“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water” - W.H. Auden
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Ty Edwards says he got into groundwater the day he was born, but these days he’s worried about Texas’s most precious resource. As the manager for the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, he sees firsthand how over-pumping and longer, deeper droughts are threatening the state’s water supply. Aquifers are also experiencing adverse impacts such as increased salinity from old oil and gas wells – some drilled nearly a century ago by wildcatters with no engineering or geological knowledge.
We can perhaps forgive wildcatters for past mistakes, but the Railroad Commission – which manages the permitting and clean up of wells – can’t plead ignorance to the problems posed by abandoned and orphaned wells today. “The Railroad Commission should care more about damage to the environment,” says Ty, who has been dealing with the commission since 2018 over abandoned wells including the now infamous Boehmer Lake. Formed from an oil and gas well drilled in the 1930s that began to exhibit artesian pressure in the early 2000’s, the well site is now what some have described as “the dead sea of West Texas” – a large, brackish body of water complete with dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide.
The Railroad Commission has a responsibility to manage these wells and prevent them from ever becoming public health threats. Yet when the RRC doesn’t fulfill their mission, the repercussions fall on the shoulders of the public, private land renters and owners, and local agencies without the funds, resources, or jurisdiction to handle the problem.
Commission Shift sponsored and attended the annual Texas Groundwater Summit, where we learned more about our state’s groundwater supply and the extent of Texas’ orphaned and abandoned wells problem. We look forward to working with our allies in the groundwater conservation community to hold the Railroad Commission accountable and prevent groundwater contamination from poor well management.
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While we dug deep into water this past month, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) held a major press event in Houston announcing their Enhanced Geothermal Earthshot Initiative. Commission Shift’s Virginia Palacios was invited to meet with DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm, along with other environmental justice advocates, to discuss enhanced geothermal technologies. The Railroad Commission has jurisdiction over Class V wells for geothermal energy production, so we were happy to be included in this conversation with the Secretary.
Pic: Virginia Palacios (Commission Shift) and Secretary Jennifer Granholm (U.S. DOE)
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Virginia Palacios was at the Capitol this past month to deliver testimony on several house and senate committee issues including orphaned wells; carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); and natural gas supply chain weatherization.
Pic: Michael Lewis (Environment Texas), Cyrus Reed (Sierra Club), and Judith Zaffirini, State Senator for Laredo - where Commission Shift is headquartered - and Vice Chair of the Senate Committee for Natural Resources and Economic Development.
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Documentary Screening: the short documentary DISASTER BY DESIGN premiered this month, showing how the catastrophic electrical grid failure during Winter Storm Uri revealed a system wired for self-dealing, consumer abuse, and political corruption and left 130 billion dollars in financial losses, 4.5 million people without power, and hundreds dead. Steve Mims Directed, and Virginia Palacios and energy expert Doug Lewin were interviewed, along with former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. Now you can stream it for free. Please watch and share this informative 21-minute film!
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Oct. 6 - Texas Land & Mineral Owners Association (TLMA) statewide meeting.
Commission Shift is a sponsor of this year's TLMA statewide membership meeting in San Antonio. There's still time to register-we'd love to see you there! We hear all the time from land and mineral owners concerned about inadequate oversight from the Railroad Commission, and we look forward to learning more from TLMA members. Are you a land, mineral, or royalty owner who wants to learn more about Commission Shift? What are your biggest concerns? Let us know.
Oct. 11 -Deadline to register to vote in the November 8th election.
Do you know your voter registration status? Be sure to check, and remind your friends and family not to skip the Railroad Commissioner race on the ballot. For more information on voting, go to VoteTexas.gov.
Thank you for being part of our effort to reform the Railroad Commission of Texas. Together we can make this a stronger agency that plans for our energy future and puts people and the environment first.
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WELCOME ALYSSA WALLACE TO COMMISSION SHIFT!
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Alyssa (she/her) started her organizing work as an Issue Advocacy Fellow with MOVE Texas in 2019. During this time, Alyssa saw a great need for accountability in Texas government and the need to engage the youth in Texas to voice their concerns at the ballot box. Alyssa is based in Laredo, Texas. When she’s not wrangling her three kiddos, she’s either reading, snapping photos or perpetually setting up her digital journal.
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Policy Manager:
Commission Shift is seeking applications to fill two Policy Manager positions based in Austin, who will serve as subject matter experts on two or more focus areas related to our mission including, but not limited to: CCUS, orphaned wells, oil and gas waste disposal, ethics, campaign finance, public participation and language accessibility.
The Policy Managers will report to the Deputy Director and will collaborate with the organizing team, communications team, and research consultants to develop key strategies and policy positions for the organization.
These individuals will attend virtual and in-person meetings at the Railroad Commission of Texas, the Texas Legislature, and other agencies as needed. They will also interact with relevant stakeholders and coalitions to better understand the issues and develop strategies and recommendations. The salary is $60,000 to $70,000, depending on experience. Full details and application instructions here.
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- After the Railroad Commission adopted their new gas supply chain weatherization rules, several outlets covered the concerns and criticisms surrounding the new rule, including this NBC 5 DFW interview with our Executive Director, Virginia Palacios.
- Want to know more about carbon capture and storage in Texas? This article about ExxonMobile’s plans for a carbon capture hub in Houston is a great place to start.
- Texas is set to receive up to $433 million in federal money in order to help plug orphaned wells, – check out this front page Houston Chronicle story featuring Virginia Palacios on why we are not done with the problems of orphaned wells yet.
- CBS 7 Permian Basin West Texas News covered the recent Senate hearing on orphaned wells – it seems that state lawmakers are also becoming concerned that "multiple state agencies seemed to be punting on a big problem”
- The Bulwark shared this recap and review of the Disaster by Design Premier.
Find more coverage on our news page.
P.S. Be sure to follow Commission Shift on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn
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Commission Shift
212 Flores Avenue
Laredo, TX 78040
United States
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