a motion to transfer the
litigation to the D.C. Circuit or to dismiss the case
for improper venue. The State and industry part uh,
petitioners have filed responses to EPA's motion on
March 27. Um, those motions as well as several motions
for a stay of the rule, um are currently pending before
the Court. Um, and as of last time I updated you, EPA
has finalized their um, Federal Implementation Plan.
But it has not yet been published in the Federal Register,
so we're watching for that. And finally, um to update
the Commission on the Waters of the U.S. or WOTUS litigation.
On January 18, um the Commission approved referring
um the EPA, and uh Corp of Engineers. New definition
of Waters of the United States to the Office of Attorney
General. And a complaint and petition for review was
filed that same day. An amended complaint was filed
on February, uh February 27. To reflect the joinder
of the State of Idaho as a plaintiff. Um, the matter
was also consolidated with several similar challenges
brought by industry groups. On March 15, the Court
held a Hearing on Motions uh, for preliminary injunction.
And on March 19, the Court issued a memorandum opinion
and order granting that preliminary injunction, within
the states of Idaho and Texas. Um, the Office of General
Counsel is continuing to work with and support the
office of the Attorney General on these matters. Um,
and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you. Thank you. Anybody have any questions? We
seem to be spending a lot of our tax dollars, fighting
our own government, so. Just uh, uh can I make a comment
here? This news flash. This weekend or, or this last
week. There was a release that the attack methane
One of these many things that they're, they're telling
us that it is horrible and bad. They, they have just
released that the from settled science. That methane
decreases the sun's rays and temperatures by up to
1/3. And that the dangers that they had identified
previously with, with you know the science community.
Is that methane is like 30% less uh, negative effects
than they had before. And so it kind of put a kink
in this argument that the science is settled on any
of this. You know, going back to Time Magazine and
The Great Arctic Ice Age of the '70s. So I just
thought I'd bring you put that. Uh, for some reason
the settled science doesn't seem to be settled on these
things. It's a moving target. It is. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your work.
All right. Item 266.
Morning.
How are y'all? Good. How are you? Morning. Doing okay. Good. So good morning
Chairman, Commissioners. Morning. I'm Joe Stasulli, Assistant Director
within the Oil and Gas Division. Um, as part of the Agency's
ongoing effort to improve operating efficiencies. Staff
is requesting your approval on the following item.
Item 266 is the proposed revision of the Form P-18,
Skim Oil/Condensate Report.
Staff is requesting to post the proposed changes, uh
of the Form P-18. And associated instructions on the Commission's
website for public comment until May 31. Proposed
changes to the form and instructions will provide greater
clarity on filing requirements, reducing submission
errors. If no adverse comments are received on the proposed
material. Staff asks that the proposed changes go into
effect automatically at the end of the comment period.
I'm available for questions. Thank you. Are there any
questions?
Do we, do we have a form that um, it on theft
of crude oil? I'm sorry, I can't hear you. On theft of crude oil, and my mic's working.
Theft of crude oil that people report to us on. There's
a Form H-8. If there's spills, fires or theft and
it's greater than 5 barrels. They file that form with
the Commission. You know it, was yesterday that I was
talking with some producers. Said that their theft
was up almost 1000% since January of this year, which
is concerning. And then what do we do with that? We
file it, we go investigate and then don't we generally
work with local authorities as well? That's accurate. Okay.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank y'all. Are there any other questions
on this? All right. I move we approve Staff's recommendation.
Is there a second? Second by Commissioner Christian. All in
favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes, that items approved. Thank
you, Joe.
Item 267.
Good morning, Chairman and Commissioners. For the record,
my name is Keith May with the Oil and Gas Division.
Uh, Item 267. Uh, Staff is seeking your approval to make
available for public comment. The Commission's Oil
and Gas Monitoring Enforcement Plan for Fiscal Year
2024. Uh, the plan was required by House Bill 1818 from
the 85th Legislator. And House Bill 1818 also requires
the Commission to seek public input as the plan is
being developed. With your approval, the plan will be
made available on our website in both English and Spanish
later today. And the plan will be available until May
26, with the option to submit feedback via web-based
survey or via U.S. Mail. And we will return to conference
on June 13, with the final version of the plan for
your approval. And that version of the plan will reflect
any public comments received by May 26. The final version
of the plan must be posted to the Commission's website
no later than July 1. May I answer any questions?
Thank you. Are there any questions? No. All right. I move
we approve the Staff's recommendations. Is there a second?
Second. Second by Commissioner Wright. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion
passes, item's approved. Thank you. Are you staying
up? Yes. Item 268. Okay go ahead, 268. Okay, 268 is the Oil Field Cleanup
Program's 2nd Quarter Status Report, uh for fiscal
year 2023. And during the 2nd quarter of 2023, plugging
operations were completed and files were closed on
363 wells at a cost of $11,661,309. Of those
363, 119 were plugged using OGRC funds or state
funds. And 244 were plugged using Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act, IIJA Funds for short. And this
includes only those walls that are plugged, invoiced
by the plug and contractor, and approved for payment
by field operations. And during the same period, 492
new wells were approved for plugging. A total of 832
wells were physically plugged through the end of the
2nd Quarter. Of which 685 have been invoiced and
paid. And the state managed cleanup program completed
and closed 53 cleanup activities at a cost of $831,657,
using OGRC funds. And during that same period, 70
new activities were authorized for clean up with uh, state
funds. And a total of 97 cleanup activities were completed
and closed through the end of the second quarter using
OGRC funds. May I answer any questions? Were there
any questions? Y'all are doing a great job. Thank you very
much. Thank you.
All right. Item 269 is our Public Participation Item.
We've had 2 people register to speak. Mr. White, if you'd like
to come on up.
Please state your name for the record.
Skylar White, uh I'm here representing myself. I paid
my own way to come here. Uh no, I don't work for
anybody. Nobody's paid me to come here. Uh, when I was
growing up my Dad always told me. You got a problem
on the ranch, you got a problem with an entity or a company
or somebody. Always go talk to the boss. So that's,
that's why I'm here. Ms. Craddick, you're the boss. So I'm
talking to you. You know, I think it's on. I've got
11 of these wells flowing on the ranch right now. I
think it's unreasonable to expect that these wells
are gonna get plugged tomorrow. I think that's unreasonable.
But my question is, and this well by the way. Is
is starting to flow a lot worse. Uh, they did come out
and look at the darn thing. But they don't have any
plugging rigs operating on ranch right now. So my question
is, you've been here over a decade. You've been through
sunset review, multiple Legislative Sessions, budgeting,
planning, administrative rulemaking, all of that. My
question is real simple. This, this problem on my ranch
is just a symptom of, of what's going on statewide
with these orphan wells. These unplugged wells are
polluting groundwater all across the state, not just
on my ranch. My question is, what have you done in
the decade that you've been here to, to uh prevent
this from happening? I mean, the orphan well count ought
to be going down over time. Because you know, y'all
ought to be tightening up your rulemaking and, and
trying to do things to prevent these. Uh, what have
you done in the decade you've been here to help, help
this problem?
Thank you, Mr. White for being here. I, I think your
silence speaks very loudly. Ms. Palacios?
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. My name is
Virginia Palacios. I'm the Executive Director of Commission
Shift. Um, I wanted to comment on prior year's draft
monitoring and enforcement plans. Um and first of all,
I just wanna say, thank you for publishing a Spanish
language draft for folks to comment on this year. That's
very important, especially in my region of Texas. Where
a lot of families prefer speaking Spanish in the home.
And even though they might speak some English, um they're
not fully um I guess literate in, in the English language.
And so having a Spanish language draft is really important.
Um, and it's really helpful for people who own land
and minerals, and live next to oil and gas facilities
that y'all regulate. Um in the past we've, we've commented
on this plan the, the last two years. And uh, some of
our formatting suggestions have been incorporated into
the final plans. Um, but we also commented uh, on with
a lot of detail on all parts of the plan. And, and
not all of those comments have been accepted. Um, we
went ahead and reached out to folks, other folks who
commented on the plan the last two years. And uh, they
told us that they haven't received any acknowledgement
from the Commission on their comments or any resolution.
Or sort of uh, any of their concerns really being addressed
by the Commission. And so, we would hope to see that
um, this year if it's possible. Um, one of the more kind
of important things that we see. Is that folks have
pointed out inconsistencies in the protocol that Commissioners
follow, when they're responding to public complaints.
And the kind of inspections that take place afterward.
There's supposed to be a certain time period in which
the Railroad Commission responds to those complaints,
and conducts an inspection. And lets people know when
the inspection is complete or when the complaint is
closed. And those protocols are not always followed,
um based on the comments that people have been making.
Um, another issue is that the, there's a definition
of major violations presented in the Monitoring and
Enforcement plan. And it appears that, that definition
is subjective. And so the Director of the Oil and Gas
Division gets to say how severe the violation is. Um,
and so we would ask that the Commission consider looking
into that. And maybe applying some kind of metric so
that it's not just based on, you know, something that
can change over time. And so that we can actually evaluate
that in a clear manner over time. Um, the last thing
that I wanted to address today. Is that we're where
the Commission is uh getting, getting ready for and
gearing up for a big rulemaking on Statewide Rule
8. Related to uh groundwater protection, water quality
and waste pits. And so, you know, we know that y'all
have been meeting with industry representatives for
years now. And discussing potential changes to that
rule. In the past years in 2002, and I think 2012. The
Commission has held public hearings across the state.
To engage community members and find out what the public
wants to see in that rulemaking. And so, we would ask
you to plan for and conduct similar hearings across
the state, in different parts of the state again this
year. As you all know, it takes many hours to get to
Austin from West Texas, from East Texas, from South
Texas, in the Panhandle. And so it really makes more
sense to be able to have the community involved in
these rulemakings in their, in their communities. And
in a place that's more convenient for them to access.
So, thank you for your consideration. Thank you. Thank you.
Item 270 is our Executive Session Item, which we won't
be going into today. Is there anything else to be brought
before the Commission at this time hearing? Hearing none. This
meeting of the Railroad Commission is adjourned. Thank you
all. Thank you.