88th Texas Legislative Session
March 10th marked the deadline for bill filing at the Texas Legislature, and we are pleased to report several important bills filed that would reform the Railroad Commission - including changing the name of the agency - and help prevent operators from orphaning their wells. Commission Shift will continue to monitor introduced bills related to carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) subsidies and incentives. Want to know more about the filed bills? Read the press release here.
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development, the House Committee on Energy Resources, and the House Environmental Regulation Committee are key to the success or failure of these bills. This session’s committee appointments are now all announced. Do any of your representatives make up these key committees?
Check the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development.
Check the House Committee on Energy Resources.
Check the House Environmental Regulation Committee.
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Thank you for being part of our effort to reform oil and gas oversight in Texas. Together we can make the Railroad Commission of Texas a stronger agency that plans for our energy future and puts people and the environment first.
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Texas Energy Summit in Austin
Commission Shift’s field organizer, Alyssa Wallace, attended the Texas Energy Mini-Summit in Austin on February 22, 2023 which focused on the intersection of air quality and energy systems. Topics ranged from plans for energy efficiency, to renewable power and expanded energy access. Many panels also emphasized the importance of all of our state’s energy sources, as Texas leads the nation not just in oil and gas, but in renewable power and electricity generation.
As we move forward with so much energy potential, we also have a lot at stake. Our grid is still not secure against extreme weather, and people across Texas are suffering health impacts from polluting emissions. A 2020 study in south Texas found that Hispanic mothers living next to high rates of flaring from oil and gas wells had 50 percent higher odds of preterm birth. Most major cities in Texas are out of compliance with federal laws that regulate smog-forming emissions, and many have failed to come into compliance for several years. While we are energized to hear about plans for emission reductions, it seems that proponents of technologies like carbon capture and storage are preoccupied with the federal subsidy dollars attached to the projects rather than the reality of their risks and unproven track record.
At this summit, we would have liked to have seen more consideration for how the implementation of carbon capture will affect those living near CCUS infrastructure, and how it affects the Texans who are already harmed by poor air quality, rising temperatures, and rising utility costs. Our voices and experience must be at the center of any agenda for advancing energy systems in Texas.
Check out Alyssa’s notes from the energy summit here.
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AAPG Orphaned Well Conference
This February, our Executive Director, Virginia Palacios, had the opportunity to travel to Oklahoma for the AAPG Orphaned Well Conference. The conference included a diverse audience of scientists, federal and state agency representatives, and methane mitigation companies. Presenters discussed new materials for well plugging, conducting surveillance for undocumented legacy wells, and approaches for measuring methane emissions from unplugged wells.
Executive Director Virginia Palacios relayed her experience from the conference to the Railroad Commissioners at the February 28th RRC Open Meeting [Timestamp 30:00], noting “there’s a real tension between needing to plug as many wells as possible as quickly as possible, and needing to make sure that it gets done right.”
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Community Meetings: Waste Pits
Commissioner Wright has assembled a task force of waste industry representatives to rewrite statewide rule 8, the water protection rule that pertains to oil and gas waste pits, which are used to dispose of toxic solid wastes and sludge that comes from oil and gas production sites. We expect a new rule to be proposed this spring or summer. We are concerned that amendments to the rule could weaken health and safety standards or make public participation in the permitting process more difficult.
If you have concerns, or live near an oil and gas waste pit, please let us know. Commission Shift’s executive director, Virginia Palacios, and consulting environmental attorney Claire Krebs hosted a community conversation on waste pits and Rule 8 on Monday, March 6th. You can watch a recording of that discussion here.
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Women's History Month
This women’s history month we’d like to spotlight the often unequal pollution impacts women face - particularly Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous women - and honor some of the pioneers calling for reform in order to improve health outcomes in their communities. Read more here.
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Welcome Aleksander Prebensen to Commission Shift!
Aleksander Prebensen is a first generation Norwegian-American, born and raised in Texas. Over the last 9 years, Aleksander worked in the oil & gas sector, primarily focusing on land development and upstream sectors. He also collaborated on a variety of specialized developments such as midstream and downstream projects, tanker chartering/logistics, acquisitions & divestitures, services, capital raising mining development, renewable energy and carbon credit activities. He has a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University in Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management.
After spending years within the industry, Aleksander is passionate about working with Commission Shift to help create a better tomorrow and challenge the status quo with action instead of greenwashing.
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COMING UP
March 24 - 26: Cattle Raisers Convention and Expo
March 28: Railroad Commission Open Meeting
March 31: César Chávez Day of Service
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Submissions due May 15, 2023
$800 first place prize, $200 honorable mention.
Commission Shift is pleased to announce that we are open for submissions for our annual
poster contest. Submissions can come from anyone based in Texas, and should reflect images and messages around our mission statement and values, or any of our education and outreach programs centered on reforming the Railroad Commission. Learn More.
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The next RRC Open Meeting is Tuesday, March 28th. RSVP.
Listen to Commission Shift’s last open meeting recap.
Commission Shift has been using a new feature on Twitter, called Twitter Spaces, where we open a live interactive audio space to discuss the Railroad Commission’s Open Meetings. We are opening Twitter Spaces to discuss highlights from RRC agendas one week prior to the scheduled Open Meetings and directly following the meetings to give a recap. If you join our live Twitter Spaces, you can request to be a speaker in real time. Join us to ask a question or add commentary!
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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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