Texas Congressmembers Urge EPA to Hold Texas Railroad Commission Accountable on Carbon Storage Wells
The Commission’s history of lax environmental regulations disproportionately affects minority and other vulnerable communities.
Contact: Alexis.Torres@mail.house.gov
Washington, D.C. – As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviews the Texas Railroad Commission’s request for primacy over the state’s carbon storage infrastructure and protection of underground sources of drinking water, U.S. Representatives Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Greg Casar (TX-35), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Al Green (TX-09) and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), urged Secretary Michael Regan to address major gaps in the Commission’s ability to meet minimum requirements in protecting Texans health and safety. Specifically, the members ask for a transparent evaluation process that considers the proximity of wells to vulnerable communities and environmental justice impacts, public engagement in multiple languages, and an emergency response plan to plug leaking wells.
“We are greatly concerned with the EPA’s apparent willingness to transfer its authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to the Texas Railroad Commission. As of April 2024, across America, there are at least 15 Class VI wells in operation, with only four under the EPA’s oversight. Class VI wells are a new pursuit, and we have yet to see their long-term or even their immediate effects on nearby communities. This is a pivotal time to ensure permits are reviewed with great care and stringent adherence to the Safe Drinking Water Act. Surrendering authority now, especially to a state agency known for neglecting human and environmental health and safety, establishes a dangerous landscape of underregulated wells,” wrote the members.
“Industry control of the Texas Railroad Commission makes it a poor choice for assuming any new environmental duties, especially on a responsibility as important as permanent carbon storage. We are encouraging the Biden Administration to slow its rush to delegate away its authority, as it has done in Louisiana, North Dakota and Wyoming. The many Texas communities impacted, the ever-present dangers, and the potential waste of taxpayer resources all demand greater vigilance by EPA and less reliance on a Texas agency known for lax enforcement and environmental indifference,” said Rep. Doggett.
“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,” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas).
Although the Commission already has authority over Class II Oil and Gas Related Injection Wells, there are thousands of active and inactive oil and gas wells across Texas, which can pose an environmental risk to public health and safety through water contamination and air pollutants. Exposure to such harms has been linked to asthma, cancer and other health problems, increased flooding and sinkholes as well as climate, plant and wildlife degradation. According to a 2022 study, abandoned orphan wells impact Black and brown neighborhoods at twice the rate.
The letter in full can be found here.